Ghaziabad
Uttar Pradesh city on Delhi's east edge: cheap rooms, Blue and Red line metro, Anand Vihar trains and the Namo Bharat rapid rail.
Namo Bharat rapid rail train at a Ghaziabad station with the elevated corridor stretching east
Why people stay in Ghaziabad
Ghaziabad is a large industrial city in Uttar Pradesh that presses right up against east Delhi, and its selling point is entirely about movement. Kaushambi and Vaishali sit at the end of a Blue Line branch, minutes from Anand Vihar terminal and ISBT. Mohan Nagar is on the Red Line, which runs to Shaheed Sthal at the New Bus Adda. And Sahibabad is now a Namo Bharat station on the Delhi-Meerut regional rapid rail, which is the fastest train most visitors to India will ever board.
The practical shape of the place: Kaushambi and Vaishali are the clean, hotel-heavy border pockets with Pacific Mall and a well-known Radisson; Indirapuram is the big residential township with Shipra Mall and Aditya Mall; Mohan Nagar and the old city around Ghanta Ghar are dense, cheap and entirely local. Rooms run ₹1,200 to ₹2,200 for a plain double and ₹4,000 to ₹6,500 at the Kaushambi four-stars. For proximity to a major rail terminal, that is very good value.
At nine at night Kaushambi is busy with bus passengers and mall crowds, and Indirapuram's market blocks and restaurants trade until half ten or eleven. The old city is shuttered by nine except for the sweet shops. There is essentially no bar scene worth crossing the city for. What there is instead is a permanent churn of people with bags — overnight buses to Nainital, Dehradun and Haridwar leave from the Kaushambi and Anand Vihar stands all evening, and the Anand Vihar terminal handles trains east to Lucknow, Varanasi and Patna.
Base yourself here if you are travelling on to Uttarakhand or eastern Uttar Pradesh, if you want the cheapest clean bed with a metro station attached, or if you are curious about the new rapid rail. Skip it if you want Delhi sightseeing on foot — Connaught Place is 45 minutes and the Red Fort an hour. Skip the old city hotels too, unless you know exactly what you are booking; the border pockets are a better bet at almost the same price.
Kaushambi is the clear first choice: it is a small, tidy pocket a few hundred metres from Anand Vihar ISBT and Kaushambi metro, with the district's best hotels, Pacific Mall, and a straight Blue Line run into Delhi. Vaishali is similar and marginally quieter. Indirapuram, around Shipra Mall and Ahinsa Khand, gives you more restaurants and cheaper flats at ₹1,500 to ₹2,500, but it is 2 to 3 km from the nearest station and depends on e-rickshaws. Expect ₹4,000 to ₹6,500 at the Kaushambi four-stars and ₹1,200 to ₹2,200 for budget doubles. Avoid hotels advertised as Ghaziabad that sit on the Meerut Road beyond Mohan Nagar — they are far from every metro line. Avoid rooms facing the ISBT approach road; buses reverse and honk all night.
Things to do in Ghaziabad
Board at Sahibabad station on the Delhi-Meerut rapid rail corridor and run east through Guldhar and Duhai towards Meerut at up to 160 km per hour. Standard-coach fares are in the low hundreds and the ride is smooth, air-conditioned and nearly empty midweek. It is the most futuristic thirty minutes in the NCR.
Kaushambi bus stand and Anand Vihar ISBT sit side by side at the Delhi border, five minutes from Kaushambi metro. Overnight Volvo services to Nainital, Haridwar, Rishikesh and Dehradun leave through the evening from about ₹700 to ₹1,400. Book ahead in May and June and arrive forty minutes early.
In the old quarter near Kavi Nagar, an ancient Shiva temple with a swayambhu lingam and a busy Monday crowd. Free, open early morning to late evening, and completely untouristed. Combine it with a walk through the Ghanta Ghar market lanes for cloth, brass and a very good jalebi.
City Forest at Karhera, on the Hindon riverbank, is a large green space with walking loops, a lake and boating, developed as a public park. Free or nominal entry, best from 6.30am. In winter it draws waterbirds. Avoid it after heavy monsoon rain, when the low paths flood.
Shipra Mall and Aditya Mall face each other in Indirapuram off the Noida link road, with cinemas, food courts and a full run of Indian high street brands. Open until eleven. It is where the whole township eats on a Saturday and it is the only reliably lively place in Ghaziabad after nine.
Anand Vihar Terminal, walkable from Kaushambi, is Delhi's eastern railway head for services to Lucknow, Varanasi, Patna and beyond. It is far less chaotic than New Delhi station. Reach it forty-five minutes before departure, check the platform boards, and buy water inside rather than on the approach road.
What to see
Hotels in Ghaziabad
No hotels are listed in Ghaziabad yet. The nearest ones are on the region page.
Every hotel we cover in Ghaziabad
- Hotel Keshav 3★ · 4.8/5
- Amaira Hotels & Banquets 3★ · 4.1/5
Getting around Ghaziabad
From IGI, take the Orange Line to New Delhi, the Blue Line from Rajiv Chowk to Yamuna Bank and change to the Vaishali branch for Kaushambi — about 90 minutes for under ₹200, or ₹1,000 to ₹1,400 by cab in an hour. From New Delhi railway station, Blue Line via Rajiv Chowk takes about 40 minutes. Locally, the Blue Line branch serves Kaushambi and Vaishali, the Red Line covers Mohan Nagar and Shaheed Sthal, and Namo Bharat runs from Sahibabad east towards Meerut. E-rickshaws are everywhere at ₹10 to ₹30, and autos into Indirapuram ask ₹60 to ₹120.
Questions about Ghaziabad
No. Ghaziabad is a city in Uttar Pradesh, immediately east of Delhi, with its own municipal corporation and police. Its western edge at Kaushambi and Vaishali touches the Delhi border, which is why the Blue Line metro reaches it. Everything about licensing, taxes and vehicle rules follows Uttar Pradesh, not Delhi.
From Kaushambi bus stand and the adjacent Anand Vihar ISBT, both five minutes from Kaushambi metro. Overnight Volvo and semi-sleeper services leave through the evening, mostly between 8pm and 11pm, from around ₹700 to ₹1,400. Book online in advance during May, June and the Diwali and New Year weeks.
It is the Delhi-Meerut regional rapid transit service, running on an elevated corridor from the Delhi side through Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Duhai and Modi Nagar towards Meerut at up to 160 km per hour. Anyone can buy a ticket at the station or on the app. Standard-class fares are in the low hundreds and it is comfortable and rarely full.
It is workable if you stay in Kaushambi or Vaishali and use the Blue Line, which reaches Rajiv Chowk in roughly 35 to 40 minutes. It is the cheapest metro-connected option on the east side. But you are commuting to every sight, and by the third day that starts to hurt.
