At a glance
- Jamshedpur is the closest big city to Bagmundi: about 80–85 km by road via Chandil and Balarampur.
- From Ranchi it is about 105–110 km via Muri and Jhalda; from Bokaro about 105 km and from Dhanbad about 111 km.
- Barabhum station (Balarampur), about 18 km from the Matha forest, has direct trains from Tatanagar, Bokaro, Dhanbad and Ranchi.
- No permit is needed to drive a private car across the Jharkhand–West Bengal border; hired taxis need a valid inter-state or tourist permit.
- A Saturday–Sunday trip works well: Chandil Dam on the way in, the hills near the resort, then the Ajodhya circuit.
Jamshedpur to Purulia is a short, easy run: about 95 km to Purulia town, and only about 80–85 km to Bagmundi and the southern foot of the Ajodhya Hills, by NH18 through Chandil and Balarampur. That makes Jamshedpur the nearest big city to the hills. Ranchi, Bokaro and Dhanbad are each a little over 100 km away, and all four cities have direct trains to Purulia Junction or Barabhum.
This guide gives the road route and the trains from each city, then a weekend plan built for travellers from the Jharkhand side. Distances are to the Matha forest at the foot of Matha Buru, where our cottages are.
The Jharkhand cities at a glance
| From | Road distance to Bagmundi | Usual road route | Direct trains to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jamshedpur | 80–85 km | NH18 via Chandil and Balarampur | Barabhum and Purulia Jn |
| Ranchi | 105–110 km | Via Muri and Jhalda, then SH4 | Purulia Jn; Barabhum three days a week |
| Bokaro | about 105 km | NH18 via Chas and Purulia | Purulia Jn and Barabhum |
| Dhanbad | about 111 km | Via Jharia to Purulia, then NH18 | Purulia Jn and Barabhum |
Road distances come from OpenStreetMap routing and are rounded. Allow extra time for towns, village markets and slow lorries; as a rough guide, plan on two to three hours from any of these cities.
Jamshedpur to Purulia and the Ajodhya Hills
By road
Leave Jamshedpur on NH18 towards Chandil. Past Chandil the highway runs north-east, crossing into West Bengal near Nimdih, to Balarampur. For Bagmundi, turn off at Balarampur onto SH4, which runs past the carved birds of Pakhi Pahar to the Matha forest and Bagmundi. For Purulia town, stay on NH18 beyond Balarampur.
Chandil Dam, on the Subarnarekha below the Dalma Hills, is just off this road and makes the obvious first stop. Its boating jetty is beside the dam wall, and the free Patkum Museum of finds from the dam's excavations is on a hilltop next to it.
By train
Tatanagar and the Jamshedpur area have several direct trains to Barabhum and Purulia. The ones we checked on erail.in in November 2026:
- Purushottam Express (12801/12802) — Puri to Anand Vihar and back, daily. Northbound it leaves Tatanagar in the early morning and stops at Chandil, Barabhum and Purulia; southbound it passes Purulia and Barabhum in the early evening.
- Subarnarekha Express (13301/13302) — daily between Dhanbad and Adityapur, on the Jamshedpur side. It leaves Adityapur in the afternoon and stops at Chandil, Barabhum and Purulia; the morning train from Dhanbad comes the other way.
- Howrah–Ranchi Intercity Superfast Express (22891/22892) — Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, via Tatanagar, Chandil, Barabhum and Purulia.
- Howrah–Ranchi Vande Bharat Express (20897/20898) — daily except Tuesday, stopping at Tatanagar, Chandil and Purulia, but not Barabhum.
Several other expresses and MEMU locals also run from Tatanagar towards Barabhum and Purulia. Confirm current timings and running days on NTES or IRCTC before you travel.
Road or train from Jamshedpur?
By car it is roughly two hours door to door, and you have the car for sightseeing. By train, the Purushottam takes under an hour and a half from Tatanagar to Barabhum, then about half an hour by road to the resort, so the two are close; the train simply saves driving. For getting home:
| Train | Number | Board at | Runs | Leaves | Reaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vande Bharat Express | 20898 | Purulia Jn | Daily except Tuesday | Morning | Tatanagar, mid-morning |
| Ranchi–Howrah Intercity SF | 22892 | Barabhum | Wed, Thu, Sat | Morning | Tatanagar, late morning |
| Subarnarekha Express | 13301 | Barabhum | Daily | Morning | Adityapur, around noon |
| Purushottam Express | 12802 | Barabhum | Daily | Early evening | Tatanagar, evening |
With check-out at 9 am, the evening Purushottam from Barabhum leaves a full last day for the hills.
