Taxi
Amb Andaura station taxi
The broad-gauge railhead for the Devi circuit. Chintpurni is about forty minutes up the road, Naina Devi is across the Sutlej, and the hills start roughly an hour after you leave the platform.
- A car reaches you
- 2–2.5 hrs
- Pickup points
- 3 in Amb Andaura
- Cars
- Maruti Dzire, Maruti Ertiga, Toyota Innova Crysta, Tempo Traveller 17+1
Call +91 88941 60344Answered at any hour, in English or Hindi.
Amb Andaura
In short
Yes — we meet trains at Amb Andaura, and it needs booking rather than chancing because there is very little waiting at that station outside the hour a train arrives. It is the closest broad-gauge railhead to Chintpurni, which is forty to fifty-five minutes away, and it is the usual starting point for the Shaktipeeth circuit. Dharamshala is two and a half to three hours from here. Send us the train number and we will be on the platform side when it stops.
- Chintpurni is forty to fifty-five minutes from the station, the closest shrine to this railhead.
- Baglamukhi temple is an hour and a half to two hours away by road.
- Kangra town and Brajeshwari Devi are both two to two and a half hours.
- Dharamshala is two and a half to three hours, which is quicker than going round by Pathankot.
- Una district sits low and hot; it is routinely much warmer here than in the hills you are heading for.
Where we meet you
The spots a car can actually wait
- Point 12–2.5 hrs from KangraThe station forecourt
Directly outside, and the only sensible place to meet at Amb Andaura because there is nothing else there — the station sits away from the town with open country around it. The driver waits from before the scheduled arrival and will have a name board. This is a booked pickup in the strong sense: what is available on spec when a train empties is whatever turned up, at whatever price the moment allows.
- Point 22–2.5 hrs from KangraThe highway junction at Amb
The main road a few minutes from the station, used when a group is travelling in two parties or when somebody is arriving by bus rather than by train and the two need to leave together. It has fuel and somewhere to buy water, neither of which the station reliably does, and it is the last easy stop before the road starts climbing.
- Point 31.5–2 hrs from KangraChintpurni, for the return leg
Not a station pickup at all, and on this list because half the journeys that start at Amb Andaura end at Chintpurni going the other way. Pilgrims frequently want the temple in the morning and an afternoon train, which means a car that comes back for them — and the temple car park in season is a place where finding one on the day is genuinely difficult.
From here
What people ask us to drive
- Chintpurni
- Baglamukhi temple
- Naina Devi
- Kangra town
- Brajeshwari Devi, Kangra
- Dharamshala
Fares are for a Maruti Ertiga (6 passengers); ask for the price in any other car. One way, for the whole car and its driver — not per person. It is the fare we quote before the car leaves and the fare you pay; nothing is added afterwards. A return the same day, a night on the road or a detour is priced when you ask.
Local detail
What it is like driving here
Getting a car in and out
This is the lowest and hottest place on this list and it does not feel like Himachal at all. Amb Andaura sits in Una district, where the state runs out into the plains, and in May and June it is a great deal warmer here than in Dharamshala — people step off an air-conditioned coach into something they did not pack for. The station itself is isolated, with open ground around it and the town a little way off, so there is no natural place to wait and very little shade. The driving is easy for the first half hour and then stops being easy: the road to Chintpurni climbs steadily with tight sections near the top, and the temple approach in season is congested in a way that has nothing to do with the road's width. Any of our vehicles manages the run, Travellers included, which matters because a pilgrimage group is usually a large one travelling together.
Who rings us from Amb Andaura
Almost entirely pilgrims, and almost entirely from Punjab. The Shaktipeeth circuit — Chintpurni, Jwala Ji, Naina Devi, Brajeshwari and Baglamukhi — is usually done over two or three days and a great many families do the first leg by train to here rather than driving the whole way from Jalandhar or Ludhiana. That shapes every booking. Groups are large, often three generations, with elderly passengers for whom the walk from a car park matters more than the driving time. The itinerary is fixed by which temples and in what order rather than by how far apart they are. And the return is nearly always to a specific train, which means the day is built backwards from a departure time and the driver's job is to protect it. A smaller second group are people using this station simply as the nearest railhead to Dharamshala from Punjab — under three hours by road, against a much longer journey via Pathankot — and they want one long transfer and nothing else.
The car
What we would send
- Maruti DzireCouples, solo travellers, and anyone doing the Kangra and Dalhousie side
- Maruti ErtigaFamilies, four to six travelling together, and anything going high
- Toyota Innova CrystaSix who want the long transfer to be comfortable, and high routes with weight aboard
- Tempo Traveller 17+1Extended families and small office groups on the main hill roads
Read more about this placeClose
Almost nobody gets off at Amb Andaura to be at Amb Andaura. It is a railhead in Una district where the plains end, and the reason people are on the platform is that it is the closest the broad gauge gets to Chintpurni.
That makes it a very particular kind of taxi stop: one arrival, one direction of travel, and a group that has usually been up since before dawn.
Book it to a train number
There is not much waiting at this station between trains. It sits away from the town with open ground around it, and what you find on the day is what happened to turn up. Send us the train number and the driver is on the forecourt before it stops.
It is much hotter here than where you are going
Una district is low, and in early summer it is a great deal warmer than the hills you are heading for. People step off the train dressed for Dharamshala, or arrive in Dharamshala dressed for Una. Both are uncomfortable and both are avoidable.
Questions
What people ask before they book here
How much is a taxi from Amb Andaura?
In a Maruti Ertiga (6 passengers). One way: Dharamshala, ₹4,500. Every fare is for the whole car with its driver, not per person, and nothing is added afterwards. Anywhere else is quoted when you ask.
How long is it from Amb Andaura station to Chintpurni?
Forty to fifty-five minutes. It is the closest of the shrines to this railhead, which is the main reason people get off here, and the road climbs most of the way so it takes longer than it looks on a map.
Will a taxi be waiting when my train arrives?
Ours will be if you have booked it. There is not much sitting at Amb Andaura on the chance of a fare — the station is away from the town and it is quiet between trains — so arriving and hoping is a worse plan here than at most stations. Send us the train number and we will be there before it.
Can you do the whole Devi circuit from the station?
Yes, and it is the most common booking here, but it is two days rather than one if Naina Devi and the Kangra shrines are both on the list. Baglamukhi alone is around two hours from the station and Brajeshwari a little more. We will lay out an honest order and say where the overnight should be.
Is this a better railhead than Pathankot for Dharamshala?
For anyone coming from Punjab or Delhi on this line, often yes — under three hours of road against a longer journey round by Pathankot. For anyone already on the Pathankot line it is not. Tell us where you are starting and we will say which we would use.
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