Things to do in Bareilly
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Bareilly
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months, cool and dry. November is near perfect, December and January bring fog that can delay a dawn safari.
Still good and warmer, with Mahashivratri in some years and the Ahichhatra Jain Mela in March.
Worst heat. April averages about 37 C by day and May about 40 C, with June brutal until the rains break.
Monsoon core and retreat. July and August are the wettest months and Pilibhit Tiger Reserve is closed.
Post monsoon hinge month, warm by day and cooling at night, but the safari season has not yet opened.
What's on
- Mahashivratri February or March, by the Hindu calendar
The Nath Nagari festival, when the whole Shiva temple circuit is at its most alive and most crowded.
- Urs-e-Razvi 25 Safar in the Islamic calendar, in August in recent years
The Urs at Dargah-e-Ala Hazrat, one of India's largest, filling the city. It moves about 11 days earlier each year.
- Ahichhatra Jain Mela March
The annual fair at the Ahichhatra Jain temples at Ramnagar, the best time to see that quiet site at full life.
- Dussehra and Ramlila season September or October, by the Hindu calendar
City wide Ramlila performances and the Ram Barat tradition in the festival weeks of autumn.
Best things to do in Bareilly
Alakhnath Temple
The head temple of the Nath circuit, a lived in Naga sadhu complex in greenery that explains why Bareilly is Nath Nagri.
Trivati Nath Temple
A marble Shiva temple built around a lingam found under three banyan trees, liveliest at morning and evening aarti.
Dhopeshwar Nath Temple
The calm cantonment Nath temple, with a pond, cave shrines and a Mahabharata association that sets it apart.
Madhinath Temple
The quiet fourth corner of the Nath ring, a neighbourhood Shiva temple that completes the signature morning circuit.
Dargah-e-Ala Hazrat
The global centre of the Barelvi movement, the dargah of Imam Ahmed Raza Khan in the lanes of the old city.
Lakshmi Narayan Temple
The city centre Lakshmi Narayan temple known by its builder Chunna Miyan, best paired with the Bara Bazar walk.
Gandhi Udyan
Bareilly's central park for a dawn walk or an evening breather, marking the most pleasant central area to base in.
Bareilly ka Jhumka
The giant brass jhumka on the Delhi road, a five minute photo stop born of the famous 1966 film song.
Where to stay in Bareilly
Civil Lines
first trip, all round base
The better independent hotels, main restaurants and club, with reasonable access to every temple and the old city.
Pilibhit Bypass / Airport Road
drivers, mall and Pilibhit road
The newer car oriented corridor with the Radisson, Phoenix United Mall and Fun City, quieter at night and poor on foot.
Station Road
train timed overnights and weddings
Established hotels by the junction, chosen for timing and functions rather than as a sightseeing base.
Think twice about
- Station Road and Bareilly Junction perimeter
Congested all day and noisy all night, with a transient crowd and the least pleasant walk in the city. Pass through, sleep in Civil Lines.
- Old City around Saudagran, Qila and Bara Bazar
Lanes too narrow for cars and parking effectively impossible, and movement can stop entirely during Urs or Shivratri processions. Visit it, do not base in it.
- Pilibhit Bypass highway strip as a walking base
A fast highway with no pedestrian life. Its hotels are fine, but only if you are driving or cabbing everywhere.
Best restaurants in Bareilly
Barbeque Nation
The national tabletop grill buffet, the most expensive regular dinner in Bareilly and its celebration choice.
Aurum
The hotel fine dining room at Swarn Towers, one of few quiet full service dinners with drinks in central Bareilly.
Kwality Restaurant
A dependable DD Puram family restaurant for North Indian staples, kebabs and Chinese under one roof.
Moti Mahal Since 1920
The Civil Lines generalist dinner, one air conditioned room covering kebab, biryani, North Indian and Chinese.
Ajanta Sweets N' Bakery
Bareilly's best known sweet name in Rampur Garden, the standard stop for mithai boxes to gift and carry home.
