Traversing nearly 300 kilometres, we reached Mussorie late evening but only after suffering the heat and dust of badly maintained roads in the heartland of western Uttar Pradesh. Once we crossed the mango gardens and verdant mustard fields of Saharanpur, the weather changed for the better and we heaved a sigh of relief for cool temperatures and the start of the ranges.
Crossing Dehradun, the capital of Uttarakhand which has changed a lot with the development of shopping arcades and malls, we began the climb to the queen of the hills that is located at a height of 6,600 feet.
It is a beautiful climb as one can gaze at the stark ranges of the Himalayas to their heart’s content. At every major junction, one can get down at view points to take a better look at the ranges as even snow peaked mountains are visible from Mussorie.
With many well known schools and institutions based here, the hill station has become a centre for tourist attractions. In fact, on our way to Kempti Falls, we met a group of school children who were on a nature trail.
Arriving at Mussorie, we were told that vehicles are not allowed after 5 pm and therefore, we had to get down a kilometre before to go to our resort.
Even in mid-March, it was pretty cold and we made across to our accommodation shivering and hoping for some hot snacks and tea.
After a sumptuous evening snack, we went down for a walk on the outer periphery of the resort. It was not easy as one had to climb a lot.
However, the view from the top was fantastic.
Our local guide informed us that one could see as far as Gangotri and Yamunotri.
As it is, Mussorie is considered the gateway to these holy areas.