Exploring Queen of Hills in Off-season

Summer months are favorite times to visit any hill station to beat the unbearable heat! And some adventure lovers who love skiing prefer to holiday in winters. But what if you want to explore a hillstation during off-season let's say February?

Had an awesome time last week at Mussoorie-Queen of Hills!

There is plenty of stuff that you can do to make most of your stay in Mussoorie right from adventure sports to relaxed boating at fall!

My family had 4 days well 3 and a half to be precise, but I was adamant of seeing and doing everything as who visits same place twice. We reached Mussoorie from Dehradun at 4 pm; it takes 1.5-2 hrs to reach by car. Choose a comfy ride as roads are extremely steep. So since we had only evening we decided to take stroll at Mall road and enjoy beautiful flea market. The shops are owned by very simple and humble people who sell traditional hats, coats and Tibetan good. Tibetans have established their community here and own a Tibetan market as well as several monasteries and Buddhist temples. About 2 km of walk would take you to Gun Hill Point, which is most famous spot at Mussoorie. It has a cabin trolley that takes you to mountain top through ropeway. You will be astonished to see the sun set point has many eateries, photo shops and the whole place looks like a carnival.

View from Gun Hill point

We woke up fresh as a daisy on Day 2 and got dressed to go for trekking and some adventure sports. If you constantly crave for adrenaline rush, then folks Dhanaulti is your spot! 24 Km from Mussoorie, this place has adventure parks and eco parks. Lot of activities like bungee jumping, flying fox, river crossing and rock climbing can be enjoyed here or enthral a long trek with your buddies in whispering pine forest. On our way back after an exhausting 2 hr trek in fairly dense forest we got opportunity to visit the world-renowned author Mr. Ruskin Bond at Ivy Cottage, we didn't went in but he signed a book for me and I said a polite good-bye! Don't forget to try Tibetan delicacies at Dolma's inn. Our last stop of day was Lal Tibba where we soaked ourselves in sunset and enjoyed beauty of deodar trees and chirpy birds.

Kempty fall

I wouldn't have gone back without visiting George Everest House, which is 30 min from Library Bazaar. The location of house is serene as it has Himalayan range on one end and valley on other side. Ceramic floors and wooden window frames gives British vibes, but sadly the house has not been maintained by Indian National Trust. Our next stop was Kempty Falls; the name of fall comes from British tea parties that were held here! Since we visited here in off-season the water in fall was very less. You are supposed to walk for 15 min and then you are taken downhill to falls by a cabin trolley. You can take dip in falls or go for boating here or simply shop around. Our last stop of the day was Buddha temple, it is situated at high altitude and you get best view of the town from here. Temple was small and beautiful, will surely give you some peaceful moments that you can use for deep insights.

George Everest House

Buddha Temple

Last day in this splendid town was spent trekking in picturesque area called Camel Back Road. It is quite and calm place where you can enjoy your morning or evening walks. Get bicycles on rent and enjoy mountain trails on bike!

Since we had an evening train we had to say goodbye to this beautiful place, but the memories the family carried will stay with us forever!