Kipps Sweets & Super Market
A Civil Lines sweets institution of five decades, the old Bareilly answer for mithai in the centre of the city.
Deepak Sweets
The DD Puram sweets and ice cream institution of four decades, the default mithai stop for the eastern areas.
Dinesh Kachori & Sweets
The old city kachori and sabzi breakfast, eaten early and fresh from the kadhai with jalebi when a batch lands.
Outdoor things to do in Bareilly
Pilibhit Tiger Reserve
A Terai sal forest and grassland reserve about 55 km away, with jeep safaris for tiger, swamp deer and rich birdlife.
Chuka Eco Tourism Spot
A quiet reservoir shore in tiger country, with eco huts and forest views between Sharda Sagar and the Sharda canal.
Fun City
Bareilly's amusement and Boond water park on Pilibhit Bypass, the default hot weather day out for local families.
AEPTA Golf Course
An 18 hole army course in the green cantonment, playable only by prior arrangement through member or service links.
Ahichhatra
Grassed mounds and brick ramparts of the ancient Panchala capital, walked as a quiet archaeological landscape.
Nanakmatta Sahib
A major Sikh pilgrimage gurudwara by Nanak Sagar reservoir, pairing langar with open water, picnics and birding.
Chaubari Ramganga Ghat
A wide sandy Ramganga riverbank west of the city, best at winter dawn for mist, birds and a walk without traffic.
Best hotels in Bareilly
Ramada Encore by Wyndham Bareilly Civil Lines
The brand standard hotel inside the best base, compact and predictable, walkable to Bareilly College and Civil Lines eating.
Hotel LA
A long standing Civil Lines independent in the best neighbourhood, central and known to every auto driver in the city.
Hotel Sita Kiran
The simple budget option inside Civil Lines, basic rooms traded fairly for a main market location and low price.
Radisson Hotel Bareilly Airport
Bareilly's full service flagship by the airport, with two restaurants, a spa and a pool, best if you are driving.
Hotel Swarn Towers
A 49 room Station Road institution with two restaurants, solid for a train timed overnight rather than a sightseeing base.
The Manor Bareilly
The Leisure Hotels property on Station Road, a brand managed overnight near the station rather than a walking base.
Is Bareilly expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | ₹1,800 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | ₹4,500 a person |
| Splurge | ₹11,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Pilibhit Tiger Reserve: weeks ahead
- Chuka Eco Tourism Spot: a few days ahead
- AEPTA Golf Course: weeks ahead
- Ramada Encore by Wyndham Bareilly Civil Lines: a few days ahead
- Radisson Hotel Bareilly Airport: a few days ahead
- Barbeque Nation: a few days ahead
- Book Pilibhit jeep safaris and permits in advance, especially for winter weekends.
- During Urs-e-Razvi book hotels and trains first, and avoid those dates entirely if you are not coming for Urs.
- In wedding season ask the hotel directly if a wedding is on, for both price and noise.
Is Bareilly safe?
- Drink bottled or filtered water and go easy on street food ice, cut fruit and first chaat portions.
- Traffic is the main daily hazard, and do not walk the highway strips or swim in the Ramganga.
- Keep phones and wallets secured around the railway station and bus stands.
Bareilly travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- The Jhumka is a five minute photo stop on the way, not an attraction worth a special trip.
- Phoenix United Mall is a useful regional mall, not a sight, however many lists pad it into one.
- Fun City food is ordinary by its own reviewers' account, so eat in the city instead.
Getting around Bareilly: public transport and more
- Hire an auto by the trip in the city and a car with driver for the Nath circuit, Pilibhit and Ahichhatra.
- Bareilly Junction is the main railhead and Bareilly Airport has limited services, so check your exact date.
- In the old city, be dropped at the edge and walk the last stretch into the dargah and bazaar lanes.
Who Bareilly suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | OK |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Bareilly your trip
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