The One At Majestic Mussorie (Queen of the hills)

Husbands 30th birthday and that had to be special. I have never really explored the north and was looking forward to a trip sooner. I am a mountain kinda person and he is well a beach-y person. So we juggle our holidays around this. Our last holiday being Bali, the next was to the hills.

Mussorie was the best option that I could find to travel in March. Booked tickets 2 months in advance on Make My Trip and guess the price - 10k for 2 people - to & fro. Steal! Anyways we packed our warm clothes, boots, etc and set off for the hills. Did my research on what to do and all too, as usual. I believe that you must do your research before you scoot, but that being said don't stick to the itinerary - BE FLEXIBLE with your trip. You've come to relax so do that.

DAY 1

We took the Mumbai to Delhi early morning flight, after a 1.5-hour layover at Delhi where we grabbed breakfast at the forever-crowded-food-court, we boarded our next flight from Delhi to Dehradun. The view is so mesmerizing!!! At first, you see the concrete jungle of Delhi. 

Slowly you move on to the green mountains. You'll feel the chilly air outside!

The flight was less than 45 minutes and we landed at Dehradun around noon.

We had a pick from the hotel we were staying in. The ride to Mussorie was bumpy in the start with construction work going on around until we reached the foot of the hills which took us to Mussorie. From there on it was an ascend right till the time we reached the top and from there on a descend into Mussoorie.

Me: Is Mussorie on top of that hill in the front?

Driver: No, Mussorie is behind it.

Me: Cool. 45 mins then.

Driver: No ma'am. We have to go up there and post that there's a descent. Mussorie is almost 1 and hours journey from here.

Me: So you are saying we have to go up that big hill and then behind it and then down?

Driver: Yes.

Me: *good luck motion sickness*

There began the journey that made me want to stay glued to the window like a kid who's travelling by train/flight for the first time. The roads are scary because you got to be fast and can't drive slow. Not a fan of hills while I'm in a car (really). But this wasn't that bad as I was too engrossed with the view.

We reached our hotel which was like 5 km away from Mall Road, the main hub of Mussorie. We were far away from the hustle and bustle of the city. *Pats self* for choosing this hotel. We stayed at Bulaakh Resort and here's the view we got. It was QUIET & CALM & SERENE. The vacation you need!

We reached around 2 pm, super sleepy after the journey and hence we crashed the moment we had lunch. You don't feel like taking a shower, the weather was that cold in March. 

Day 1 was just about relaxation and taking in this breathtaking view and cold weather.

DAY 2

Post breakfast we hired a scooty and set off for Mall Road. But before we move onto that, let me show you the breakfast spread at Bulaakh! 

Here's the view of the hotel from the top. 

The journey is filled with pleasant scenery.

Mall Road is like the hub to reach any place in Mussorie. It is crowded, filled with tourists and school kids in their sweaters & uniforms. We wanted to go to Chaar Dukaan, which is technically and literally 4 shops. This is one of the most famous eatery points in Mussorie. Famous because of celebrities who have frequented this place.

To reach this place you got to go through the crowded mall road and up the hill towards Lal Tibba. Google map will rescue you!

This was lunch time so we ordered for some quick lunch. Mind you the food so far has been spicy, even Maggi. But the spicier it is, the warmer your body will be (you'll be fine with that).

Post quick lunch we headed for Lal Tibba. We decided to walk it off and not take the scooty. We parked it near chaar dukaan (pay and park available) and started the ascend. The path towards the viewpoint is a beautiful gray road, with a gorgeous valley view on the left side. It took us about 30 minutes (by foot) to reach the destination. You can ride or drive all the way up there too. But I’d say walk it off, the view is too pretty to be missed!

My pictures won’t do justice to the place!

There are 2 restaurants at the end which have telescopes to see the ranges. Good spot for a photo op too! You could enjoy another round of snack here while you take in the view in front of you.

We walked back towards chaar dukaan. This time around we took the other path, which was besides a dense green plantation. It was cold even at 3 PM. Actually, it was colder TBH. Here's the pathway.

Don't forget to ask if you get lost. At the end of this road was a beautiful Church. 

Turn right from the church and you have reached chaar dukaan. We took our bike and headed back to mall road. On our way down we decided to stop by this very Tibetan looking restaurant - Domas. 

We headed back to Mall Road after snacks and tea from Domas. We wanted to see camel road and gun hill point after lal tibba. We reached Mall Road junction. We decided to see camel road first. And below is the view you’ll get!

Ride along the path from this point and you’ll touch Mall Road on the other end. We decided to see gun hill after this. Park your car or Scooty and take the cable car to the top gun hill point. Hardly a 2 min ride from the main road. Gun hill has the best view of Mussoorie and trust me when I say it - It’s the best! 

Nothing like a cup of tea with a gorgeous view!

Mussoorie gets all dark once the sun sets so I recommend you move back to the hotel quick. If you’re in a group, fair enough. We were a couple and the night freaks me out. Yet we left Mall Road around 8:30. The place was hustling still! 

DAY 3

Best part about the hotel we stayed in - this valley view!

Post breakfast we moved towards clouds end. We took a road that wasn’t really beautiful because it looked damn scary with a dense forest on one side and a barren valley on the other. Vehicles on this particular road were negligible which made it even scarier. We reached the junction towards clouds end in about 30-45 minutes. Now the path towards the main point was an off-road and my partner isn’t a fan of one, especially because we were to go through a forest. We decided to not go there. But the point (in google images) does look gorgeous so don’t miss it! I don't regret missing it though. 

We took another route to go to Mall Road and then visit the Tibetan valley. The detour that we took, took us straight to the valleys start point. Trust me when I say this, I’ve never been to a place which was as calm as this. The colours, the prayers flags all around and the people made it mesmerizing. 

Now to the best part - there’s a Buddhist temple on the end of this road. ❤️

I’ll let the pictures talk!

Isn’t it pretty??? We stayed for a while. With these prayer flags around and the vibe, it was one ‘OMG this is peace’ kinda moment for us. 

We left for a company garden after an hour or so; and reached the garden around 4:30 PM. The place was stacked with people - I regret going to places with a lot of people. We stayed for a while, took pictures, ate a heavy snack to keep us alive till dinner and moved back to Mall Road. 

Pictures below!

We moved to mall road after this and gorged on some North Indian roadside snack, did some knick-knack shopping. Beat the cold with a cold keventers. 

We ended the day with a scrumptious dinner from a hotel in Mall Road, post which we headed back to the hotel and we had to pack up to head back home the next day.

Mussoorie makes money on tourism so don’t be surprised by the pricing on food and others. That’s their way of life! I recommend going to a small thela and having quick snacks. Even the smallest ones here had the best to offer! Don’t act pricey when you’re at such eateries.

DAY 4

Check out day! 

We checked out and en route the airport decided to stop my Mussoorie lake. Utter disappointment! Give it a miss, won’t hurt anyone. 

We were told there’s this new waterfall that is underway, closer to the lake area. Maybe I’ll see pictures when someone else decides to visit!

With this, we said ‘adios Mussoorie’! 

Back to the grind. Until the next trip!