How many Sainik Rest Houses are there in India?

There are 338 Sainik Rest Houses across India, spread over 30 states and Union Territories, maintained by the concerned Rajya and Zila Sainik Boards. Uttar Pradesh has the largest network at 50, followed by Uttarakhand (33), Rajasthan (32), Maharashtra (30) and Haryana (29). Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Manipur and Meghalaya currently have none. A few of the listed rest houses are not usable at present — declared unsafe by PWD, still under construction, or occupied by the Zila Sainik Board office — and those are flagged individually.

How do I book a Sainik Rest House?

There is no central booking portal. Each Sainik Rest House is reserved directly with the Zila Sainik Welfare Office (ZSWO) that runs it — which is why the phone number is the field that matters. Call the ZSWO for the district you are travelling to, state your service particulars and dates, and carry your Ex-Servicemen Identity Card, discharge book or service ID at check-in. Requests are accepted a maximum of 15 days in advance.

Who is eligible to stay in a Sainik Rest House?

Serving armed forces personnel, ex-servicemen, their dependants, war widows and government officers. Disabled ex-servicemen with more than 50% disability, 'Vir Chakra' series gallantry award winners and Arjuna awardees are entitled to rent-free accommodation, though air-conditioning charges are still payable where applicable.

How many days can I stay in a Sainik Rest House?

No one is permitted to stay for more than 7 days at a time within a period of 6 months. Reservation requests are accepted a maximum of 15 days in advance, which is a much shorter window than the 60 days for Central Government holiday homes — so plan your call accordingly.

What does a Sainik Rest House cost per night?

Charges are set by each Rajya or Zila Sainik Board, so they vary by state, but they are broadly ₹100–₹300 a night for officers, ₹50–₹150 for JCOs and ₹30–₹100 for a dormitory bed for other ranks. Some rest houses also offer boarding, laundry, parking and luggage storage. Confirm the current rate with the ZSWO when you call — these are indicative bands, not a notified tariff.

Is a Sainik Rest House the same as an Army guest house or officers' mess?

No. A Sainik Rest House is run by the civil Zila/Rajya Sainik Board and is open to the whole ex-servicemen community, with published addresses and phone numbers. Army, Navy and Air Force guest houses, transit facilities, officers' messes and unit institutes sit inside cantonments and stations, are controlled by the unit or station headquarters, and have no public directory — access is arranged through your parent unit, station HQ or the relevant service's own channels, not through a public booking line.

Can a widow of an ex-serviceman stay in a Sainik Rest House?

Yes. War widows are expressly covered, and dependants of ex-servicemen are eligible. Carry the dependant identity card or the PPO along with proof of relationship, and confirm the position with the Zila Sainik Welfare Office when you book, since some boards apply their own local conditions.

Can Sainik Rest Houses be booked online?

Generally no. Unlike the Central Government holiday homes, which are booked centrally on the eSampada portal, Sainik Rest Houses are administered district by district and reserved by phone or in person with the Zila Sainik Welfare Office. A few state boards have begun taking requests by email — the addresses published here are the ones the boards themselves list.

Stay & Travel · Ex-Servicemen

Sainik Rest House Finder

Q: What is a Sainik Rest House?

A Sainik Rest House (SRH) is subsidised short-stay accommodation for serving armed forces personnel, ex-servicemen, their dependants, war widows and government officers. There are 338 across India, located in state capitals, district headquarters and Union Territories, and maintained by the concerned Rajya and Zila Sainik Boards under the Kendriya Sainik Board, Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare, Ministry of Defence. Rooms typically cost between ₹30 and ₹300 a night depending on rank and room type.

338 rest houses across India for serving personnel, ex-servicemen, dependants and war widows — from ₹30 a night. Find the one you need, and the Zila Sainik Welfare Office number to call.

What is a Sainik Rest House?

A Sainik Rest House (SRH) is subsidised short-stay accommodation for serving armed forces personnel, ex-servicemen, their dependants, war widows and government officers. There are 338 across India, in state capitals, district headquarters and Union Territories, maintained by the concerned Rajya and Zila Sainik Boards under the Kendriya Sainik Board. Rooms run roughly ₹30 to ₹300 a night depending on rank.

The one thing to know: there is no central booking website. Every SRH is booked directly with the Zila Sainik Welfare Office that runs it, by phone, a maximum of 15 days in advance. That is why this finder leads with the ZSWO number.

Search by district, town or address

Choose your state

Haryana

The densest Sainik Rest House network in India relative to size — almost every district headquarters has one, reflecting Haryana's exceptional share of the armed forces.

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Punjab

Sixteen rest houses across the districts, most of them within walking distance of the railway station — Punjab's SRHs are unusually well placed for rail travellers.

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Karnataka

Ten rest houses from Bengaluru's large Cariappa Bhavan facility down to coastal Karwar and Mangalore, run by the Department of Sainik Welfare & Resettlement.

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Tamil Nadu

Eight Ex-Servicemen's Centres and rest houses, most attached to the Directorate of Ex-Servicemen's Welfare or a district ESM centre.

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Andhra Pradesh

Seven rest houses in Sainik Bhavans across the districts, each run by the local Zila Sainik Welfare Office.

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Kerala

Seven rest houses with the best-equipped rooms in the network — most offer AC rooms alongside a dormitory, and several sit within a couple of kilometres of the railway station.

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Andaman & Nicobar (UT)

Two Sainik Vishram Ghars — Port Blair and Campbell Bay — the only subsidised service accommodation in the islands.

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Delhi

Sainik Vishram Grah at Naraina — a substantial facility on Ring Road, and the most heavily booked single SRH in the country.

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Telangana

Sainik Aramghar in Somajiguda, Hyderabad — a modern AC and non-AC block run by the Rajya Sainik Board.

