Bareilly is a city in Uttar Pradesh in India. Home to some 1 million people, Bareilly ranks seventh-largest metropolis in Uttar Pradesh. It is a crowded, hectic city where pedestrians compete with cars and rickshaws on what are quite narrow and congested streets.

Understand

Bareilly railways station main entrance

Bareilly lies in the upper Ganges plain, roughly 70 km north of the river and within sight of the outer foothills of the Central Himalaya. It is an important railway and transportation hub, about half-way between Delhi and Lucknow, well connected to most of the major cities in India by rail, and the western part of Nepal by road.

According to tradition the city was founded in 1537 by two brothers, Bans Deo and Barel Deo. They built a fort and named it Jagatpur, after their father, at that time the governor of the region. The term is still used to refer to a neighborhood which is now part of the old city. A small town developed around the fort. During the Moghul period Mirzai Mashid and Jama Mashid were built along with a new fort. After Aurangzeb's death in 1707, Afgan clans, known as Rohillas, consolidated their positions in the area and then after the region became known as Rohilkhand. In 1774 the region fell into the hands of the nawab of Awad.

Later the area was ceded to the East India Company and Bareilly became the headquarters of the district. Administrative buildings were built in the southern suburb of the town and in 1811 Bareilly Cantonment was established. During the mutiny of sepoys in 1857 Khan Bahadur Khan Rohilla formed his own government in Rohilkhand. One year later the rebellion failed and the town was recaptured by the British Army. During the British Rule railways were constructed to link the city to Delhi and Lucknow. Before World War II, various factories were established in Bareilly and the city's economic growth continued at a high rate after independence.

Get in

Bareilly City is equidistant from the state capital Lucknow & National Capital Delhi.

By plane

• 1 Bareilly Airport (BEK  ^IATA). The domestic airport, north of the city, has regular flights to and from Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai. (updated May 2024)

By train

Six railway stations serve the city. The main station is 2 Bareilly Junction lying on the Delhi-Kolkata line. It's a huge and busy station with regular trains from other major cities of the country.

• Ala Hazrat Express (14312) leaves Bhuj at 12:25PM and reach Bareilly at 8:30PM next day.
• Triveni Express (Queen of Sonbhadra) from Shaktinagar/Singrauli to Bareily via Chopan, Mirzapur, Allahabad Jn., Lucknow

By bus

Bareilly has regular buses from Agra, Delhi Jaipur Lucknow, Mathura, and Varanasi. 3 Roadways Bus Stand is the terminus for the State owned buses.

See

• 1 Tomb of Ahmed Raza Khan (Dargah-e-Ala Hazrat). (updated Feb 2016)
• 2 Panchala Museum, M.J.P. Rohilkhand University Campus, ☏ +91 581 252 7263. The collection of the museum includes prehistorical stone sculptures, goddess heads of Mauryan era, and a chariot of Gupta period. The numismatic section displays 500 coins belonging to periods earlier than that of Guptas. Most of the artifacts are from the archaeological site of Ahichatra (or Ahi-Kshetra) (updated Feb 2016)

Hindu temples

• Famous Temples Santoshi Mata Ka Mandir: Near Madhinath, Bareilly (Old Temples). This is the Rural Area.
• Shiv Mandir Madhinath Bareilly City Railway Station. (Old Temples). This is the Rural Area.
• Muni Mandir Nekpur: This is Radha Krishna Mandir. (Old Temples ) OBC almost here. This is the Rural Area.
• Famous Temples in Nekpur: Near Lalita Devi Mandir Nekpur Bareilly. (Old Temples) OBC almost here. This is the Rural Area.
• 3 Alakhnath Temple, Alakhnath, SH 37. The main centre of Naga Sanyasins belonging to the Shiva order of Anand Akhara. (updated Feb 2016)
• 4 Gauri Shankar Mandir, Gulab Nagar. (updated Feb 2016)
• 5 Tapeshwar Nath Temple, Subhash Nagar Colony. This is the oldest temple in town. (updated Feb 2016)
• 6 Trivatinath Mandir, State Highway 37, B.D.A. Colony. (updated Feb 2016)
• Shri Hari Mandir, Model Town, Shahdana, Police Chuki Road. A beautiful Lord Radha Krishna Swaroop temple established in the 1960s with a big AC hall & music fountain, big garden 

Do

• 1 Fun City, Pilibhit Bye Pass Road. A big amusement park including an amphitheater, a 7 Days Restaurant and a water park named Boond. (updated Feb 2016)

Excursions

• Pilibhit Tiger Reserve. One of the few well forested areas in Uttar Pradesh, 70 km away from the city centre. The reserve has its own tourist lodges. (updated Feb 2016)

Buy

Phoenix United

• 1 Amrapali Mall, Lohia Vihar (opposite Wimco Factory, C B Ganj Police Station). The Bareilly’s most important thoroughfare. (updated Feb 2016)
• 2 Phoenix United, Pilibhit Bypass, Mahanagar Colony. (updated Feb 2016)

Eat

• 1 Delhi Mughlai Food, Civil lines (near the bus stand), ☏ +91 97614 05016. 10AM–midnight. (updated Feb 2016)

Drink

• Warehouse, 228-A, Civil Lines, Station Road. noon-12:30AM. The night pub of Swarn Towers Hotel (updated Feb 2016)
• Hard Rock (Allure), 204 B, Civil Lines, Station Road. The cocktail bar at Pancham Continental with live screen and music. (updated Feb 2016)

Sleep

Budget

• 1 Amaya Hotel, Saree Sansar Building, 35A, Civil Lines, Chowki Chouraha, ☏ +91 581 297 0101. A business hotel for budget travellers, located in the most famous market of Bareilly. (updated Feb 2016)
• 2 New R K Guest House, Bareilly College Road, ☏ +91 581 255 0888, +91 975 822 8842. (updated Feb 2016)
• Sparsh Hotel & Resort by Spree, Suresh Sharma Nagar, Pilibhit Bypass Road (10 km from Bareilly Junction), ☏ +91 7351010561, gm.sparsh@spreehotel.com. Check-in: noon, check-out: noon. It has huge wedding gardens, restaurant & swimming pool along with all the facilities of star hotel. (updated May 2022)

Mid-range

• 3 Swarn Towers, 228-A, Civil Lines, Station Road, ☏ +91 581 242 6666. (updated Feb 2016)
• 4 Diplomat Residency, 63, Choupla Road, Civil Lines (near the train station). A 46-room, boutique 3-star hotel. €50 per night (2016). (updated Feb 2016)
• 5 Sobti Continental, Green Park, Bisalpur Road, ☏ +91 81714 12424. US$55 per night (2016). (updated Feb 2016)
• 6 Pancham Continental, 204 B, Civil Lines, Station Road,, ☏ +91 581 251 1881. US$34 per night (2016). (updated Feb 2016)
• Rahi Hotel Rohila, 2 Civil Lines (Near Gandhi Udyan). (updated Feb 2016)

Go next

Nepal - The 4 Banbasa-Mahendrenagar border crossing in the extreme west of Nepal, is the one closest to Bareilly (about 115 km.)