Mussoorie in 3 days: what to see, in what order

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.