Mussoorie's main sights fit in two days by cab. One day goes west: George Everest's House, Company Garden, the Tibetan temple in Happy Valley and Kempty Falls. The other goes east: Lal Tibba and Char Dukan in Landour, then Surkanda Devi and Dhanaulti. A third day goes down to Dehradun. Mall Road and the Gun Hill ropeway are on foot in the evening.
Each plan is a real route by cab, timed against opening hours.
Landour, George Everest, Company Garden and Kempty Falls
5 places · 48 km by cab
See the plan →George Everest, Company Garden and Kempty Falls · Landour, Surkanda Devi and Dhanaulti
9 places · 131 km by cab
See the plan →George Everest, Company Garden and Kempty Falls · Landour, Surkanda Devi and Dhanaulti · Dehradun: Robber's Cave, FRI and Sahastradhara
12 places · 199 km by cab
See the plan →Call or message a local Mussoorie operator with this plan. Tell them your hotel and dates, and they send a price for the car and driver.
We are still listing Mussoorie operators. Write to [email protected] and we will put you in touch.
With the best time to go and how long to stay.
| Place | Open | Best time | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Everest's House | About 09:00 to 18:00; entry and parking fees at the Park Estate gate | A clear morning, for the snow peaks to the north and the Doon Valley to the south. | 1 h 15 min |
| Company Garden | About 09:00 to 19:30 (some listings say 20:00); small entry fee | Late morning, when the flowers are in sun. | 1 h |
| Shedup Choepelling Tibetan Temple | Open in daylight; free? | Any time in the day. | 30 min |
| Kempty Falls | About 10:00 to 18:00; no entry fee, small charges for the ropeway, lockers and parking | Before noon on a weekday, before the crowds. | 1 h 30 min |
| Mussoorie Lake | About 08:00 to 18:00 (one listing says 19:00); about ₹15 entry, boats extra? | Late afternoon, for the view over the Doon Valley. | 45 min |
| Lal Tibba | Open in daylight; free, telescope about ₹50? | Early morning, when the snow peaks are clearest. | 45 min |
| Char Dukan and St Paul's Church | Cafés about 08:00 to 19:00; the church is seen from outside? | Breakfast time, or a slow coffee in the afternoon. | 45 min |
| Sisters Bazaar | Shops about 09:00 to 18:00? | Late morning. | 30 min |
| Gun Hill ropeway | About 10:00 to 18:00, later in the busy months; return ticket about ₹100 to ₹125 | Late afternoon, then the walk along Mall Road. | 1 h |
| Mall Road | A street; most shops about 10:00 to 22:00? | Evening, when the lights come on. | 1 h 30 min |
The home and office of Sir George Everest, the surveyor the world's highest mountain is named after. He lived here from 1832 to 1843 while mapping India. The old stone house stands on a grassy ridge called Park Estate, about 6 km west of Library Chowk. The ridge has wide views of the Doon Valley on one side and the snow peaks on the other.
In the 1-day plan
A big flower garden about 3 km west of Library Chowk, first laid out in the 1800s as a botanical garden. Today it has flower beds, a small lake with paddle boats, a little waterfall and food and toy stalls. It is the most family-friendly stop in Mussoorie.
In the 1-day plan
A Tibetan Buddhist temple in Happy Valley, the area where Tibetan families settled in 1960. It was one of the first Tibetan temples built in India. Inside are a large Buddha and painted walls; outside are prayer wheels and rows of prayer flags.
Day 1 of the 2-day plan
A waterfall about 13 km northwest of Mussoorie on the Chakrata road, where a stream drops into a pool in a deep valley. You can bathe in the pool. Around it are steps, cafés, shops and a short ropeway down to the water.
In the 1-day plan
A small man-made lake about 6 km from Mussoorie on the road down to Dehradun. You can take a paddle boat on the water. The real draw is the view: the Doon Valley spreads out below, with Dehradun's lights after dark.
Day 1 of the 2-day plan
The highest point in Landour, the quiet old town above Mussoorie. On a clear day you see a long line of snow peaks, including Kedarnath, Badrinath and Bandarpunch. A café by the viewpoint has telescopes to look through.
