A sudden plan to Mussoorie in the new year 2024 let me discover Mussoorie at its best. On 29th Jan, I was planning for the new year party in Delhi and then a solo trip to Rishikesh to wash away all my “paap”. But a single phone call from my best friend changed my plan from partying in Delhi to vacationing in Mussoorie and obviously I said yes, because “ghumna over parties” anytime . And mannn!! It happened for good, I was unable to visit Rishikesh because of an on-going transport strike. But this strike let us spend another day in Mussoorie and we ended up discovering a hidden gem which is revealed in the section below.
Places in Mussoorie:
Mall Road, City Ropeway, Gunhill
In Mussoorie, strolling around the mall road is the best thing one can do. No yellow plate vehicles or rickshaws are allowed in the main area of mall road, so you would have to walk. And believe me the view is so great that you would just want to walk and hangout there.
Ropeway is available to reach Gun hill point for a city view. It is okayish, if you want you can skip it.
The best thing about mall road is, in that one stretch you get all kinds of food. From hot steamed momos, to poori-bhaji-jalebi, to garhwal (pahadi local food) cuisine, you get it all. While living in Bengaluru and being a Bihari I was dying for poori bhaji so this is what my everyday breakfast looked like ;p
Now, starting places to cover near Mussoorie.
Landour: Lal Tibba view point, Landour Bakerhouse, Sisters baazar
If you ask anyone about Mussoorie, they are gonna definitely mention Lal Tibba point. This is actually a cafe with a binocular point, offering a picturesque view of the highest mountain range of Mussoorie. I would recommend you to go to Lal Tibba for sunset. Personally, I did not like this viewpoint because it was overcrowded with a small rooftop area and for sunsets I enjoy going to some peaceful places.
Landour Bakerhouse is a cafe that you should not miss, because of its tastiest cakes with the perfect amount of sugar. If you are someone like me who doesn’t have a sweet tooth, you are gonna love its “orange marmalade cake”. This cafe is well known for its history where the recipes have been passed from generations, i.e. since 1800. The manuscripts of the recipes were revised through the years and now published as The Landour cookbook.
But this has a huge waiting line, so you can register your name and meanwhile take a stroll in the nearby Sisters Bazaar.
Kempty Falls
This is around ~1hr from Mussoorie mall road. You can take a bath and enjoy the water. But if you are bored of waterfalls, you can skip this.
A hidden gem near Mussoorie - Dhanaulti
This is the BEST discovery on my Mussoorie trip. ~2hr from Mussoorie but totally worth it. Dhanaulti is always colder than Mussoorie, and the first snow is always seen in Dhanaulti first in Mussoorie. Here, the main attraction is Surkanda Devi temple and offers one of the most beautiful sunsets along with a clear sharp winterline for which I can go again and again.
You can also do many other things, like camping, adventurous activities. Had to dedicate another blog for Dhanaulti, so visit this link.
Food:
Few cafe that I liked,
Cafe De Tavern
Kalsang
Garhwal cuisine: if you want to explore local food, have it in Landour. Else you will only get 1-2 options in the mall road and only in Bellmount restro and bar.
How to roam around:
Rent a scooty: this is the best option.
If you are renting a car, do check with your hotels for parking space because you are not allowed to take vehicles on the mall road.
Stay
Suggest you to take hotels in the mall road, you can take Zostel Mussoorie mall road or Lovel omelet as reference points for your hotel location. This is the main area where you find all the cafes.
Few good options
Zone connect
How to reach Mussoorie:
Via Dehradun: It is around ~2hr.
Via Delhi: Mussoorie is around 6-7 hr from Delhi. Overnight buses are also very frequently available.
You can either book a cab or self drive or take local buses from either of the above locations.
How many days are sufficient to explore Mussoorie ?
The most common question and I would suggest 2-3 days are enough, depending on your preferences. If you want to explore all the above, then you might need to take 3 days.
For example, you can reach Mussoorie and cover Landour, mall road on the first day while Dhanaulti, mall road on the second day. Else you can cover Kempty falls, mall road on the second day.
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