Mussoorie: The Queen of mountains

Company of Friends or family, plenty of time, a long road ahead and a hill station. Thats all I need for a perfect vacation. Rest all will fall in place on its own. So hoping that, next day early morning we left for The Queen of mountains “Mussoorie”. Mussoorie is one of the major tourist destination in India. As we were going there for the first time, so the question popped up was- where is Mussoorie located?

But thanks to the technology, we did not have to worry about it so much. The biggest advantage is that it is not too far from Delhi or Chandigarh.

Table of contents

• Where is Mussoorie located.?
• Hotels in Mussoorie
• What is famous in Mussoorie
• Places to visit in Mussoorie
• – Mall road
• – Camel back road
• – Lal tibba
• – Kempty falls
• – Gun hill point
• – Company garden
• – Jwala devi temple
• Best time to visit Mussoorie

Our plan was to reach this hill station at around noon time, and explore the hills of Mussoorie for next 2 days. There were 6 of us including kids, so we had rented a sef drive SUV for next 4 days. It’s 5 hrs journey from Chandigarh to Mussoorie.

Where is Mussoorie located.?

Mussoorie lies just beside the capital of Uttarakhand, Which is Dehradun. You can take the help of Google maps, or ask anybody in Dehradun. As soon you come out of Dehradun, the slope to the Mussoorie starts.

Hotels in Mussoorie

There are plenty of Good hotels in Mussoorie hill station. The range can vary between 700INR to 20000INR per night depending on the season. A few luxury hotels you can find in Mussoorie are:

JW Marriott,
Ramada international,
Club Mahindra,

Welcom Hotel and
Jaypee Hotel.

While there are plenty budget hotels in and around the Mussoorie area.

We liked Hotel Club Mahindra for its decent atmosphere and the facilities it provides for the money spent. It is not too costly like any other five star hotels. Be it enticing new experiences or exciting adventures, this resort delights you in many ways.

The recreational zone inside the hotel provides indoor games for all age groups. Games like table tennis, pool table and a few others are there for adults. While for kids a lot of fun activities and games are available inside the zone.

This hotel has enough open area nearby the reception and other rooms in the hotel. That you won’t have to spend all the time locked up inside the room itself. Because most of the hotels provide a decent room but without any lobby, balcony or any other open area.

The best thing about this hotel is its homely experience. It’s away from the crowd and market area. While the food here is way too delicious. The best thing we liked our here was the buffet dinner.

What is famous in Mussoorie!

The hill station which is termed also as “The Queen of mountains”. The sloping road to the Mussoorie starts as soon you exit Dehradoon. The climb is about 35km from Dehradoon to Mussoorie.

As soon the sloping road started, my cousin started guiding me about which gear the car should be driven in at any given moment. And how careful I should be while driving at such narrow roads. He is a big adorer of google maps too. In fact he doesn’t even cross a road without looking at google maps.

So we paid the entry tax for our car and entered Mall Road. Checked in to hotel and after freshening up came back to Mall Road.

Places to visit in Mussoorie

When you are in Mussoorie, following places are must visit to complete your trip here.

1. Mall road

The main promenade of the Mussoorie is called “Mall road”. The Mall Road is prefect for shopping and a long walk in the market area. Mall Road is stretched from Picture palace on one end to the Library on other end of the road. So Vehicles are not allowed from 04:30PM to 10:30PM on the Mall Road.

The Mall Road has everything a person needs for perfect outing at a hill station. There are a lot of options for street food, restaurants, and roadside shopping. Be it delicious road side food while roaming on the crowded Mall Road or or a hot tea or coffee in the chilling weather of the valley.

2. Camel back road

Next day in the morning while having breakfast, to get some advise. We asked the staff of hotel, about how should we go about exploring the Mussoorie.

They suggested to take a walk along the Camel’s back road first. Then we will reach Library Chowk.
From library Chowk we should go to Lal tibba then Mussoorie lake and Company’s garden.

Camel back road provides a picturesque view of the valley. The road is termed as camel’s back road because the rock formation gives a shade of camel’s hump at the end of the road. The road is stretched for 3kms from Library Chowk to Kulri Bazar.

Apart from the Camel back rock formation at camel back road, it’s really very soothing experience to walk along the road.

