It all began in the year 2006 when I went to Dehradun for my 4 year undergrad program. Everything was different, everything was new. But now that I think about it, it was the most amazing phase of my life. New friends, new place, a new life altogether.
I visited Mussoorie for the first time in August 2006, a week before the start of college, with my mother, my best friend and her mother. We visited Bhatta Falls, Kempty falls and roamed around on the Mall Road. The highlight of that trip was the morning when our moms went out for a walk and 2 monkeys entered our room. I was super scared and couldn't gather the courage to get out of the blanket. But Rishibha, being the sensible one, tried to calm me down in the backdrop of the monkeys enjoying the leftover Domino's Pizza we ate the previous night. To this day we laugh like crazies on any mention of this incident.
The next time I went to Mussoorie in January 2007 with my hostel mates. A big gang of about 10 girls roaming on Mall Road, posing for silly clicks. Those were the days !
Between 2006 and 2010 I would have visited Mussorie atleast 15 to 20 times. Although Mussoorie is definitely not on the top of my best hill station list, still it was so near so we never thought twice before going there. There was no prior planning required and we would start early morning and be back by evening. We would also go to Mussoorie every time we heard of fresh snow falling there in February.
The last time I visited Mussoorie was in September 2012 with my family for a relaxed 3 day trip where we spent most of the time at the Jaypee resort only.
Mussoorie has a lot to offer depending upon your mood. You can shop at the crowded narrow Mall Road, take a leisure walk at Camel Back Road, drive to Haathipaaon or Clouds End for some peace or go to Kempty or Bhatta Falls for taking a dip in chilly waters.
Mussoorie is and will always be special to me. Irrespective of how much I curse this place for being the worst and the most over-hyped hill station, the special memories of Mussoorie will forever and always keep dragging me back to this place.
Mussorie is just 30 km from Dehradun. You can start by morning and easily come back by evening. There is a bus from Dehradun to Mussoorie every 1 or 2 hours and vice versa. You can even book Taxis for drop or return journey. Everyone who goes there must try Maggi at any of the hundred Maggi points on the Dehradun Mussoorie road. There is a Shiv Mandir on the way to Mussorie. The special thing about this temple is that unlike other Hindu temples they discourage and have completely banned Daan/donations. Also the Prasad served in this temple is tea and some snacks. Its a very famous pit stop and most of the travelers pay their respect to the Lord before venturing to the high mountains. .
This secluded and serene waterfall is about 10 km before Mussoorie on the Dehradun-Mussoorie road. The first time I went here was in August 2006 with my mum, my best friend and her mum. We took a taxi to reach the bottom of the falls. There were very few people there and we had Maggi and tea at the small shop there. The next time was with my hostel mates. We walked downhill from the main road to reach the bottom and had a wonderful time there. We were 11 girls and went crazy clicking pics and having some water fun. On the way back we got a bit adventurous and decided to take the dirt track going vertically up instead of the standard route. The outcome was a few scratches here n there and a lot of leeches in our feet. Overall we had loads of fun on this adventurous trek.Apart from these visits I went there thrice again and each time was a unique experience on its own. I fell in love with the place because there was no commercialization and I could thoroughly enjoy nature in peace.
Personally I would prefer the Shimla or Nainital Mall Road any day over this crowded road. I guess I'm being harsh but really can't help it. My idea of a perfect hill station is a peaceful solitary getaway from your normal life and Mussoorie is the exact opposite of that. Its all so cluttered and full of shops and tourists. There is an awesome omlet shop on the main road. Ask anyone there and they would direct u to it. There are some stretches which are relatively less crowded and offer magnificent views of the Doon valley. And no matter how crowded it is, its hard to complain when you're walking in clouds. That's the best part i guess. The weather in Mussoorie is almost always perfect and a walk down this winding road always lights you up. And it gets even better when it snows.
There's no point in beating around the bush so I'll just come straight out with it. This is the most disappointing part of Mussoorie and can definitely be excluded out of your itineraries. Its a flat ground on top of a hill with restaurants and shops and Maggi points all around. The irony is that the restaurants are named 'Himalayan View', 'Snow View' etc. But they block any chance of getting a good view. And then there's the irritating photographers who will eat your head until you let them click you dressed in pahaadi clothes and carry a flower basket on your head. You can reach this place by a not-so-spectacular trolley ride. I have heard that there is a hill trek also but haven't tried it. The verdict : this place is definitely worth a miss.
I am a big fan of momos and thukpa and everything Tibetan and this place is heaven for people like me. It is a small restaurant run by a Tibetan family and the food is to die for. This place is very popular among locals and tourists and you would mostly see young crowd here. They play some oriental Tibetan kind of music which is very relaxing. I made it a point to come here every time I visited Mussoorie. The popularity of this place is evident from the plethora of lovely messages left on napkins by visitors which are used for decorating the place. The decor is red, bold and lively. You can see many 'Free Tibet' posters all around the place. The staff is super friendly and the food is super yummy.
If you're in Mussoorie and feel like taking a stroll you must must must visit this road. The views it offers are priceless and you would actually feel that you're not in a crowded hill station. I've taken a stroll here 2 or 3 times maybe and the weather always took it up a notch. I used to love walking in the clouds and the English style lamp posts add a vintage and legendary touch to the whole experience. There is an old deserted English Cemetery on this road with its gates closed but we found a loophole and got in anyways. It was drizzling, and we were literally in the clouds. It was a very peaceful and refreshing experience which will always be cherished.
This is an alternate route to mussoorie. You can take the detour if you wish to avoid the weekend traffic on the Dehradun Mussoorie road. There are no places to actually stop or no shops or Maggi points on this route but its definitely more scenic and serene. When traveling by this route we used to stop at various spots for some amazing photo sessions.
This is an old Haveli converted to a resort which offers beautiful views of the green mountains around mussoorie. We just went here once for lunch and snacks and found the average food highy overpriced. They also had camping options available but we never tried staying there as it was a totally deserted place.
We went to Jaypee Mussoorie in September 2012. My parents fell in love with place on their earlier visit here with friends so they planned a relaxed family trip here. We were here for 3 days and spent almost all of the time in the resort. The approach road is beautiful and the resort is spread across a vast area. We booked two rooms which were interconnected and opened to the green terrace garden amidst the mountains. We enjoyed a lot with my sister's children at the open kiddies play area which was almost always engulfed in fog. The hotel provides a daily shuttle bus to the Mall Road and we went there for about about 2 hours (to visit Kalsang). The rooms were awesome and the food and service was great. It was a chilled out vacation and we also celebrated my nephew Anam's 5th month birthday there. There is a game cafe in the hotel where we enjoyed Bowling, Table Tennis, Air Hockey etc. The morning we were supposed to leave, we took a stroll on the walking trail that circled the entire hotel with beautiful views of the surrounding mountains.
This is another over-hyped and worth-a-miss place in Mussoorie. I went there only once and absolutely hated it. It is so commercialized and full of tourists that it really disappointed me. I would prefer Bhatta Falls over Kempty Falls any day.
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