Mussoorie is known as the 'Queen of Hills' in India, a treasure chest of nature that fills the heart with love for such places. The divine beauty that surrounds the place is just unmatched. It is picked up as the best tour and travel destination throughout the city. The place has the ability to plunge you from the chaotic, symmetrical schedules and gives life, a new meaning. It was established by a British military officer - Lt. Frederick Young in 1827. Whether you are a honeymoon couple, have a group of friends or want to spend a family vacation, this place has always been one of the top preferences for an ideal break. If you are in Mussoorie, you have many eye soothing places to visit. The place is nearest to Dehradun, about 35kms. It is securely placed at the foothills of the gigantic Himalayas. The nearest cantonment area is Landour, which itself is a beautiful place to stay and spend some time at leisure.
Being well-connected to the capital city Dehradun, makes it easier for Mussoorie to get linked to various other places. If you are planning to visit Mussoorie, you can take up the road to Dehradun and via Dehradun, you will get on the route to the Queen of Hills. Many state road transport corporations offer services to and fro Mussoorie, it is the most visited place. There are many taxis which can take you to this place. There is a separate bus depot in Dehradun near Railway Station, from whence one can board buses and taxis for Mussoorie and places nearby. If you wish to travel by air, then Jolly Grant Airport is the nearest one, which is around 54 kms away from there. You can easily reach Mussoorie by taking bikes or Scooty on rent too. This typical method is quite popular here.
Mussoorie being the most famous tourist spot of Uttrakhand, there is no scarcity of hotels in there. The Mall road is filled with abundance of hotels. One can easily pick on hotels from the gamut of hotels with varying budgets and sizes. There are some of the high-end hotels like Rokeby Manor, Jaypee Residency, Hotel Mall Palace, Royal Orchid Fort Resort, Country Inn & Suites and Dunsvirk Court, Hotel Crystal Palace, Seclude, Hotel Devlok Primal, Ilbert Manor, Hotel Silver Rock, Hotel Everest, Hotel Emerald Heights and Hotel Brentwood. There are many other guest houses, lodge which are well within the budget.
Other than having some of the exhilarating places to look for, which are enlisted below, you may also like to have some really thrilling experience through the adventure sports zones of Mussoorie. The Mussoorie Adventure Park, where the X-treme Adventure Sports Company puts up some of the most exciting sports activities is quite popular there in. There is one more among others the Snow Adventure Zone, where the TRAS offers the packages of adventure activities. You will have an edgy experience for sure.
Tourism is the most evident part of Mussoorie travel, thus these are some of the spots, commonly known and most visited. September to June is the best time to travel here, but one must do all the bookings before hand as the peak season sees a lot of tourists from across the world, travelling to this small city of natural beauty. Thus, you should make sure to do all sorts of booking in advance. The roads are totally in the hills, which may cause a bit of trouble, in case of rainfall, you must sbe ready and look for weather forecast too. While packing for here, you must have your rain gears, some tinned food (packed ones, like biscuits etc.), you never know when and for how long you may remain stranded. But that is also part of the exciting journey, do not get disheartened by such breaks. While travelling in any part of Uttrakhand,especially in the foothills of Himalayas, you have to take care of your health and handle extreme weather conditions with prerequisite measures.
The stunning architecture of the buildings, wood stuff for sale, a variety of people, fast food stalls – all these things decorate the Mall road beautifully. People, who are interested in buying homegrown shawls and woollen garments at a reasonable price, can easily get from the roadside shops, which are huge in number.
An amazing waterfall situated around 13kms away from the city. This place should not be missed. The water flows down the rocks and gains speed during the monsoon season. If you love this sort of places, Kempty Falls is a perfect spot to have fun.
There is an interesting short story behind the name of this place. It is said that in the pre-independence era, a gun shot was fired at the stroke of twelve in the noon which helped the local people to adjust their clock time accordingly. Isn’t it great?
It is the highest peak of Mussoorie. For the best of Himalayas views, you must stand still and enjoy the scenic view offered by the place. It also has beautiful British architectural styled hill houses.
The place is near IAS Academy and LBS National Academy of Administration. There is a Tibetan Monastery, this place offers a beautiful view of Hathipaon.
The place is about 35kms from Dehradun. It is a beautiful scenic place. It is the second of five parallel folding of majestic Himalayas.
It is about 9 kms from Mussoorie. From where the bus drops you, you need to walk for about a km. Wild flowers, creeps and shrubs gives a mesmerizing feel, closer to nature.
The humps of the camel like rock structures at the end of the road, provides a scenic place to click some natural photographs. The place is also enticing in true sense.