Camel’s back road is perfect for taking long morning or evening walks with a beautiful view of the Doon valley around The road. It also provides great sunset view from the road.

The day we were there, it was too foggy to see anything. So we could not click the Natural Camel’s hump at the end of the road. So walking through the foggy weather, we reached at Library Chowk 30 minutes later.

And then, we reached at the end of the road at Library Chowk. We reached at Library Chowk and sipped our morning masala tea at the chowk. In the morning time, locals in the area are in relaxed mood. So we had nice chitchat with locals while sipping our tea. Then one of the photo studio’s owner advised us to get our photo clicked in local dress.

After a walk through Camel back road and spending some time at Library Chowk, we left for Lal tibba at around 11:00 in the morning.

Also read: Road to the most beautiful temple, city and the most scenic fort(2)

3. Lal tibba

Lal tibba is the peak point on the Depot hill in Landour. This is basically the highest point in Mussoorie, where a telescope is fixed on the roof of a cafe.

The immensely beautiful view of the Himalayas is visible from the Observation point through the telescope. The close look of Badrinath, Kedarnath is possible through the telescope. Tourists like this spot for its serene environment and captivating view of Himalayan peaks.

I am afraid of heights but I don’t know why I like mountains.

“Climb mountains not so the world can see you, but so you can see the world.” 

– David McCullough Jr.

4. Kempty falls

Kempty falls are 14kms from Mussoorie. This is perfect picnic spot nearby Mussoorie. Where you can enjoy bath under the kempty falls. Or you can opt for boating option too, which is available nearby artificial pond. In case you fell hungry, then too there are a lot of options available nearby falls area.

First we have to reach Ram gaon. Which is 14kms from Mussoorie. From there cable car is available, which leads down to the Kempty falls area. Once you reach down to Kempty falls, there are plenty of restaurants, cafes and small shops for shopping souvenirs or similar stuff.

5. Gun hill point

This place is the 2nd highest place in Mussoorie, Situated above the Mall Road. Gun hill point is accessible via the cable car, or we can trek up by 20 mins walk.

Gun hill point too provides picturesque view of the Himalayan mountain range and Doon valley around Mussoorie. Besides that, great view of Mussoorie valley too is visible from the Gun hill point.

While the highest point “Lal tibba” is not too crowded and has not too many shops or restaurants. That limits down the options to eat or for refreshments.

The Gunhill point is a bit bigger and has a few cafes and restaurants. So it’s a bit more crowded than the Lal tibba. Still the visit to this point is worth because of the captivating view it provides to the photographers and nature lovers.

6. Company garden

We also got tired after being at too many places and spending so much time in the car throughout the day. So this was the perfect place to have some gala time and relax with family and kids.

The garden is around 3km from the Mall Road. So we reached the garden at around 16:00. The garden having beautifully architecture, is planned and maintained by the municipality of Mussoorie.

For all age groups, there are options available inside the garden to pass the time. So, as we reached the garden, me and cousin got busy in playing stall games.

While our wives and kids got busy in taking toy train rides and other similar stuffs. While artificial waterfalls and view of the valley from the garden makes it more captivating. So the garden is perfect for refreshing the mood.

7. Jwala devi Temple

Located in benign hill, this temple is centre of faith for the devotees of goddess Durga. The temple is 9kms from Mussoorie. Surrounded by lush green forests. This place is centre of attraction for devotees as well as nature lovers.

So after spending some time at company gardens, we reached Jwalaji temple in the evening. Beautiful Shivalik range is visible on one side, while lush green Yamuna valley on the other side.

Best time to Visit Mussoorie

Summers (March to June) are the best time to explore this hill station. As the temperature is pleasant over here. You can enjoy the sightseeing as well as all adventurous activities in summers.

In case you want to enjoy snowfall or want to plan a romantic trip or honeymoon in the hills. Then November to February is the prefect time for that purpose. If you are here in December, then there are very much chances that you might experience snowfall.

While in monsoons, the beauty of this hill station is at its peak. Sipping a cup of coffee and watching the beautiful foggy hills, through the balcony of your resort makes it worth visiting in Monsoons.

But only problem in monsoon season is the chances of landslides. Due to that reason most of the adventure activities are closed and thus the frequency and number of tourists reduces by great margin.

So don’t ask next time, that “Where is Mussoorie located?”