Mussoorie Tourism: Heaven for Holidaymakers

The best part about ‘birthday’ is that it is the first day of another 365 day journey around the sun. ‘I had a blast on my birthday this year with my friends’ doesn’t mark any story to tell, obviously. But I specially planned a Tour to Mussoorie with some of my friends just to celebrate my birthday, is certainly an experience to share. So, the story starts with our arrival in Mussoorie – the Queen of Hills in north India. Marvelous beauty at an altitude of 2000 meters, cool and pleasant climate conditions, vast carpet of greenery, rich variety of flora and fauna, and breathtaking snow capped mountains!

Mussoorie Tourism: Heaven for Holidaymakers

While enjoying our morning breakfast in the hotel, the manager told us that the best thing about Mussoorie is that it serves as a gateway to Gangotri and Yamunotri, two sacred destinations known to be the origin of rivers Ganga and Yamuna respectively. We started our exploration with the perennial Kempty waterfall. We found it actually very crowded, therefore we visited a more secluded place by climbing the steps lined along the flow of the stream, and find ourselves in a rocky enclosure formed naturally by the stream. After spending a couple of hours there, we headed for the Happy Valley that houses the IAS Academy, Tibetan temples and the Municipal Gardens. The municipal garden there proved to be a wonderful location to us for photography. Also known as Company Bagh, the garden attains an impression of old colonial gardens and has a wide green carpet of neat and clean lawns & a fountain in the center.

We stopped for a quick bite at a nearby restaurant and then visited the Gun Hill. A guide there told us that this hill dates back to the pre-independence period when a canon was fired from here every afternoon to help people know the time and adjust their watches. The hill is so significant to the entire town because it accommodates the entire water reservoir. We got back by a ropeway ride which offered awesome views of the entire valley. Later, we visited Jwala Devi Temple (atop the Benog Hills) closer to the Benog Wildlife Sanctuary – after all it was my birthday!! We enjoyed the views of the valley adorned with colorful flowers and gushing streams from the temple.

Next day, our first halt was four kilometer long Camel’s Back Road. This natural layout of rocks actually looks like the camel’s hump back. It served as a perfect spot for our morning walk. We also paid a short visit to the Christ Church, which was built in 1836 as per the Gothic design. The events in the life of Jesus Christ, which are depicted in the glass windows of the church, are also quite admirable. We also wanted to visit Lal Tibba – the highest point in Mussoorie, but access to the hill is restricted because of Indian Military operations. Therefore, we headed towards The Mall, the heart of Mussoorie. The area is dotted with video game parlors, skating rinks and other attractions. We also picked a few skating rinks on rent at Rs. 80 per hour and spent a couple of hours in skating. We did not get the opportunity to visit Cloud’s End, the end of Mussoorie. But we refreshed our senses at the Jharipani Falls, located 6 km downhill from Mussoorie. This way, our trip was full of fun and frill and we had a great time amidst the pure and unpolluted environment of Mussoorie.