Parmarth Niketan

Do you think it's much better to change my ticket train?

Yes ! I see that you were planning to travel on Shatabdi. Now you shoud go for Jan Shatabdi.

I didn't find any Jan Shatabdi train on cleartrip!!!

Train Code for Jan Shatabdi is 2055.

Thank you i found it, but i think it's much better to find a car, a taxi maybe, otherwise i'll arrive too late in Haridwar.
Do you know something about the Metro Express Line from airport to central station?

Yes ! It should be operational by this month end.

A bus/Taxi will take some 7 Hrs. to reach Haridwar and the road is in bad shape, are you ready for a rough journey after a long flight ?

Janshatabdi will take you at haridwar at 7:30 PM, but you need to pass time till 3:30 PM.

Alternatively you may try booking a seat on Train no. 4309, 4317 or 9566. They all reach Haridwar at around 5 PM.

I'm thinking about Metro Express...may be to catch Shatabdi at 6.50 am? Otherwise will be difficult because i intend to go from Rishikesh to Badrinath and Kedarnath in the same day with a car and will be too late. I don't know....

hi dark moon, the weather condition is not so good beyond rishikesh now. so i dont think it is possible to go badrinath or kedarnath on same day. The road to these places are severely demaged and might take weeks or months to get cleared due to landslides. Some of the travellers are stranded near these places for more than a 3days. so take care.

Even if weather is clear and you are able to take Shatabdi to Haridwar, you can't reach Badrinath/Kedarnath on that day.

On that day ! Sleep at Haridwar and then next day take the first bus to Badrinath/Kedarnath.

There is NO WAY you are going to make that Shatabdi at 6:50am after arriving at 5am at the airport (even with the new Metro link).
Just forget about Shatabdi, cancel your ticket and book the trains Delhiwala is suggesting (Train no. 4309, 4317 or 9565)
They will reach at a decent time in Haridwar. If your plan involved going to Badrinath/Kedarnath, stay overnight in Haridwar and catch the 1st bus the next day. Even then it is a long journey. I hope you have 5 days planned for both those places.

Inquire in your hotel about road conditions to Badrinath/Kedarnath. You may have to rework part of your plan there.

Thanks for your reply

I will stay one night in Rudraprayag, i think this is a good choice. I planned 6 days for Badrinath/Kedarnath.

About train maybe i will take a taxi or one of these trains 4309, 4317 or 9565. I'll see...
Thanks for advices.
What about the weather in october, there. will be ok for Kedarnath Badrinath?

I get the feeling darkmoon is overdoing it here, and you other posters overlook the fact that she is the first time in India. My advice, go to Rishikesh (with or without a first night in Haridwar. Haridwar is a nice place to see and experience in itself, you'll spend the first evening at the Ganga seeing things for yourself that you have never seen before), okay, go to Rishikesh and settle in there. Relax a day or two, get used to the way things are done in India for you as a foreigner, and then take a jeep or a bus to your places you want to see.

Delhi-Agra-Jaipur at the end, that's what you can rush thru. But not your first days in India. Be kind to yourself, take things easy at the beginning.

I second with atala! This is your first trip to India and you need to take it a bit slow.Planning till rishikesh looks fine but kedar/badri are at high altitude and you need to relax for sometime before you get on.

Aboute the weather...
The road between Delhi and Rishikesh are in pretty bad condition becourse of the monsun, so it might take longer time to go by taxi than usuall.
And when I went from Dehli to Haridwar by train on this monday there was pretty bad signal problems, it made the train stand still for periods and it arriwed 3½ hours after schedule. And at first they did not even think the train would make it to Haridwar.
Now, this happend becourse of very hevy raining in the weekend before. The Ganga flooded, I think it went up with two metres... or maby more...
So it might not be like this when you are coming here, butt still there is a chanse it might. I´ve been told it´s suppposed to rain alot this weekend to...
Dont mean to get you worried, just to inform you aboute the conditions. Might be good to know aboute. :-)
Oh, and if you are taking a taxi from Haridwar to Rishikesh, make sure you know what bridge you want to go to... Ramjhula or Laxmanjuhla, most ashrams are at Ramjhula. And it is a bit to walk if you are going over the bridge since no cars or motor rishkshas is allowed near the bridge or on the other side.
And just ask people if you dont find the way, people are very nice here. :-)
I´m sure everything will go well for you.

Yes, good point, the bridge question. You want to go to Ram jhula. There are porters there with a carriage that will take your luggage to your ashram. Even if you have little to carry, take one, he will also be your guide. Give him 20 Rupees in the end, should be enough for your brief walk to your Ashram.

If you are staying in another place before your booked course begins, you have plenty of choices. There are not many people in off-season months. You could go to Vedniketan first (basic), or to the Green Hotel, if you would like more amenities the first day.

I get the impression that you are traveling alone, darkmoon. Not to scare you, but one of the worse things that can happen to one travelling alone is getting sick on the way, with no one to care for you. In an ashram there are people around to assist you. But on the road it is difficult.

The more you go into the mountains the less availability of food choices you have. You have to eat something, though, preferably not peanuts only. Not knowing what to eat you may eat one wrong thing that gives you diarrhea... On the road that is pretty bad. it is bad enough in an ashram, but manageable, although then, if diarrhea persists, you can forget the yoga course.

So first thing is your health, your well being all the way. So cut back on your plans beforehand, and go easy, and well considered.

If you go for that trip to Badrinath, take plenty of packaged food with you that you do not need to rely on roadside food-stands. You could have them make some Butter-Naan for you though, but I would not take the other stuff they have there. Normally they have heaps of greasy veg and dal which they fry briefly for you. I would not advise to take that stuff. That stuff has been lying around for who knows how long.

One tends to be over-optimistic about what the stomach can tolerate, esp also seeing fellow travelers eating it heartily, but having been in the country for just a few days, you have to be especially careful.

Good luck.