Things to do in Saharanpur
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Saharanpur
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
The sweet spot: cool days, cold nights, both national parks open and winter birds at Asan.
Best shoulder months. October is warm at about 31 to 32 degrees, February is the last comfortable month.
Pleasant heat around 28 to 29 degrees and Holi at the end of winter.
Extreme heat building to over 40 degrees, but animals concentrate at water before the parks close on 15 June.
Worst months for most visitors: monsoon rain, waterlogging and both Rajaji and Kalesar closed.
What's on
- Sharad Navratri Shakumbhari Devi Mela September/October, nine nights
The temple's autumn peak pilgrimage. Go very early on a weekday if you are not a pilgrim.
- Chaitra Navratri Shakumbhari Devi Mela March/April, nine nights
The spring form of the great Shakumbhari pilgrimage, in still workable weather.
- Shakumbhari Purnima January, full moon
A major Shakumbhari observance in the best weather window, easy to combine with a safari.
- Diwali October/November
City and temples lit and busy, just before safari season opens in mid November.
- Holi March
Celebrated across the city at the end of winter. Joyful and messy, so enter into it deliberately.
- Guru Nanak Jayanti at Paonta Sahib November
The Yamuna day trip at its most alive, in the best safari and birding month.
Best things to do in Saharanpur
Siddhpeeth Shri Shakumbhari Devi Temple
A major Shakti Peeth in a Shivalik gorge beside a hill stream, reached by a scenic road 40 km north of the city.
Bhura Dev Temple
The guardian shrine where tradition requires first worship before darshan at Shakumbhari Devi, and again on return.
Saharanpur Botanical Garden
One of India's oldest botanical research gardens, about 40 acres of mature trees and shaded paths in a congested city.
Nau Gaza Peer
A shrine around a grave said to be 26 feet long, with a dargah and a Hindu temple standing side by side.
Shri Baba Lal Das Temple
A revered 17th century saint's temple that shows the devotional layer of Saharanpur predating the railway city.
Shri Bhuteshwar Mahadev Temple
The city's principal Shiva temple, a fixture of local religious life and busiest on Mondays and in Shravan.
Darul Uloom Deoband
The influential Islamic seminary founded in 1866, viewable from public streets and visitable only by permission.
Lakkad Bazaar
The wood market and workshop lanes where carvers make the sheesham furniture Saharanpur is famous for across India.
Where to stay in Saharanpur
Court Road
first trip, all round base without a car
Walkable to Gandhi Park, the Company Garden area and the Court Road restaurants, with the densest cluster of credible hotels.
Ambala Road
drivers, business travellers and early departures
The highway strip holding the flagship hotels, with larger rooms and easier parking but truck traffic and no evening walk.
Delhi Road
quieter road trip overnight on the Delhi axis
A calmer, smaller hotel cluster convenient for Delhi and Deoband, with less to walk to in the evening than Court Road.
Ram Nagar, near Railway Station
early trains and transit nights only
Handy for Saharanpur Junction at budget prices, but the noisiest and most congested streets in the city.
Behat Road towards Shakumbhari Devi
Navratri pilgrims only
Dharamshalas and small hotels near the temple save a pre dawn drive, but strand other visitors 40 km from the city.
Think twice about
- Railway station and Ghanta Ghar perimeter
The most congested and noisiest streets in the city. Fine for a train, poor for sleeping or walking.
- Old city and Lakkad Bazaar lanes as a base
Narrow, crowded and dusty from the workshops, difficult for cars and with almost no credible hotel stock. Visit by day, sleep on Court Road.
- Ambala Road highway edge on foot at night
A fast, truck heavy highway with no real footpath culture. The hotels are good, the walk outside them is not.
Best restaurants in Saharanpur
Spice Restaurant
The city's top table inside its flagship hotel, a multi-cuisine restaurant used for Saharanpur's better dinners.
Sagar Ratna
The Court Road South Indian fixture, dosas, idlis and filter coffee in a family restaurant open all day.
Food Express Restaurant & Hotel
A popular multi-cuisine stop, one of the city's best for takeaway.
The Vintage Kitchen
The city's contemporary kitchen alternative for Chinese and lunch, included with a very small review base caveat.
Kathi Junction
Kathi rolls and quick Indian Asian snacks at cheap eats prices, minutes from the Court Road hotels.
Janak Dhaba
A no frills dhaba praised locally for authentic food, generous portions, short waits and very low prices.
