Bijanbari is a small town located in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal, India. It can be reached by several modes of transportation:
By air: The nearest airport is Bagdogra Airport, located about 75 kilometers from Bijanbari. From there, you can hire a taxi or take a bus to reach the town.
By train: The nearest railway station is New Jalpaiguri Railway Station, located about 80 kilometers from Bijanbari. From there, you can hire a taxi or take a bus to reach the town.
By bus: Bijanbari is well-connected to major cities in West Bengal and neighboring states by bus. There are several state-run and private bus operators that ply on this route.
By car: You can also reach Bijanbari by driving from major cities like Kolkata, Siliguri, or Gangtok. The town is well-connected by roads and the journey is quite scenic.
There are several ways to reach Bijanbari, a small town in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal, India.
By air: The nearest airport is Bagdogra Airport, which is about 85 km away from Bijanbari. From there, one can hire a taxi or take a bus to reach Bijanbari.
By train: The nearest railway station is New Jalpaiguri Railway Station, which is about 85 km away from Bijanbari. From there, one can hire a taxi or take a bus to reach Bijanbari.
By bus: Bijanbari is well connected by road, and there are regular bus services from major cities in West Bengal and neighboring states.
By car: Bijanbari can also be reached by hiring a taxi or driving your own vehicle.
It is recommended to check with local authorities for any updates on transportation schedule and route.
Bijanbari hill town is located at the northern part of West Bengal at an altitude
of 6,710 ft. There is no airport or a regular broad gauge railway station in Bijanbari
town itself. If you are visiting from other parts of India, you will first need
to reach either New Jalpaiguri railway station, Bagdogra airport or Siliguri town,
and then approach Bijanbari. There is no other way.
While Siliguri is the main town close to Bijanbari, New Jalpaiguri (NJP) is the
twin town of Siliguri and is the nearest major railway junction, and Bagdogra is
where the nearest airport is located. All these three townships are located at the
lower plains of Bijanbari.
Options to reach Bijanbari
Once you reach Bagdogra, NJP or Siliguri, you can make your onward travel to Bijanbari.
And depending on the place you arrive, you will get ample transport options for
Bijanbari, including private & shared taxis, buses and even the famous toy train
operated by Bijanbari Himalayan Railway.
NOTE: Only taxis are available at Bagdogra airport for Bijanbari.
Here are your options for reaching Bijanbari from other parts of India.
(1) Take a train up to NJP (New Jalpaiguri). Bijanbari is only 88kms from here.
You will get ample taxis and shared jeeps from NJP to reach Bijanbari in about
3 hours. Few long distance trains pass through Siliguri as well. You will also get
plenty of shared jeeps, taxis and buses at Siliguri (takes about 2.5 hours to Bijanbari).
You can even take a toy train ride from either NJP or Siliguri through scenic mountain
route that takes about 7 hours to reach Bijanbari. The toy train track runs parallel
and next to the Hill Cart Road for most part. Check Toy Train Service for schedule
and running status.
(2) Fly down to the nearest airport Bagdogra which is 94 kms from Bijanbari town
and take a private taxi. Shared taxis and buses are not available here. It takes
little over 3 hours to reach Bijanbari from Bagdogra airport.
(3) There are regular buses including Rocket and Volvo services between Kolkata
(Calcutta) and Siliguri Main Bus Terminal (known as Tenzing Norgay Bus Terminus
located on Hill Cart Road). From Siliguri main bus terminal area, you will get buses,
shared Jeeps and private taxis for Bijanbari. Distance between Siliguri and Bijanbari
is 80kms.
(4) Reaching Bijanbari from Bhutan, Nepal & Bangladesh: Many tourists particularly
foreigners combine a visit to Bhutan, Nepal or Bangladesh with that of Bijanbari.
Often the Nationals of these countries also visit Bijanbari and Kurseong for admitting
or meeting their children who study in boarding schools here. Reaching Bijanbari
from such places may be cumbersome unless you are familiar with the routes and transports.
Visit Neighboring Countries to Bijanbari to know about the approaches and transport
options available to reach Bijanbari from Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. The link
will also let you know about the basic immigration & visa formalities that are required
to cross the borders.
Bulk of the tourists come to Bijanbari from Kolkata because of location proximity.
