We went on an 8-day trip this summer to Uttaranchal and it was an amazing experience. This post details just the itinerary and tips to plan. I will go into further details of each place (if required) in a separate post.
Day 1 - Arrived in Dehradun in the evening / Sahastradhara
Reached our homestay (Bumblebee) at Sahastradhara by 6.30pm Went to Sahastradhara ropeway in the evening Dinner at 'Orchard' - dinner was French fries, thukpa (amazing and entirely non spicy for kids). The veg momos were okay. Dessert was lemon cheesecake. The assortment of desserts were amazing
Day 2: Tibetan Market, Mindrolling Monastery and FRI Museum + Ellora bakery
Started the day with a walk through the Tibetan market. Good market for woollens, handicraft items, antiques, accessories, souvenirs and things to take back home. Given it was Buddha Purnima, visited Mindrolling Monastery (10am-5pm), one of the largest Buddhist centers in India. We bought a wind chime from here. Local cafes here serve good Tibetan food outside the monastery. Lunch at Coco Osteria - Hummus Platter and Pizzas are amazing along with the honey ginger lemon tea. Can skip the hazelnut cheesecake we had and opt for something else. FRI museum - a must visit for the huge sprawling gardens and the 4 museums within the campus on trees, silviculture, insets, etc. Evening - Drove past Paltan Bazaar as we didn't want to do any shopping, shopped for milk rusks and biscuits at Ellora bakery near the clock tower (ghanta ghar). Cookies and biscuits ate a great option for gifting and taking back home. Dinner at Musee Art Cafe - Good outdoor option with live music on a full moon night. The food is good - we had the paneer tikka masala, rotis, and chocolate brownie with ice cream. The service is poor and the live singing wasn't very good either that day, but a good one-time experience
Day 3 - Gucchupani and Dehradun zoo
Visited Gucchupani (Robber's cave) in the morning. It's a must visit place with an amazing walk through the waters within a cave. Go early to avoid the crowd and go till the end to play in the waterfalls. Wear slippers / crocs and also carry a change of clothes in case you are planning to get wet and have fun Lunch at Cuisine de Saffron Leaf - we ordered Dahi ki tikki, Paneer Pasanda, tandoori roti, Handi subz Biryani and Gulab Jamun for dessert. The food was very yummy in taste and highly recommend them for Indian cuisine Dehradun zoo in the afternoon - Lovely place with lot of birds, snakes, aquatic life, as well as deer and leopard in the form of animals Evening, - headed over to Elloras for more Dehradun toast and Sahastradhara to dip our legs in the cool waters Dinner was homemade with some leftovers from the Lunch
Day 4: Shri Prakasheshwar Mahadev temple, Bhatta Falls, Cloud's end, George Everest
Enroute to Mussorie / Landour - visited Shri Prakasheshwar Mahadev temple is located in Khala Gaon, which is dedicated to Lord Shiva and the lingam Then we went onward to Bhatta falls on the way. Amazing falls with less crowd, had some tea while dipping our feet in cold water. The water can numb your legs for a bit Lunch enroute to Cloud's end was parathas and omelette Cloud's end - private property with great breath-taking views. We had a lot of fun at the echo point, playing with the ladybugs and enjoyed the trail inside till the sunset point. Worth a visit as we later found George Everest to be a bit over-rated George Everest - to start with a disclaimer - we reached here by 4pm and already has a long day. It's a wonderful trek with good views, but nothing you cannot see from other places we went to. The house of George Everest & the Observatory from where they measured heights of various mountains including Mt. Everest is newly renovated but not open to the public, which is a shame as the climb upto this place itself is a very steep 1.2km trek (which took us 30 minutes). Another 900m higher from the base takes you to a higher point from house to have better view - but we did not / could not do it. There are no toilet facilities here. There is just 1 buggy to take us to the house and is always full. Carry a water bottle, stick, sunglasses, and sun cream while going for the trek. Reached our homestay - La Villa Bethany for the evening and our home for the next 4 nights. We were welcomed with hot honey ginger lemon tea and into a huge library full of books. That night was a fun night with friend's and family as it was the co-owner's 50th birthday. The food and evening was amazing as we retired to our Log Cabin
Day 5 - Cemetery, Landour Bakehouse, Rokeby Manor, Char Dukkan, Church, Lal Tibba, Cambridge Book depot
Morning walks to cemetery and Landour bakehouse (expensive, but try their Jakhiya & Citrus cake) Lunch at Emily's was fabulous - we seated ourselves in Wilson's Chamber and ordered a kid's meal of Alfredo Pasta and hot chocolate, along with Emily's special vegetable pizza and the sticky toffee pudding. If you cant eat anything else, just have the sticky toffee pudding (its divine!!) After a hearty meal, we passed Char Dukkan and St. Paul's Church, a historic church with beautiful stained glass windows and a peaceful atmosphere. Next was Lal Tibba which was very crowded and didn't seem kid-friendly. So, we went to the 2nd floor Savoy Café (just opposite Lal Tibba) for a quick tea and the same amazing views. Carry a binocular for the visit. Took our car to Mussorie's famous mall road (can be avoided if you are not going to shop). Our reason to go was the Cambridge book depot (where Ruskin Bond would come to sign books every Saturday until recently). He doesn't come anymore, but you get her signed books. We bought a few books and Went to see Doma's Inn (which is next to Ruskin bond and Vishal Bharadwaj House). If you are a fan, please respect their privacy and don't go knocking on their doors. Came to LVB for a game of Ludo, Snakes & Ladders, Memory games, and books to read. Dinner was Maharashtrian Cuisine
