Queen Of Hills – Mussoorie Located at a distance of 284 km from Delhi, 202 km from Chandigarh and 34 km from Dehradun; Mussoorie is famously known as queen of hills in Uttarakhand. This town of Dehradun district is located at an elevation of 2005 meters in the foothills of the Garhwal Himalayan range. Mussoorie is a must go place for people who love offbeat, clean, less crowded, nature, wildlife, bird watching, hiking, trekking, sunsets and scenic beauty. The place is gulfed in crown charm, thanks to its popularity in the British period. British Raj has left its mark in numerous hill stations across the nation – Mussoorie is one similar place! Of course, the old British architecture of hotels and churches all across the terrain along with the crowdy Mall Road and indeed the smallest details of old- timey beacon posts will for-sure transport you to the initial period of British Rulers.
How To Reach Mussoorie
Since Mussoorie is a hill station in Uttarakhand, the place can be reached by road, half journey by train or flight. As per your preference you can do break journey from nearby towns or come here directly by road on your own car, by public transport or hire a taxi.
Queen Of Hills – Mussoorie By Road
By road, there are 3 routes that can be taken if your are coming from Delhi on your own:
If you hire a taxi from Delhi then any of the above 2 route can be taken and the price will depend on the route you take multiplied by 11 Rs per km.
By Train
Dehradun is the nearest town with railhead at a distance of about 34 km from Mussoorie, you can do a night train journey that will cost you 900-1000 Rs for AC class and 200-300 for Sleeper class. You will get taxi/bus from Dehradun at Rs 45-50 for bus and 500-800 for taxi.
By Flight
Jolly Grant Airport, Dehradun is the nearest airport to Mussoorie at a distance of 62 km. The main Dehradun city is 28 km from airport so first you have to reach Dehradun from airport by taxi at INR 1200 approx and then start your remaining journey from there or you can directly head towards Mussoorie from airport by taxi that would cost INR 1000-1500
Places To Visit In Mussoorie
Since its not a tourist place like Shimla or Manali, the town can be visited for natural beauty and by people who are interested in relaxing amidst nature, enjoy wildlife, bird watching, sunsets, clouds, peace and sunrise. Still here are the few best places that can be visited on your trip to Mussoorie :
- Lal Tibba : Lal Tibba, Mussoorie’s tallest peak, offers amazing views of the Himalayan ranges full of snow in all its glory. The Japanese telescope that has been installed there allows the tourists to enjoy the beauty of this area. The greenery all around makes the place out of the world with its terrace restaurant providing mouth watering cuisines.
- Sir George Everests House : Most prominent geographer and surveyor, Sir George Everest loved the place so much that he purchased a house on top of the hill during his stay in India in the year 1832 for about 11 years that has now been converted into a gallery. People can enjoy breathtaking views of Aglar River Valley and lush green valley all over and around the house.
- Clouds End : Clouds End is surrounded by the Oak and Deodar plants that can be seen till the end of Mussoorie. Located at around 7 kms from Mussoorie, Clouds End is known for beautiful scenic views of hills with pleasurable climate.
- Kempty Falls : Neighbored by majestic mountain ranges, Kempty Falls is one of the most rushed places to visit in Mussoorie. It’s really the most popular amongst the plenty of Mussoorie sightseeing places at an elevation of 1,364 m allowing the tourists to savor the majestic views of the hill station and natural habitat. The roaring sound of the fall can be heard from a distance and after reaching there, one is simply left speechless seeing the serene beauty of the place and surroundings.
- Bhatta Falls : The fall is located at a distance of 7 km down from Mussoorie, the surroundings of the fall is full of greenery that can be reached either by road or a cable car/rope way and the place is away from crowd and rush of tourists. The place comes with bundle of adventure activities, this place has developed into a nice fun and games spot where locals and excursionists love to spend time. It’s one of the loved places to see in Mussoorie and a perfect place for photography enthusiasts.
- Shedup Choepelling Temple : Like all the hilly areas of India, Mussoorie too has good population of Tibetans spreading their culture and beliefs around the place for which they have a beautiful Tibetan Buddhist Temple close to the IAS Academy. People with interest in meditation and eager to learn about Buddhism can visit the temple at any time of the day.
- Mussoorie Lake : This lake is a manmade lake built by a common man to slow down the flow of water towards down hill that was later converted to a lake and adventure sports place for tourists. its just half a km from Bhatta Falls towards Mussoorie.
- Gun Hill View Point : Gun Hill View Point is the highest peak of Mussoorie from where Himalayan ranges can be seen through binoculars with beautiful views all around. The place can be reached via trekking or rope way in just 200 INR.
- Library Bazaar : Just like Mall road, Library Bazaar is the starting point of Mussoorie with ample of shops and restaurants for tourists to do shopping and try delicious foods.
