Bus to Joshimath (April 2009)

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The bus to Haridwar from Saharanpur was at 4am so I had to get up at 3am. When I got to Haridwar, the last bus to Joshimath (5:30 am) had already left so I had to go to Rishikesh. Once in Rishikesh, I had to take a rickshaw to the bus station for long distance buses. I missed the government bus and had to settle for private buses which are a bit more expensive. It was not the higher cost that I had a problem with, it was having to wheel and deal and to be really careful as they were sure to cheat me (government buses have set rates). I got on a bus whose owner said that they were going to Joshimath and the fare was 220 Rs. I didn’t trust what he said so once we were underway, I asked people in the bus where they were going and how much they were paying. Everybody said that this bus was not going to Joshimath and to get there, I would have to get off at Karanprayag and take another bus. Nobody knew the cost to Karanprayag but one woman said she was going to Rudraprayag and the fare was 130 Rs. The money collector saw me talking to other people so knew that he couldn’t charge me 220 Rs so when we got to Rudraprayag at 1pm, there was another bus that also stopped there, he told me to get off, pay 130 Rs, and take the other bus which was going to Joshimath. For the the other bus, I paid 100 Rs and I got to Joshimath at 5:45pm. The grand total was 304 Rs and 13 hours and 45 minutes.
Saharanpur to Haridwar, 45 Rs, dep. 4am, arr. 5:45am
Haridwar to Rishikesh, 19 Rs, dep 6am, arr. 6:45am ? (20 km)
autorickshaw in Rishikesh from local bus station to long distance bus stand, 30 Rs
Rishikesh to Rudraprayag, 130 Rs, dep. 7:30am, arr. 1pm.
Rudraprayag to Joshimath, 100 Rs, dep. 1pm, arr. 5:45pm.

On the return trip, I caught the 5:30am bus from Joshimath going to Dehra Dun. The bus driver didn’t stop for a break till 12 noon and everybody was complaining that they had to pee. We stopped for half an hour and got to Rishikesh at 2:50pm. I caught the 2:55 to Haridwar and then the 3:30 to Saharanpur, arriving at 5:50pm. The Joshimath bus had a really good driver but he was driving so fast and I was so scared, especially when there was oncoming traffic. The mountain roads are narrow and buses have been known to fall off the road down the side which was either a cliff or a very steep hill. So to take the bus to Joshimath and back, one needs nerves of steel. Also, it is an ultra extremely violently bumpy ride so try to sit as much as possible in the front part of the bus. If you sit at the back, be prepared to fly off your seat every few seconds with your head touching the top of the bus. No exaggeration. Women should wear a sports bra and I’m not being funny.

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Comments

[Ajinkya]

Haridwar to Joshimath Info
Hey, thanks a lot for sharing the information and your experience. It will definitely help me for my journey. Thank you.

[bimae]

bus to Joshimath
not sure if my info is still valid as it's from 8 years ago, well maybe some parts are still useful. I hope they have at least changed the buses to more modern ones. it would be great if you can let me know (reply to this thread) if anything has changed in how to get to Joshimath. happy travels