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Chandigarh (UT)

A single large rest house in Sector 21D with thirteen officers' rooms — a common staging point for veterans travelling into Punjab, Haryana and Himachal.

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Ladakh (UT)

Sainik Sarai at Leh — 690 km from the nearest railhead at Udhampur, and 5 km from Leh airport.

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Puducherry (UT)

Jawan Bhawan on Lawspet Main Road, run by the Rajya Sainik Board, Puducherry.

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Uttar Pradesh

The largest network in the country — fifty district rest houses, each attached to the Zila Sainik Kalyan Evam Purnavas office, and each publishing both a landline and a mobile.

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Uttarakhand

Thirty-three Sainik Vishram Grahs across the Garhwal and Kumaon hills — the densest hill network in India, serving a state with exceptional enlistment.

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Rajasthan

Thirty-two rest houses spanning Shekhawati, Marwar and the desert districts, most within a kilometre or two of the railway station.

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Maharashtra

Thirty rest houses from the Konkan coast to Vidarbha, including the large Pune facility opposite the National War Memorial.

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Himachal Pradesh

Rest houses in almost every hill district.

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Madhya Pradesh

Centred on Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior, Jabalpur and Sagar.

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Jammu & Kashmir (UT)

Sainik Sarais across the Jammu division and the Valley.

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Bihar

Eight district rest houses.

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West Bengal

Including the Darjeeling hill stations and Bagdogra.

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Assam

Run by the Directorate of Sainik Welfare, Guwahati.

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Nagaland

Seven rest houses across the districts.

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Sikkim

Six rest houses in a state with very high per-capita enlistment.

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Chhattisgarh

Five district rest houses.

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Jharkhand

Five district rest houses.

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Gujarat

Four rest houses.

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Mizoram

Two rest houses.

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Odisha

Two rest houses.

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Tripura

One rest house.

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Coverage — all 338 of 338 rest houses

Every Sainik Rest House in the official Department of Sainik Welfare list is here, across 30 states and Union Territories — with the district address, the Zila Sainik Welfare Office number to ring, and the accommodation as published. Each state's count has been checked against the official figure, and the totals reconcile to 338.

Where the source itself records a rest house as unusable — declared unsafe by PWD, not functional, still under construction, or occupied by the Zila Sainik Board office — that is flagged against the entry rather than quietly listed as available. Where the published telephone number was garbled beyond confident repair, the field is left blank instead of carrying a number that will not connect.

No Sainik Rest House at present: Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Manipur, Meghalaya.

Compiled from the official "Sainik Rest Houses in India" list published by the Department of Sainik Welfare and cross-checked against desw.gov.in. Rest houses are periodically closed for repair and telephone numbers change — always ring the Zila Sainik Welfare Office before you travel. Charges shown are indicative bands, not a notified tariff. Last updated July 2026.

Who can stay, and who stays free

Eligibility is broad: serving personnel, ex-servicemen, their dependants, war widows and government officers. Three categories are entitled to rent-free accommodation — ex-servicemen with a disability above 50%, holders of the 'Vir Chakra' series of gallantry awards, and Arjuna awardees. Air-conditioning charges remain payable even for these categories where an AC room is taken.

Carry proof. An Ex-Servicemen Identity Card, discharge book or serving ID is the normal requirement at check-in; dependants and widows should carry the dependant card or PPO with proof of relationship. Rest houses are run by district boards applying their own local conditions on top of the common rules, so confirm what you need to bring when you ring.

Charges, booking window and stay limit

Category	Indicative charge per night
Officers	₹100 – ₹300
JCOs	₹50 – ₹150
Other Ranks (dormitory)	₹30 – ₹100

Two limits catch people out. Reservation requests are accepted a maximum of 15 days in advance — you cannot block a room months ahead the way you would a holiday home. And no one may stay more than 7 days at a time within any 6-month period, so an SRH is a staging post for medical visits, pension work, court dates and family travel — not a long stay. Facilities commonly include boarding, parking, laundry, room service and luggage storage, but vary widely; the larger city rest houses have far more than a district one.

Sainik Rest House vs Army guest house — an important distinction

These two are constantly confused, and the difference decides whether you can simply pick up the phone. A Sainik Rest House is run by the civil Zila or Rajya Sainik Board, serves the whole ex-servicemen community, and publishes its address and telephone number — everything on this page. An Army, Navy or Air Force guest house, transit facility, officers' mess or unit institute is a different thing entirely: it sits inside a cantonment or station, is controlled by the unit or station headquarters, and has no public directory or public booking line. Access is arranged through your parent unit, station HQ, or the relevant service's internal channels — which is why you will not find a nationwide "army guest house list" anywhere credible, and should be wary of sites claiming to offer one.

If you are a veteran travelling and you are not able to arrange a service guest house through your unit, the Sainik Rest House network is the facility actually built for you — and, for stations where no SRH exists, the Central Government holiday homes are open to retired Central Government employees including defence pensioners, at comparable rates.

How this compares with a Central Government holiday home

	Sainik Rest House	Holiday Home / TOH
Run by	Rajya / Zila Sainik Board	Directorate of Estates (CPWD)
For	Serving, ESM, dependants, war widows	Central/State govt employees & pensioners
Booking	Phone the ZSWO directly	eSampada portal
Advance window	15 days	60 / 30 / 15 days
Max stay	7 days per 6 months	5 nights (3 at some stations)
Where	District HQs across India	Tourist towns & state capitals

A defence pensioner is eligible for both. The practical rule: use a Sainik Rest House when you are travelling to a district headquarters on service business — ECHS treatment, pension or SPARSH work, a ZSWO visit — and a holiday home when you are travelling to a tourist destination on leave.