Day 6 - Jabarkhet Nature Reserve, Hills-e-Ishq Thali, more of Landour (and rain)
Jabarkhet nature reserve is a must for a level 1 trekker. We went here this May 2023 with our 6 yr old. It's a 2.7km trek with lots of flora and a bit of fauna. This is a hidden gem very close to Landour and privately owned by Mr. Vipul Jain. The 100 acre reserve is will maintained and a guided tour at ₹600/person (₹350 without guide) is worth it. Each of the trails inside is well named and takes you through the dense forests of deodhar, pine, oak and rhododendron flowers in bloom which was a pretty site. Also look out for the different birds and ladybird 🐞 too. There are multiple trails which you can choose from offering varied difficulty level, experience and views. Would highly recommend a guided tour as they help you with the way and also have interesting facts and stories of the place and nature. A must visit place for an interesting view of the hills close to Mussoorie and Landour. We covered almost all the trails in 3 hours with a slowish pace, except the rhododendron trail. I recommend the leopard trail and the uphill trails (to Flag hill top and Lone Oak) if you are short of time. Lunch was Garhwali Thali at Café Hills-e-Ishq. Highly recommended next to Jabarkhet. Before going to Jabarkhet, let them know you are coming to have thali so that everything is prepared Evening @ Landour with some sweets from the Bakehouse - Jakhiya Citrus cake slice (very good), Coffee cake (very ok) and Stick Jaw (very expensive for a toffee) Completed the Peppa Pig sticker book (bought from Cambridge) and played more games with a Continental Dinner
Day 7 - Dhanolti, Surkanda Devi temple, Tehri Dam
The trip to Dhanolti is filled with amazing views of the ice-capped snow mountains of the Himalayas / Shivaliks. Hope you are blessed with a clear day to see the same Surkanda Devi temple - Accesible by the Cabe Car has amazing views too. Had lunch at Paras restaurant outside the temple Onward to Tehri Dam for boating and water activities which 'A' enjoyed thoroughly. It was really hot that day so we didn't do much here On the return, took a small stop to see the Suwakholi watch tower from afar Dinner was Kashmiri cuisine with more games including Codeword
Day 8 - Early morning wake-up at 4.30am to catch our flight from Dehradun to Mumbai
Tips:
Check the weather and pack accordingly - While accuweather and the other websites are mostly accurate, put in calls to the hotels you plan to stay at - to understand any changing temperatures and how to pack Optimise the road travel - We booked a car for the entire trip (Anil Nautiyal: +91-8126435276) and it was helpful for us to cover all the places we wanted to visit and see. I highly recommend our driver for any tour in Uttaranchal Plan your broad itinerary ahead - Given the change in schedules from travelling with kids, plan a broad itinerary so that you have an idea of what you would like to see Enquire ahead for adventure activities as most activities cannot be done by children < 10 years of age Carry caps, glares, water bottles and binoculars apart from woollens and other clothes depending on climate. We didn't carry umbrellas as both our stays had it Don't feel bad of the things you missed, enjoy where you are thoroughly. Some of the scenes in front of my eyes are the ones where I have been stationary for a long period of time Enjoy enjoy enjoy - it's a holiday!!! Don't be too fussy or aim for 100% everywhere, some things are bound to not go our way - for e.g. weather, stay options, people...its okay and don't let it affect you
Other things we skipped or couldn't see but good
Rishikesh and Rajaji National Park - As this was not a religious trip, we didn't cover Rishikesh. In Rajaji, as very low tiger sighting, "A" would not have been interested Dehradun - Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology - good for fossils etc (but we couldn't go as it was closed on weekends and pubic holidays, timings - weekdays - 9am-5.30pm -1-1.5hrs Tapovan Temple, a beautiful temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and Ganga Kempty falls - After Gucchupani and Bhatta falls, we had no intention of going to the ver crowded Kempty falls. The waterfall has a pool at the bottom where children can swim and play. Food places we couldn't try - Mussorie's Little Llama Café (Pizza and pasta), Kalsang Friends Corner (momos and thukpa); Landour Café Ivy (Avacado toast and pancakes) or Anil's Aloo Paratha / Anil's Café at Char Dukkan (Alu and onion paratha, lemon honey tea, momos) Landour - Kellogg's Church - is open only on Sunday, so we couldn't visit Dhanolti eco-park - for more treks and trails and views Suwakholi Watch tower - 30min walk and highly recommended for sunsets (which happen at 7pm) and wasn't the time we were there