People tend to say they want to explore new places, old one’s have lost their charms, they don’t want to visit destinations packed with tourists etc. etc. but isn’t it will be awesome to find the hidden gems of already explored places. It will surely give you a feeling of accomplishment.
My first trip of this year i.e. 2020 was to Mussoorie. This was my second visit to the queen of hills but it was certainly the best one. Ever since I started traveling with my friends my utmost desire is to explore the unexplored. It was the weekend trip so we had only one day to explore and we made the most of it.
How to reach?
From Delhi:
The best way is, first travel to Dehradun by bus or train. Overnight bus journeys from Delhi to Dehradun are perfect and also very pocket friendly (600-700 INR- ac bus). From there you can either book a taxi or take a local bus.
We were 3 people and we reached Dehradun around 4-5 am. We had our taxi booked in advance which costs us for 6000 INR.
How to get around in mussoorie
Rickshaw: You can find them on the mall. They will hardly cost you 30-50 rs.
Taxi: All the taxis in the mussoorie are under the union so their charges will be fixed. You can book one from the mall or by any private provider.
Explore the Unexplored
Mussoorie has everything for everyone. From various tourist places in the town to beautiful hilly areas nearby, mussoorie is a perfect weekend getaway. We started our day with the yummiest aloo paratha in breakfast with the surreal view of the valley. After breakfast we headed towards our first stop, Dhanaulti to spot some snow. The route from dhanaulti to mussoorie was beautiful. Switchback roads, road trip songs, ah sounds perfect! And it was. It took us approx. 2 hours to reach there.
Dhanaulti is very famous for its ECO Park. The park has swings, bridges to cross, rock-climbing for adventure lovers and a perfect place to spend some time with your thoughts.
Fees- for adults: Rs 15/-
child: Rs 10/-
There are various Maggi stalls in front of the park to satisfy your hunger.
Then we drove back to Mussoorie. We had our lunch at Café De Tavern. I just loved their pasta. We strolled at mall road for a while and then head over to our next stop.
George Everest’s Peak
Hiking in the woods is one of the best activities to enjoy on a vacation and when you know that a heavenly view is waiting for you at the top the zeal to reach the summit increases.
Situated about 6kms from Gandhi chowk this is one of the most peaceful location of the town. Sir George Everest’s peak and laboratory, also known as Park Estate is popular heritage site. This 500 mts uphill hike to Sir George Everest’s house takes about 30 minutes to reach at the top. The route is pretty easy. To get away from city’s hustle-bustle or just to click some shots of lapping mountains this is the best place.
Currently the house is under construction and no one is allowed to enter. For locals the location is pretty famous for pre-wedding shoots. It is one of the everyone’s favorite place to witness sunrise or sunset.
Dalai Hills
Situated in the happy valley of mussoorie, this off-beat destination is not known by many. This place is decorated with Buddhist prayer flags and it has a statue of Lord Buddha constructed by 20th regional Tibetan youth congress to save mussoorie from war, disease, conflict and natural disaster.
Trouvaille , something lovely discovered by chance and I found this place by chance only. Coming back from George Everest’s peak I asked the driver bhaiya that I want to see that academy where IAS,IFS officers gets trained and then he mentioned this place. We park our taxi at a distance and me and my friend head over to the most beautiful place of mussoorie.
It was a stairs trail, through the village, prayer flags on both the sides. First we reached to the stupa where we met a local boy who wants to be our guide. He told us that very less amount of people visit to that place, importance of stupa. He told us about the prayer flags also, that the prayers are written all over of them and their each string is important.
As soon as we reached the top, the sun was setting and the view was heavenly. THE BEST place to witness sunset.
If you are a prayer flags lover, this is your heaven.
We ended our day by buying fridge magnets from a shop on mall, with a cone of ice-cream in one hand and roasted corn on other.
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