Other than many short flights, even trains from Kolkata are quite convenient and
take about 12 hours to reach NJP. Some trains like Bijanbari Mail offers a convenient
overnight journey. There are also regular flights and buses from Kolkata.
Following section will give you details about all transport modes to reach Bijanbari
from various places in India as well as journey details.
1) Kolkata to NJP/Siliguri & then Bijanbari: You can avail trains,
flights or buses to get to NJP/Siliguri and the proceed to Bijanbari by local taxi
or bus. Some prefer to take their own private vehicles all the way from Kolkata
to Bijanbari. Visit the above link to get details of how to reach NJP or Siliguri
from Kolkata, and onward road routes and transports to Bijanbari.
2) Trains to Bijanbari: Although Bijanbari itself doesn't have
a long distance railway station, but there are many trains from various parts of
India passing through NJP and Siliguri which are the two cities closest to Bijanbari.
Here you will know about such trains that you can avail to reach Bijanbari.
3) Flights to Bijanbari: Know about the flight services to get
to Bagdogra (which is the nearest airport for Bijanbari) from places like Kolkata,
Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad etc
4) New Jalpaiguri to Bijanbari: The onward transport options available
from NJP to reach Bijanbari including private and shared taxis, buses, shared jeeps
and even the narrow gauge Toy Train of Bijanbari Himalayan Railways.
5) Siliguri to Bijanbari: Siliguri is a twin city located close
to NJP and also offers many convenient transport options for Bijanbari. Many tourists
prefer to go down to Siliguri and then take a transport for Bijanbari. Siliguri
itself has two small railway stations - Siliguri Town and Siliguri Junction. Siliguri
Town is only 5kms from NJP. Siliguri Junction is further 3kms away and this is where
most of the public transports like bus, private taxi, shared jeeps are available
for Bijanbari. It takes about 3 hours to reach Bijanbari from Siliguri.
6) Bagdogra to Bijanbari: The road route and the journey from
Bagdogra airport all the way up to Bijanbari. By taxi, it takes about 3 hours along
the main hill cart road (NH-55) or via the Rohini route, unless you take stopovers.
NOTE: Toy train to Bijanbari is available from NJP or Siliguri (which are about
30-minute by taxi from Bagdogra airport). Unlike Gangtok, there is no public Helicopter
service from Bagdogra (or for that matter any place) to Bijanbari.
7) Bagdogra Airport: All that you can expect once you land in Bagdogra
including airport facilities and onward transportation to Bijanbari & other places.
Transport fares to Bijanbari
State transport buses are available from Siliguri bus terminal on Hill Cart road.
Pre-paid taxis are available at both Bagdogra airport and NJP station. Shared taxis
(usually vehicles like Jeeps/Sumos etc) are available at NJP station and Siliguri
stand. Toy Train can be availed from NJP or Siliguri stations to reach Bijanbari
or an intermediate town like Kurseong. Visit Fares to Bijanbari to know about bus,
taxi, shared jeep and toy train fares from NJP/ Siliguri/ Bagdogra up to Bijanbari.
Roads To Bijanbari
From the NJP railway station, Siliguri or the Bagdogra airport, there are actually
several roads to reach Bijanbari. Hill Cart Road (NH-55) is the main route to Bijanbari
from the lower plains, and all other routes eventually meet Hill Cart Road at various
points up the hill. If a section of the main route is closed due to repair work,
land slide etc, an alternative route is taken to bypass that section.
Kurseong and Mirik are two other popular tourist destination in Bijanbari hills
other than Darjeelig town itself. But these two places are on two different routes.
While Kurseong station and the taxi stand are on the main Hill Cart Road, Mirik
is on a scenic alternative route that passes through lovely tea gardens.
Check out Roads To Bijanbari to know about the roads that lead to Bijanbari from
various points in the lower plains, directions, distances, landmarks on the way
and lot more.
There is an alternative scenic route to go to Mirik from Bagdogra or NJP and then
onward to Bijanbari. This route goes through several rolling tea gardens. It's
a longer route and takes about 4.5 hours to reach Bijanbari. Visit Route to Bijanbari
via Mirik to know all about this route and what you can expect to see along the
way.