Route library · Weekend · Jungle & wildlife
Delhi to Rajaji National Park
Rajaji National Park straddles the Shivalik foothills between Haridwar, Dehradun and Rishikesh, genuine elephant and tiger habitat with the Ganga cutting through part of the reserve. It gets less attention than Corbett but covers real forest and grassland country, close enough for a straightforward weekend safari trip.
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At a glance
- Round trip
- About 450–490 km
- Riding time
- 7–8 hours each way
- Nights
- One night is enough; book the morning safari slot to make the most of the trip
- Start point
- Delhi (via Roorkee and Haridwar)
- Highest point
- About 550 m at the park's Shivalik foothill zones
- Difficulty
- Easy. Flat highway most of the way, easy riding to the park gates.
- Surface
- Good sealed road throughout
- Best season
- November to June, matching the park's open safari season — it closes for the monsoon like most Indian reserves.
The ride
Delhi → Roorkee → Haridwar → Rajaji, a fast, flat run to Haridwar followed by a short ride to whichever of the park's gates you're booked into — Chilla, Motichur or Rawasan, depending on which zone your safari is arranged for.
Book a jeep safari ahead — riders' own vehicles are not permitted inside the core zone. The Chilla range, closest to Haridwar, has good elephant sightings and river frontage on the Ganga; the reserve as a whole holds a real, if lower-profile, tiger population alongside leopard, elephant and a wide range of birdlife.
Day by day
Delhi to Rajaji
Delhi → Roorkee → Haridwar → park gate (7–8 hours). Settle in near the gate ahead of an early safari.
The safari
A morning or afternoon jeep safari inside the park (safaris are jeep-only; motorcycles stay outside the core zone), then head back to Delhi or stay a second night.
Fuel & services
- Fuel is easy the whole way — Roorkee and Haridwar both have pumps.
- Accommodation near the park gates ranges from basic to comfortable forest-lodge-style stays; book both the room and the safari slot ahead.
Road & conditions
Sealed and in good condition throughout, one of the easier rides in the jungle section given the flat approach. Traffic is heaviest around Haridwar itself, being a major pilgrim town, but thins out on the final approach to the park gates.
Bike, fuel & getting help
- Suggested bike
- Fine on any road-legal commuter.
- Fuel gap
- Longest dry stretch is short — a normal tank covers it with margin.
- Spare fuel
- None needed for this route.
- Emergency & logistics
- The nearest well-equipped hospital is the district town, under two hours off; signal is reliable for most of this route; carry the group lead's number and an emergency card.
Best time to ride
November to June, matching the park's safari season (it closes during the monsoon like most Indian reserves). Winter (December–February) is cool and comfortable for early safaris; April–June is hot but gives the best wildlife sightings as animals concentrate around water sources.
What to add to your kit
Beyond the standard ride kit: binoculars if you have them, and light layers for an early-morning safari jeep, which can be cold even when the day warms up fast.
Ride this with a group
We run Rajaji as an easy one-night weekend built around a booked safari — arrange the jeep slot before the ride, not on arrival.