Mussoorie is well-connected by roads with Dehradun, Delhi, Roorkee and Saharanpur. Regular buses and other vehicles are accessible too. Plenty of hotels and restaurants are available to stay and enjoy. There are other places as well, for example the Christ Church, Lake Mist, Lal Tibba, Nagdevta Temple, Benog Wildlife Sanctuary, Cloud’s End and Jwala Devi Temple. These are the places one must visit while visiting Mussoorie.
A trip to Mussoorie usually includes a stay in Dehradun then ride or drive to Mussoorie and within a few days to some other place like Dhanaulti and Chakrata. Uttarakhand is known for being a belt of tourism, there are many places in close proximity to each other, that a fortnight long tour would atleast take to cover some of the popular places here.
Be it Kalsang, Aggarwal Vegetarian, Maggie Point, the Pakora stall, Café de Tavern, Madras Café, Funjabi Tandoorz or Udupi Restaurant, the best part about Mussoorie is there is so much in there for tourists, that you will not find much of a local taste. Every other food be it, the momos or Punjabi food flavours, every dish are made closer to authentic. There are a large variety of small snack points across the place. While you are travelling to Mussoorie from Dehradun, there also the road is filled with mouth watering delicacies units. Once you reach near Mall Road the number of eateries increases. The Library Chowk itself has many options. There is a small momos vendor, who sits below a deck, you have to take a few steps down the Mall Road, he serves the best of soup and momos. If you are planning to visit in the summers, then Mussoorie is not just the treat to your eyes but to your gustatory glands too!
People in Mussoorie have accepted somehow that they have to be natural guides. They are willing to help you in every possible way due to incoming of tourists every year in large numbers. More than often during late summers, the entry to Mussorie is closed due to high traffic, and the great number of footfalls in there. It is a small city and getting so many tourists, makes it congested, sometimes the tourists may outnumber the residents, which creates a lot of chaos. Residents are simple and sober, they enjoy the scenic beauty and respect nature a lot. You may find each one of them contributing somehow in the tourism industry, as it is the only pillar of economic support there. Burned up corns or “Bhutha”, is one of the most popular snack, easily found during Rainy season and off late too. There multiple cultures in the city, majorly there are Garhwali speaking people, but they are quite comfortable with Hindi as well.
Many schools and colleges in Mussoorie dates back to British Era. They are prestigious and marks rightful education. Some of the oldest names are: Convent of Jesus & Mary (1845), Oak Grove School (1888), St. George’s College (1853), Woodstock School (1854), Wynberg Allen School (1888). Some of the colleges in Mussoorie are Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), the Mussoorie Institute of Education, the Mussoorie Management Institute, Municipal Postgraduate College, Industrial Training Institute (ITI) and Institute of Technology Management (DRDO).
The place is most visited in summers, so you can well guess, that the heat is not scorching like plains. Even in summers 30 C is the average maximum temperature. While the minimum can dip to 10oC , due to brisk shower. As it is located in quite an altitude, the winters are chilly, months between October to February are really cold. While in June, the soothing breeze bring relief from the heat of the plains. During the monsoon, the roads may get clogged due to landslides but the greenery looks all the more beautiful in monsoon. And during the deep winters, the snowfall may block the roads, but there is a huge crowd storming in to witness the beautiful white Mussoorie.
Other than some of the common festivals celebrated across Uttrakhand like Uttarani in January, Phooldeyi festival in March and April, Bhikhauti in April, Hariyala in July and Gheeya Sanskriti in August. There are Summer festival, Autumn festival and Winter carnival in Mussoorie which invites a lot of tourists from across the world. Especially the Winter Carnival sees a lot of celebrities, a great pomp and show, cultural activities and food.
While you are travelling in an unknown place, there are some of basic necessities like money and health care centres which you may need during unforeseen circumstances. Some of the banks in Mussoorie are:
These are some of the famous names among hospitals in Mussoorie, there are yet bulk of helath care centre and clinics in Mussoorie.
There are certainly many things which makes Mussoorie a favourable place, tourists find it amazing due to not just the tourists attractions in the place but the serenity, the beautiful landscapes, accompanies high-end facilities and polite crowd. These days people find it amusing to spend some time off the malls, cities shopping etc and find solace in the peaceful foothills of Himalayas. This place is one such place which is a complete package of being the best of tourism!
You must make a trip to this state, cover most of the Uttrakhand and donot forget to keep Mussoorie in the list, it is just worth a lot!
Travelling needs destination, unique, subtle and mesmerizing, these words define Mussoorie in true terms!
