Places to visit in Mussoorie
The Queen of the Hills; Mussoorie was our next stop on the itinerary. Located in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand at a height of over 6000 ft, it provides a panoramic view of the Doon valley. It is a lush green hill station with a pleasant climate all year long.
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| Mussoorie: Queen of the hills welcomes you |
Kempty Falls
The Kempty falls is a major attraction for all tourists coming to Mussoorie. The falls are located in a hilly area surrounded by mountains around 13 km from the main city center of Mussoorie. There are a series of steps to walk down to the falls from the parking lot. There is also a ropeway available for people wanting to skip the steps going down and coming back on top.
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| Kempty Ropeway |
Personally I would recommend since there are many shops on both sides of the steps selling eatables. souvenirs, wooden and metal items, etc. People interested in shopping will enjoy this walk.
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| Souvenir shop on the way to Kempty Falls |
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| Souvenir shop on the way to Kempty Falls |
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| Souvenir shop on the way to Kempty Falls |
The main waterfall is a cascading stream of water which flows throughout the year. The water is allowed to flow into a makeshift swimming pool on the bottom. Many tourists are seen enjoying the waterfall and the playing in the swimming pool. There are shops by the pool renting swimming costumes and trunks.
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| Kempty Falls |
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| Kempty Falls |
Municipal Garden
The Municipal gardens or Company gardens are well maintained gardens which provides a breathtaking view of the snow capped mountains and allows for families to enjoy a blissful morning or a soothing evening.
The taxi drivers normally provide an option to the tourists if they wish to visit in the morning or evening. We visited in the morning since we had plans to explore the Mall road in the evening.
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| LBSNAA on the way towards Municipal Gardens |
We stayed at the Sterling resorts property recently renamed as "Dancing Leaves" which is close to this place. On the way towards the Municipal gardens we passed by the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration. The candidates successfully clearing the UPSC civil services examination stay here during the training.
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| Water fountains @ Municipal Gardens |
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| @ Municipal Gardens |
The Municipal garden has a nominal entry fee of Rs. 18 per person. There are water fountains and makeshift waterfalls within the garden. On the right side of the garden while you enter provides an amazing view of the snow capped mountains. There are many photographers which will click one minute photos as a remembrance.
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| @ Municipal Gardens |
Mussoorie Lake
The Mussoorie Lake is a makeshift lake worth a visit from the view point. It is close to the main taxi stand near Mall road.
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| Mussoorie Lake |
Mall Road
The Mall Road is most buzzing place at Mussoorie. The two ends of the Mall road are Library chowk and Gandhi chowk. The taxi stand is very close to the Library chowk. There are cycle rickshaws available to ferry tourists and locals from one end of the Mall road to another.
As an explorer, I preferred walking. There are many shops, restaurants, gaming parlors, souvenir shops as we walk down the Mall Road.
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| Main chowk @ Mall Road |
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| Main chowk @ Mall Road |
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| Main chowk @ Mall Road |
As we walk towards the end of the Mall road, one can see the ropeway going towards Gun Hill point. The ropeway starts form the Mall road itself. Details on the Gun Hill are provided later on in this blog. There is a memorial for soldiers near the ropeway "Shahid Smriti Stall". It is a beautiful piece of work in memory of our soldiers.
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| Shaheed Smriti Stall near Gun Hill ropeway @ Mall Road |
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| Personalized name plates @ Mall Road |
Gun Hill
The Gun Hill is the highest point in Mussoorie. It provides a panoramic view of Mussoorie and the Doon valley. The ropeway to Gun Hill point is available at the end of the Mall Road. The return trip by the ropeway is charged at Rs. 75 per person. The trip on the ropeway itself is adventurous. The ropeway cabins come very precariously close to the many houses, hotels and the rocky surface of the mountains on the way towards the top.
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| Ropeway to Gun Hill point |
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| @ Gun Hill point |
Once you reach the top, there is a flat surface with many shops around. There are games for kids, shops selling toys, small stalls selling eatables and beverages. Given that the place is the highest point in Mussoorie but with the over commercialization there is hardly any spot kept open to enjoy the view. One has to really struggle to find the a place somewhere behind all those stalls.
There is also a temple dedicated to Lord Shani on the Gun Hill.
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| Shani temple @ Gun Hill point |
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| View from Gun Hill point |
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| View from Gun Hill point |
Jawahar Aquarium
Not a tourist spot but while walking on the Mall road, I came across the Jawahar Aquarium. There is an entry fee of Rs. 30 per person. The aquarium is small but has some rare and exotic marine species. Worth a visit while on the walk @ Mall Road.
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| Jawahar Aquarium |
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| @ Jawahar Aquarium |
Santura Devi Temple
The Santura Devi temple is located on a hilltop while on the way towards Kempty Falls from Mussoorie. There is a small trek to reach the temple but the walk is really pleasant as it runs through a forest trail surrounded by pine trees. All along the view keeps on getting beautiful.
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| Santura Devi Temple |
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| Trail towards Santura Devi Temple |
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| On the way to Santura Devi Temple |
Once you reach the temple, the weather was really awesome. It is bright and sunny with a cool breeze blowing. The view was amazing with lush green mountains close by and snow capped mountains in the horizon. This provided an awesome spot for some photography.
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| View from Santura Devi Temple |
Shedup Choephelling Temple
The Shedup Choephelling is a small Tibetan temple located at an awesome location. The panoramic view of the mountains from the temple compound is breathtaking.
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| Entrance @ Shedup Choephelling Temple |
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| Prayer Wheel @ Shedup Choephelling Temple |
The temple has the signature prayer wheels as in all Tibetan temples. We took turns to spin the wheels which is believed to be a source of positive energy.
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| View from Shedup Choephelling Temple |
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| Shedup Choephelling Temple |
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| Prayer wheels @ Shedup Choephelling Temple |
A special mention and thanks to our driver Mr. Raju Rawat for being very helpful. He guided us with the local sightseeing and also agreed to drop us to Jim Corbett National Park even though he had never driven outside Mussoorie. Please note Mussoorie being in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand and Jim Corbett National Park being in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, not many drivers would be willing to offer the services.
Anyone planning to visit Mussoorie should surely hire his services. He can be contacted @ +91 9557909495
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| Our driver Raju Rawat @ the hotel near Jim Corbett |
Many more memoirs to share ...... Sachin
