Delhi to Kainchi Dham: Distance, Route and How to Reach

The ways to go from Delhi

The road from Delhi to Kainchi Dham, town by town

The road climbs from 221 m at Delhi to about 1,380 m at Kainchi Dham; the climb begins at Kathgodam, 283 km out, and the last 38 km are mountain road. The highest point on the way is Bhowali, at about 1,700 m.

By train or by air

3 trains start from Delhi for the hills. The first of the day leaves at 06:20 and reaches Kathgodam at 11:55. From the station it is 37 km by road from Kathgodam and 61 km by road from Lalkuan to Kainchi Dham.

These are the trains that start in Delhi; trains from farther away that stop there are on the station pages. Days are the days a train leaves its first station. Times change: check the train on the railway's own site before you book. Sources: etrain.info, confirmtkt.com.

IndiGo flies Delhi to Pantnagar, IndiGo flies Delhi to Bareilly and Alliance Air flies Delhi to Pithoragarh; the times below are the winter schedule, from 25 October 2026. From the airport it is 76 km by road from Pantnagar, 155 km by road from Bareilly and 163 km by road from Pithoragarh to Kainchi Dham.

A row marked summer is the summer 2026 schedule, to 24 October; that airport's winter times were not out when we checked. Small airports change their flights often: check with the airline for your dates. Sources: amarujala.com, pioneeredge.in, flightaware.com, ixigo.com, us.trip.com.

By bus or shared taxi

Buses

• Uttarakhand Transport Corporation (UTC) online booking showed one ordinary bus from Delhi Anand Vihar to Nainital at 7:00 AM, via Rudrapur, 314 km, Rs 530 a seat, arriving 4:15 PM (search on 23 Oct 2026 for travel on 28 Oct 2026). The return bus left Nainital at 9:00 AM. Kainchi is 17 km on from Nainital by road. (utconline.uk.gov.in, 23 Oct 2026)
• UTC online booking listed about 15 daily buses from Delhi Anand Vihar to Haldwani (274 km, about 6 to 7 hours): Volvo Super Luxury at 10 AM, 11 AM, 2 PM, 4 PM and 11 PM (Rs 946), Janrath AC at 8 AM and 8:30 PM (Rs 615), UTC Smart AC Non Stop at 9:15 PM (Rs 730), and ordinary buses through the day (Rs 450). Searched 23 Oct 2026 for 28 Oct 2026. No bus to Bhowali or Kainchi was bookable online from Delhi that day. (utconline.uk.gov.in, 23 Oct 2026)
• Per zingbus, 5 private AC buses a day run Delhi to Kainchi Dham (sleeper and semi-sleeper, with washroom), first at 7:00 AM and last at 11:40 PM, boarding at Kashmere Gate ISBT (counter 28) and Anand Vihar ISBT (counter 54). Fares shown were Rs 1,689 to Rs 1,844. The drop near the ashram is listed as reached by cab. (zingbus.com)
• UTC's published route list includes a Nainital to Kainchi service via Bhowali, plus Bhowali routes to Delhi Anand Vihar, Agra (via Nainital and via Badaun), Bareilly, Dehradun ISBT, Saharanpur and Tanakpur. The list shows no times or fares, and none of these could be booked online for 28 Oct 2026. (utconline.uk.gov.in)

Shared taxis and taxis

• Since May 2026, Nainital police bar taxis and two-wheelers from the Kainchi Dham area on Saturdays and Sundays. They must park at Bhowali Sanatorium parking and riders take the local shuttle. The same ban was repeated for the weekend of 17 and 18 Oct 2026. (amarujala.com, 23 May 2026)

Bus times and fares change with the season: check with the operator on the day.

Where you leave the car at Kainchi Dham

On the Nainital to Almora road: 9 km from Bhowali and 17 km from Nainital; Kathgodam railway station 43 km and Pantnagar airport 79 km (district figures). (nainital.nic.in)

• Since 26 March 2025, cars park before Kainchi (Bhimtal industrial area, or Bhowali Sanatorium on the Jeolikot side) and visitors take the shuttle: 8 AM to 2 PM on normal days, 7 AM to 8 PM on festival days. (english.punjabkesari.com, 26 Mar 2025)
• Every Saturday and Sunday, taxis and two-wheelers may not enter the Kainchi area: park at Bhowali Sanatorium (Nainital and Gethia side, taxis and bikes) or Bhimtal Vikas Bhawan (Bhimtal side) and take the shuttle. (amarujala.com, 23 May 2026)
• The weekend traffic plan runs 6 AM to 8 PM. No roadside parking; when a lot is full, cars are sent to the next. Lot names change from event to event: check Nainital Police before you go. (etvbharat.com, 18 Sept 2026)
• At the 2026 fair (13 to 16 June) no private cars went to the temple; shuttles ran from lots at Bhimtal and Nainital and from Haldwani bus stand and the Haldwani and Kathgodam stations, and stopped about 1.5 km from the temple. (indiatvnews.com, 11 Jun 2026)
• Open 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM. (incredibleindia.gov.in)

The festival dates, the rules inside and the history: Kainchi Dham, the whole page.

Good to know on this road

• Kainchi Dham sits on the Nainital to Almora road, about 9 km from Bhowali and 17 km from Nainital. The name comes from two sharp hairpin bends on the motor road. (kumaon.gov.in)
• Weekend plan for 17 and 18 Oct 2026: visitors from other districts and states coming via Bhimtal park at Vikas Bhawan parking in Bhimtal; those coming via Gethia or Nainital park at Bhowali Sanatorium parking. Shuttles run from both to the temple. The plan ran 5 AM to 8 PM for KMOU buses, private buses and cars. Heavy vehicles were barred 3 AM to 11 PM and held at the district border. (haldwanilive.com, 16 Oct 2026)
• A multilevel parking for more than 500 vehicles is being built at Kainchi Dham, and a parking for about 700 vehicles is being built near the Metropole Hotel area in Nainital, per a state parking update. (indianmasterminds.com, 14 Sept 2026)
• The Bhowali Sanatorium to Ratighat bypass is 18.15 km long. By March 2026 about 8 km was finished and open to traffic, hill cutting on the other 10.15 km was done, and walls plus a motor bridge linking Ratighat to the Bhowali to Almora highway were under way. The target was before the June season. (newsweight24x7.com)
• A temporary 45 metre valley bridge over the Shipra river at Kainchi Dham, costing about Rs 68 lakh, was built to ease fair traffic and was due to open fully on 15 June 2026. (hindi.dynamitenews.com, 16 Apr 2026)
• On 2 Oct 2026 more than 35,000 vehicles entered the hills and traffic backed up from Kainchi Dham to Nainital. On 3 Oct police stopped uphill traffic from 4 PM to 10 PM to clear vehicles coming down. (amarujala.com, 4 Oct 2026)
• After more than 50,000 visitors in one weekend in early October 2026, the DM and SSP are to recommend mandatory advance registration to the state, with a tentative cap of 20,000 to 25,000 devotees a day. It is a proposal, not a rule yet. Separate one-way entry and exit is planned, extra shuttles may run from Bhowali with KMOU help, and bikes rented out as taxis face action. (businesstoday.in, 7 Oct 2026)