Swadisht Restaurant
A small cheap Indian restaurant near the Court Road hotels, a useful sit down alternative to rolls.
Lassi Wala Saharanpur
A Court Road lassi stop open morning to late evening, with dosa alongside the lassi it is named for.
Outdoor things to do in Saharanpur
Rajaji National Park Mohand Gate
The closest Rajaji safari gate to Saharanpur, leopard and elephant corridor forest open 15 November to 15 June.
Rajaji National Park Chilla Gate
Rajaji's most popular safari zone, a 36 km track near the Ganga with the park's best elephant and birding chances.
Kalesar National Park
Dense sal and khair forest across the Yamuna with jeep safaris, quieter and cheaper than Rajaji and closed July to September.
Hathni Kund Barrage
A scenic Yamuna barrage where the river is still a hill river, most dramatic in full monsoon flow and pleasant October to March.
Asan Conservation Reserve
A Ramsar listed wetland on the Paonta road where migratory waterbirds gather from October to March.
Gurudwara Paonta Sahib
A major Sikh shrine on a clean stretch of the Yamuna, where Guru Gobind Singh lived for over four years.
Shivalik Gorge Road to Shakumbhari Devi
The 40 km scenic drive from the plain through Behat into the Shivalik gorge, with stream side walks near the temple.
Best hotels in Saharanpur
Sarovar Portico
The closest thing Saharanpur has to a chain standard hotel, a Sarovar group property on Ambala Road.
Hotel Royal Residency
The city's established flagship hotel, full service with the Spice restaurant and a bar lounge listed by the hotel.
Hotel Grand Maurya's
The recommended mid range Court Road base, walkable to dinner, Gandhi Park and the Company Garden area.
Hotel Solitaire
A small, quieter Court Road area hotel, a short walk from Company Garden and the central restaurants.
The Oasis Hotel
The headline hotel of the calmer Delhi Road cluster, suiting road trippers on the Delhi axis.
Hotel Sky Lark
A basic, high volume budget hotel on Ambala Road, broadly as expected for the price and close to the station side.
Prakash Hotel
A budget station hotel about 1.4 km from Saharanpur Junction, for early trains and tight budgets.
Is Saharanpur expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | ₹1,500 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | ₹3,500 a person |
| Splurge | ₹7,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Rajaji National Park Mohand Gate: a few days ahead
- Rajaji National Park Chilla Gate: a few days ahead
- Kalesar National Park: a few days ahead
- Sarovar Portico: a few days ahead
- Hotel Royal Residency: a few days ahead
- Book Mohand and Chilla Rajaji safaris ahead, as permits are quota limited per shift and winter weekends sell out.
- Book the better hotels ahead in November to February wedding and pilgrimage season, and ask if a wedding is on.
- At Navratri, go to Shakumbhari Devi on a weekday and early, as festival queues stretch for hours.
- Book Delhi and Dehradun route trains early when dates touch Navratri, Diwali or Holi.
Is Saharanpur safe?
- Chaotic mixed traffic is the biggest daily danger, especially as a pedestrian in the old city.
- Dress modestly at religious sites, cover your head at Paonta Sahib, and do not photograph inside Shakumbhari temple.
- Expect poor winter air at times and dust year round, including sawdust around the wood lanes.
- In monsoon, expect waterlogged streets and slick hill roads, and take local advice before the Shakumbhari gorge road.
Saharanpur travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- In the wood market, get the wood type and shipping terms in writing and treat antique claims with scepticism.
- Haridwar, Dehradun and Rishikesh are excursions from Saharanpur, not Saharanpur sights.
- Gandhi Park and Ambedkar Park are pleasant local parks, not sights to build a day around.
- Do not plan around Patiala Lassi Bar without checking on the day, as a current listing marks it permanently closed.
Getting around Saharanpur: public transport and more
- Trains from Saharanpur Junction to Delhi, Dehradun and Haridwar are the best way to arrive for most visitors.
- Use e rickshaws for short hops around Court Road and the old city, and confirm the fare before setting off.
- Hire a private car with driver through your hotel for Shakumbhari, Mohand, Kalesar and Paonta Sahib days.
- Walk the old city, Ghanta Ghar and Lakkad Bazaar stretches instead of sitting in a car in peak traffic.
Who Saharanpur suits
| Solo travellers | OK |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Saharanpur your trip
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