Mussoorie Travel Guide: Places to Visit, Seasons and Planning

Mussoorie runs along a horseshoe ridge, and most of its sights lie on or just off it: Mall Road in the middle, Landour at the east end and Lal Tibba, the highest point. The waterfalls, the lake and the wildlife sanctuary are short drives out of town, on the roads to Dehradun and towards Yamunotri.

Mall Road and Kulri Bazaar

Mall Road is the town's main shopping street. It runs through the heart of Mussoorie and joins the two bazaars, Kulri Bazaar and Library Chowk. Uttarakhand Tourism lists shops selling winter wear, toys, gifts and souvenirs along it. Incredible India, the Ministry of Tourism's site, describes it as a colonial-era promenade with bakeries and tea and momo stalls, which comes alive at dusk.

Gun Hill

Gun Hill is the highest point on Mall Road, and the way up is a cable car. The district administration lists it as the second highest peak in Mussoorie, at 2,122 metres, and the summit looks out over the Himalayan ranges. It takes its name from a gun the British installed on the hill in 1865, which was fired at noon every day to give the time.

Camel's Back Road

This is a walking road with sunset views of the Himalayas. Uttarakhand Tourism points out a rock formation along it that looks like a sitting camel, and the district administration also lists horse riding here. It says the top of Camel's Back hill commands a view of the hills and the valley and, on clear days, of the Ganga and the Yamuna.

Company Garden and Mussoorie Lake

The Municipal Gardens, known as Company Bagh, were the botanical gardens of Mussoorie before Independence. Uttarakhand Tourism says they hold a variety of flowers and an amusement park, which makes them an easy stop with children. Mussoorie Lake is an artificial lake on the road to Dehradun, where you can ride a paddle boat, watch the ducks and look across the Doon Valley. The district administration calls it a picnic spot.

Lal Tibba

Lal Tibba, also called Depot Hill, is the highest point in Mussoorie, at 2,438 metres. Uttarakhand Tourism says the view of the snow-capped peaks to the north is best at sunrise. The district administration lists the Badrinath, Kedarnath, Bandarpunch, Srikantha and Nanda Devi peaks as visible from here on clear days, so go on a clear morning rather than a hazy afternoon.

Landour

Landour is a British-era cantonment at the east end of the town, named after Llanddowror, a village in Wales. Many of its houses carry names taken from the novels of Sir Walter Scott, such as Kenilworth, Ivanhoe and Waverley, and Woodstock, now a school, is one of them. Landour Bazaar is a popular shopping area. The writer Ruskin Bond has made Mussoorie his home, and Uttarakhand Tourism lists him among the many authors who have lived here.

Kempty, Bhatta and Jharipani Falls

Kempty Falls is the best known of Mussoorie's waterfalls, in a valley ringed by high mountains on the Yamunotri road. The district administration calls it the biggest waterfall near the town and says it draws hundreds of people every day, so expect company. Bhatta Falls is on the Mussoorie to Dehradun road, in a serene spot with several ponds; the district administration describes it as a picnic spot nearer the town and less visited than Kempty. Jharipani Falls is further out, and you walk the last 1.5 km, which makes it a better choice for a half-day than for a quick stop.

George Everest's House

At Park Estate stand the remains of the house and laboratory of Sir George Everest, Surveyor-General of India from 1830 to 1843, after whom the world's highest peak is named. It is 6 km from Gandhi Chowk and can be reached on foot from Library Bazaar, or by road as far as Haathi Paon. From the site you see the Doon Valley on one side and the Aglar river valley and the Himalayan ranges on the other.

Benog Wildlife Sanctuary

Benog lies about 11 km south of Library Point and was set up in 1993, covering 339 hectares. The district administration notes that it is known for the mountain quail, which was last recorded in 1876, so go for the forest and the birds rather than for that species. Incredible India says rare Himalayan birds can be seen there.

Surkanda Devi Temple

Surkanda Devi is one of the Shakti Peethas, the 51 sites where, in the legend, parts of Sati's body fell. Her head fell here. The temple is a climb of a few kilometres from the village of Kaddukhal; Uttarakhand Tourism puts the walk at 2 km on its Mussoorie page and 3 km on its Dhanaulti page. A fair is held every year at Ganga Dussehra, in May or June.

Captain Frederick Young and an official named FJ Shore climbed up from the Doon Valley in 1827 and found a ridge with good views and a pleasant climate; the town grew from that visit. Incredible India derives the name from the mansur shrub that grows on the hills.

In 1836 the British built Christ Church, which Uttarakhand Tourism counts among the oldest churches they built in the Himalayan ranges; a deodar in its garden was planted by the Princess of Wales, who later became Queen Mary, when she visited.

Mussoorie also has a place in Tibetan history. The Central Tibetan Administration says the Dalai Lama set up the Tibetan exile administration in Mussoorie on 29 April 1959; it moved to Dharamsala in May 1960. Our Dharamshala travel guide picks the story up from there.

Walk Mall Road in the evening, ride the cable car to Gun Hill, take a paddle boat on Mussoorie Lake, and go to Lal Tibba or Camel's Back Road for the views. Uttarakhand Tourism also lists trekking, including the Hathipaon trail through the forest, trout angling in which the fish are released after capture, with prior permission from the forest officials, and zip-lining and rock climbing at an adventure park in the town. For longer walks and adventure trips across the state, see our Uttarakhand trekking and Uttarakhand adventure experiences.

From mid-October to mid-January, Uttarakhand Tourism says, the western horizon at sunset shows the winterline: a grey and mauve strip under bands of yellow, red and orange that looks like a second horizon, which it calls a phenomenon visible from only a few places in the world.

Uttarakhand Tourism calls summer the best time, as the town offers relief from the heat of the plains, and says that if you want a quieter holiday you can come in winter to see snow. The winterline is visible from mid-October to mid-January.

Mussoorie sits in Dehradun district, whose administration gives June to September as the months with most of the year's rain and July and August as the wettest. It says the hills are pleasant in summer, and that in winter the temperature drops below freezing and the higher peaks are under snow. So the choice is between summer, for relief from the heat, and winter, for snow, with the rains from June to September in between. Allow extra time on the hill roads in July and August.

Mussoorie is 36 to 38 km from Dehradun by the official figures. The nearest railway station is Dehradun, and the nearest airport is Jolly Grant, near Dehradun, with direct flights from Delhi and Mumbai. Delhi is the other airport option, followed by a road journey, and the district administration names it the second nearest airport.

Dehradun is about 240 km from Delhi, according to Uttarakhand Tourism, and the Shatabdi Express and the Mussoorie Express are the two main trains the city's municipal corporation names between Delhi and Dehradun. The Mussoorie Bus Station, at Dehradun railway station, runs regular buses up the hill, and buses to Mussoorie also leave from Delhi's Kashmiri Gate bus terminal. Taxis are available at the airport, and local taxis and buses run up from Dehradun.

Two days covers the town: Mall Road, Gun Hill, Camel's Back Road and the Company Garden on the first day, then Lal Tibba and Landour, or Kempty Falls, on the second. Add a third day for George Everest's House, Benog, Surkanda Devi or Dhanaulti.

Dhanaulti, 24 km from Mussoorie by the district's figure, stands at 2,250 metres among deodar, oak and rhododendron forest, with two eco parks, and is the base for treks to Surkanda Devi. Uttarakhand Tourism calls Dehradun a gateway to Mussoorie and to the pilgrimage towns of Haridwar and Rishikesh. See our Rishikesh travel guide, our Haridwar travel guide and the Uttarakhand travel guide for the wider state. For trips that run through Uttarakhand, see our Uttarakhand tour packages.