Dehradun & Mussoorie

We drove past the Jalori Pass from Jibhi and reached Dehradun via Simla. We did a one-night stopover in Simla just because the distance from Jibhi to Dehradun was more than what we wanted to cover in a day. We had been to Simla a zillion times and after where we were coming from, Simla looked like a busy and polluted hill station where we did not want to spend a lot of time. We watched a movie in the theatre in Simla in the evening and left with the first ray of the sun.

Dehradun is huge city. It was way bigger than our expectations. I had been to Dehradun and Mussoorie when I was a kid but I didn’t remember anything like this. We had been to a big city after a long time and enjoyed the luxuries of a city, going to a salon and getting our clothes washed at a laundry.

After relaxing for a couple of days in Dehradun, we made a day trip to Mussoorie which is just an hour drive uphill. Mussoorie is called the queen of hill stations for a reason. It is a hill station which is buzzing with tourists all year round and is still able to maintain it’s beauty and serenity. On the drive from Dehradun to Mussoorie, we spotted multiple bikes and scooties driven by teens who bunked from schools in Dehradun and visiting Mussoorie to chill.  

​After reaching Mussoorie, we parked our car and strolled through the market. We came across the famous ‘Lovely Omelette’ food joint. One of our friends (A Doon school alumni), recommended a walk to Landour from The Mall Road and we never miss out on walks. In Landour, are a set of shops called ‘Char Dukaan’. Their Honey-Ginger-Lemon was the best we ever had. One could imagine, how could one make good honey ginger lemon, or rather different from the regular, after all there are just the three ingredients mixed in hot water. But it was definitely different and worth the hike even if that was the only prize at the end of it.

We drove back to Dehradun and stayed there for a couple more days. While in Dehradun, we visited Sahastradhara – A thousand waterfalls. Frankly, it was not as grand as we had expected. On the contrary, a lesser known cafe – Cafe Jalapeños, turned out to be our best find in Dehradun. Their coffee, their sandwich and their pasta was to die for.

The Juice:
1. Dehradun is a much bigger city than you can imagine. You will find the best salons, restaurants and cafes here.
2. Don’t forget to visit Char-dukaan when in Mussoorie. It’s a small drive up but totally worth because of the food and the view you can have while you are savoring it.
3. Try their local fruit when in the region – Chakotra. It is the largest citrus fruit which looks like a large grapefruit and tastes like a Mosambi. One piece of fruit is enough for lunch for a person. There were hundreds of roadside carts selling Chakotra on our way to Dehradun.​