Badrinath is the most important of the four sites in India’s Char Dham pilgrimage. Badrinath is in the Garhwal hills, on the banks of the Alaknanda River, at an elevation of 3133 m. Located only a few kilometers from the Indo-China (Tibet) border, Badrinath is generally a two-day-long journey from either Kedarnath, the site that precedes it in the Char Dham circuit, or one of the main disembarkation points on the plains. Hemkund Sahib, an important Sikh pilgrimage site, is on the way to Badrinath, so the road is especially crowded during the summer pilgrimage season. The temple and its substantial surrounding village are accessible by road. Many people prefer to reach Badrinath shrine starting early morning from Joshimath have darshan of Lord Vishnu and return to Joshimath by evening to avoid any altitude problems.
The nearest airport is the Jolly Grant Airport near Dehradun, about 317 km from Badrinath. The nearest railway stations to Badrinath are at Rishikesh and Kotdwar, which are at a distance of 297 km and 327 km respectively. There are regular buses operating to Badrinath from Delhi, Haridwar and Rishikesh. Taxi/Jeeps are also available from Taxi Stations in Rishikesh, Haridwar & Dehradun. Tourist cabs are available from Dehradun and Rishikesh.
Badrinath doesn’t have a railway station. It is connected via railway stations of Haridwar at 324km, Kotdwar at 327 km and Rishikesh at 397 km from the town. Kotdwar has very few trains and Rishikesh has no express trains. However, Haridwar is the best-connected railway station for Badrinath, connecting the town to the rest of the country.
There are no direct flights or trains or buses between New Delhi to Badrinath. The convenient way to reach from New Delhi to Badrinath is to take Indica from New Delhi to Badrinath. The fastest way to reach Badrinath from New Delhi is to take Tata Indica from New Delhi to Haridwar then take State Transport Bus from Haridwar to Badrinath. The cheapest way to reach Badrinath from New Delhi is to take Ddn Janshtbdi train from New Delhi to Haridwar then take State Transport Bus from Haridwar to Badrinath. It will take you about 14 to 15 hours to reach Badrinath if you follow this commute. The fare will be from approx. 800-1000 INR.
There are in total 20 trains and 6 connecting trains to Haridwar from New Delhi. Out of which 1 is Shatabdi, 1 is Janshatabdi, 10 mail express trains, 2 AC Superfast trains, 2 passenger trains, and 4 are superfast trains. To know where my train is, make use of online tools.
From Delhi to Kotdwar station there are 3 trains in total, and 4 connecting trains. The 3 trains are Mail/express trains. The fastest train is the Mussoorie express, which takes 5 hours to reach destination. The slowest train is the Mussoorie Express Slip train, which takes about 8 hours to 9 hours to reach.