In the 1-day plan
Char Dukan means "four shops": a short row of old cafés on Landour's hilltop loop, known for pancakes, bun omelettes and hot ginger lemon honey. St Paul's Church, built in 1840, stands right beside them. The Kellogg Memorial Church is a few minutes' walk on.
In the 1-day plan
A tiny old market at the far end of Landour's loop, named after the nurses who lived here when it was a British hospital. A.Prakash & Co. sells home-made peanut butter, cheese and jams, and the Landour Bakehouse is next door.
Not in our plans. Add it if you have time.
A short cable car from the middle of Mall Road up to Gun Hill, the second-highest point in Mussoorie. Before Indian independence a cannon was fired from the top every day at noon. Today there are food stalls, photo booths and a view over the town and the snow peaks.
Not in our plans. Add it if you have time.
The main promenade of Mussoorie, about 2 km from Library Chowk to Picture Palace. It has hotels, cafés, bookshops, woollen and souvenir shops, and benches with views down to Dehradun. Christ Church, from 1836, is at the Library end.
Not in our plans. Add it if you have time.
A quiet 3 km road round the hill above Mall Road, named after a rock that looks like a camel's hump. It has views of the snow peaks and the valley, an old British cemetery and benches to sit and watch the sunset.
Not in our plans. Add it if you have time.
A hilltop temple to the goddess Durga at about 2,750 m, one of the Shakti Peeths. From the top you see the snow peaks to the north and Dehradun and Rishikesh to the south. Cars stop at Kaddukhal, on the road past Dhanaulti. A ropeway now takes you up; the old way is a steep 2 km path.
Day 2 of the 2-day plan
Dhanaulti is a small, quiet hill stop about 25 km east of Mussoorie, in thick deodar forest. Its two eco parks, Amber and Dhara, are about 200 m apart. They have forest paths, swings and small adventure rides. In winter it often has snow when Mussoorie has none.
Day 2 of the 2-day plan
A narrow limestone gorge on the edge of Dehradun with a cold stream running through it. You walk up the stream in ankle-deep water between high rock walls, to a spot where the water comes out of the rock. It is called Robber's Cave from a story that thieves once hid here.
Day 3 of the 3-day plan
A Shiva temple in a cave on the bank of a small river in Dehradun. Water drips from the rock onto the Shiva lingam, which gives the temple its name (tapak means drip). Steps lead down to the cave past small shrines.
Not in our plans. Add it if you have time.
A huge red-brick building from 1929 in a large green campus, built for India's forest research. It is often in films. Inside are six museums on forests, timber, insects and tree diseases, including a cross-section of a deodar tree over 700 years old.
Day 3 of the 3-day plan
Sahastradhara means "thousand-fold spring": water drips from limestone caves and ledges by a river about 14 km from Dehradun. The water has sulphur in it, and people bathe in the pools. A ropeway goes up the hill to a small park with views.
Day 3 of the 3-day planTwo days covers Mussoorie well: one day west for George Everest's House, Company Garden and Kempty Falls, one day east for Landour, Surkanda Devi and Dhanaulti. Add a third day for Dehradun: Robber's Cave, the Forest Research Institute and Sahastradhara.
Not for most of the day. Vehicles are stopped at barriers at Library Chowk and Picture Palace, the two ends of Mall Road, and the rules get stricter in the evening and in the busy months. That is why these plans start and end at Library Chowk. Walk Mall Road, Camel's Back Road and the Gun Hill ropeway after the cab day.
In the busy season, from 2025, visitors have been asked to register their vehicle online before driving up, and police check at the entry points. The rules change from season to season, so ask your operator or hotel before you travel.
On clear mornings from about October to February. Lal Tibba, George Everest's House and Surkanda Devi have the best views. In the monsoon, from July to September, clouds usually hide them.
Both are on the far west side, past George Everest's House. Jwala Devi sits on top of Benog Tibba: about 7 km by road from Library Chowk, then a walk of about 2 km up through the forest. Cloud's End is a heritage hotel in the forest, not a public sight. Add them to the west day if you have time.
It is on the far south side of Dehradun, about 39 km from Library Chowk. It makes the Dehradun day too long from Mussoorie, but it fits well on the way to the airport or the railway station when you leave.