- Camel’s Back Road : This rock can be seen after walking 3 km from Library Point towards Kulri Bazar. The rock formation is in the shape of a camel’s hump. It offers one of the most amazing views of the Doon valley and has a lot of small eateries that serve mouthwatering snacks.
- Happy Valley : The IAS Academy Mussoorie is located in this beautiful valley. The Municipal Garden and the Tibetan Temple are also located close to the Liberty Point. The valley culminates at the Cloud’s End, a place where Mussoorie’s geographical boundary ends. Thanks to these lodestones , Happy Valley finds its name among the most popular places to go in Mussoorie.
- Jharipani Falls : Jharipani Falls is specially for the nature lovers and mostly visited by photography enthusiasts. The falls is also a trekking point that goes from the beautiful green pathways that reaches to this beautiful waterfall.
- Mall Road : Mall Road is the most walked road in whole of Mussoorie that is visited mostly for shopping and foods. Here, tourists can go to have a beautiful sight of the Dehradun city and weather all around.
- Company Garden : Company Garden as the name suggests is the garden of different kind of flowers and shrubs that are mostly grown and maintained in hilly areas of Mussoorie. The garden is built in British colonial style is best place for photography coz of its colorful flowers and astonishing view of the hills around.
- Landour : Landour, also known as sister of Mussoorie that is about 4 km uphill and is a cantonment area where video and photography is prohibited at some of the points. Lal Tibba, Char Dukan and Landour Bakehouse are few of the best places to visit in Landour.
- Kellogg Memorial Church : Kellogg Memorial Church was built during the British Rule since the place is mostly loved by Britishers in 1903. The church is one of the historical building of Mussoorie and is built in Presbyterian style architecture styled and named after scholar Dr. Samuel H Kellogg. The Landour Language School inside the church was used by Britishers to learn Hindi language during their stay here.
- Mussoorie Heritage Center : Most recent building built in Mussoorie is this Heritage Center in the year 2013 that was built to showcase the heritage and culture of Mussoorie and nearby areas. It houses a great collection of artefacts like vessels, clothes, musical instruments, and many other things that depict the heritage of Mussoorie. Like this, there is also Soham Heritage & Art Centre where you can see paintings, murals, sculptures, and more.
Best Time To Visit Mussoorie
Winters in Mussoorie receives snowfall that is from December till February and temperatures goes below 0 degrees at this time; June, July and August are the monsoon season of Mussoorie and receives lots of rain resulting in landslides and road blocks. March, April and May are the months with pleasant weather not so cold but pleasant. September, October and November months starts with cold breeze and low temperatures.
In short, best & safe months to visit Mussoorie is March, April and May but still if you want to see lush green and beautiful Mussoorie then you can go in monsoon or if you are a snow person then December, January and February are the best months for you.
Best Eateries in Mussoorie
Since its a famous town and can be covered on foot, the place has n numbers of restaurants few of them are listed below. It is recommended to try Rabri Jalebi from Kulhad Rabri Wala along with hot chocolate, rajma chawal and Thukpa from Little Lama Cafe
- Lovely Omelette Center
- Char Dukan Cafe
- Tip Top Tea Shop
- Kalsang
- Kulhad Rabri Wala
- The Green Vegetarian
- The Glen Restrobar
- Neelam Restaurant
- Momos Tibetan Kitchen
- Hill View Restaurant
- Aggarwal Vegetarian
- Cafe Madras
Stays In Mussoorie
Since Mussoorie is a hill station that too favorite place of Britishers, the hotels here are countless ranging between Rs. 1000 – Rs. 2500 or even more. There are plenty of homestays also that can be a good option and it would help the owner also, another good option is camping in areas around George Everest Peak, Clouds End, and Happy Valley. Due to rush and crowd of tourists, the hotels in Mussoorie are full mostly, it is recommended to book the stays in advance.
My Experience of Mussoorie
I have been to Mussoorie twice, once a long back when I was not into blogs or vlogs and on my recent trip to Mussoorie my stay was for about 8-9 days. Since this time we were with our own car and I had ample of time I found this trip more entertaining. We visited more places this time in comparison to last time like Bhatta Falls, Landour Bakehouse, Company Garden, etc. Since, I went Mussoorie just after monsoon that it at the end of August the weather and greenery their was just amazing and beautiful. To get the better idea of Mussoorie please watch my video on Youtube channel linked below. I would suggest to visit Mussoorie for 3 full days if you are travelling on your own to cover all the tourist spots and avoid taking guides.
That’s it from the Mussoorie blogs, stay connected to go through many more such blogs lined up!!
Also, if you wish to see Mussoorie virtually you can visit my youtube channel Fanatical Traveller, don’t forget to like, comment, share and subscribe!