Ranchi to Purulia and the Ajodhya Hills
By road
From Ranchi, head east to Jhalda in Purulia district. The straightforward way is the Ranchi–Purulia road, NH314, through Tatisilwai and Muri; at Jhalda, turn south onto SH4 for Bagmundi. The whole run to the Matha forest is about 105–110 km. If you fly in, Ranchi's Birsa Munda Airport is about 112 km from the resort.
Jonha Falls and Hundru Falls both lie off the Ranchi–Purulia road, so one of them can be a stop on the way; Jonha is the shorter detour. Both have long stairways, so think about how much climbing you want before a drive.
By train
- Howrah–Ranchi Vande Bharat Express (20898/20897) — leaves Ranchi early in the morning and reaches Purulia Junction in under two hours, via Muri and Kotshila. The return passes Purulia in the evening. It does not run on Tuesdays.
- Ranchi–Howrah Intercity Superfast Express (22892/22891) — Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays; leaves Ranchi in the early morning and stops at Purulia and then Barabhum. For the return, 22891 calls at Barabhum and Purulia in the early evening and reaches Ranchi at night.
A few other daily expresses and MEMU trains also run between the Ranchi and Hatia area and Purulia; erail.in lists them with current timings.
Bokaro and Dhanbad to Purulia
From Bokaro
By road, take NH18 through Chas towards Purulia, then continue on NH18 south-west to Balarampur and SH4 to Bagmundi, about 105 km in all. By rail, the daily Purushottam Express (12802) leaves Bokaro Steel City in the afternoon and stops at Purulia and then Barabhum; northbound, 12801 reaches Bokaro in the morning. MEMU locals also run between Bokaro and Purulia.
From Dhanbad
By road, go through Jharia and down the Purulia road to the Purulia bypass, then NH18 to Balarampur and SH4 to Bagmundi, about 111 km. By rail, the daily Subarnarekha Express (13301) leaves Dhanbad in the early morning, via Adra, and stops at Purulia in the morning and Barabhum shortly after. The return, 13302, gets back to Dhanbad late at night. There is also an afternoon MEMU express from Dhanbad to Purulia on most days.
Crossing the state border
Driving across the Jharkhand–West Bengal border needs no permit or pass for a private car. Just carry your licence, registration and insurance papers as usual.
Taxis and other commercial vehicles are different: to carry passengers across state lines they need a valid permit, such as an All India Tourist Permit under the All India Tourist Vehicles (Permit) Rules, 2023, which came into force on 1 May 2023. When you hire a cab in Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Bokaro or Dhanbad, ask whether the vehicle has the right permit and whether permit and border charges are included in the fare.
Which station should you use: Barabhum or Purulia?
Barabhum, at Balarampur, is about 18 km from the Matha forest, roughly half an hour by road. From the Jharkhand side it is served by the Purushottam, the Subarnarekha, the three-days-a-week Intercity and a number of MEMU trains.
Purulia Junction is about 52 km away, around an hour or a little more by road, but it is the only stop for the Vande Bharat. Rangamati can arrange pickup and drop at either station on request; ask when you book.
A weekend plan for Jharkhand travellers
From Jamshedpur, Ranchi, Bokaro or Dhanbad you can leave on Saturday morning, see the best of the hills and be home on Sunday night.
Saturday: the drive in and the hills near the resort
- Leave after breakfast. From Jamshedpur, stop at Chandil Dam; from Ranchi, consider a falls stop on the way.
- Check in from 10 am, and have lunch.
- Late afternoon: the carved birds of Pakhi Pahar, 6.5 km away, and a short walk near Matha Buru, 3 km away, back before dusk.
- Evening: a bonfire on the lawn, or a Chhau or Santhali dance performance, arranged on request.
Sunday: the Ajodhya circuit
- Check out by 9 am and take the hill road from Bagmundi.
- Visit the Lower and Upper Dams, Marble Lake, Bamni and Thurga Falls, and Ajodhya Hill Top, 20 km from the resort.
- Leave the hills by mid-afternoon to finish the forest stretches before dark, then drive home.
For a longer stay, our 2-day itinerary and the Ranchi waterfalls day trip have more ideas. For routes from Kolkata and elsewhere, see how to reach Purulia, and to see the cottages, our stay page.
