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Nothing is a better experience than reaching Mussoorie on a balmy wet day, when the clouds have crossed you like the wind, when the sun is soothing, the rain is wispy and there’s a tepid glow around the busy hill station, softening its edges. It’s the best time to go on a long walk and savour what makes it still the most wanted holiday destination. We suggest a few routes in this backyard retreat that need a little reinvention through another lens.
THATYUR
Locals will guide you to hidden secrets like Thatyur, a two-hour car ride away but a fairytale hamlet next to the Aglar river where you could potter around without a care doing nothing at all. On the way, you could stop by another small village called Rotu Ki Beli. It’s a Sleepy Hollow, the foot trail leading toit covered with misty greens, a cold burrow of sorts, hardly used by anybody but locals. After about 10 minutes, you come across small red-roofed houses sprouting along with cauliflowers and potatoes. The air is farm fresh and the people are hospitable, offering you tea with wholesome daland roti. Old women here have a tradition of wearing a gold bulaak (long nose ring), the prized indicator of wisdom. We think it’s a rather cool way to value your elders.
Thatyur itself is minuscule but offers sweeping views of the Himalayas from various vantage points. We meet Hari Singh, a local, at a tea shopand sensing we are hungry, he offers to take us to his village, Bhuyansari, so that we can taste Garhwal’s oldest cuisine, Mandava. The road from Thatyur to Bhuyansari winds along gentle terrain shaded by pine and deodar which trap some of the clouds mid-sail, creating a dream walkway toheaven. And then the village comes into view, all picture-perfect, with genial people, nature’s best gifts, goodness and contentment everywhere.Hari Singh has his entire village cater to us, serving Mandava ki roti with dollops of desi ghee. It’s something we haven’t learnt, finding happinessin the simplest things and exercising luxury within limits. Then the villagers guide us through a shortcut track to Thatyur, steep and rocky in parts butvirginal. We get down a hill and spot an ancient temple which, Hari says, is dedicated to Lord Shiva.
The Aglar river is a tributary of the Yamuna and washes Thatyur with its waters, ballooning up the pods of the rice stalks that sway golden along the banks. We get down to the boulders and dip our feet in the cold water, totter on the pebbles in the shallows, sit on a rock and watch the tide carry the weight of the moment, leaving behind some memories in the eddies. It’s my moment, but one with an eternity of living.
 CAMEL BACK ROAD
This is a beautiful promenade, a three kilometre stretch between Kulri Bazaar near Rink Hall and Library Bazaar. It derives its name from a rock formation that resembles the back of a camel when seen from the gate of the Mussoorie Public School. This row is lined by thick deodar trees on both sides that shield you from the madness of the furious world around you. It has a country homestead kind of a feel and horse-riding is still common on this stretch though we don’t go for it. This quiet walk gives you changing views of the rolling Himalayas and valleys, the oddly-shaped Gun Hill and groups of mischievous black-faced langurs. A beautiful cemetery is located about midway on the loop, serene in its isolation under the boughs, a perfect perch for souls seeking absolution in the heavens. It’s usually locked but people can visit this place after taking permission at Christ Church. And if you are looking for a true Himalayan sunset, then trust us, you’ve got to be here. To see the molten sun blaze a fiery trail along distant peaks and errant clouds, breathing heavily through its dying embers. And watch the mist feed the open-mouthed valley in the dampness of a purple evening. It is the most unforgettable experience.
MALL ROAD
This is best done after the Camel Back Road. Simply because it is a food walk like no other. We have the most luscious bhuttas here, if you can call it that. Make sure you are hungry enough and we have delicious south Indian fare, dosas, vadas and idlis with spicy sambhar and mouth-watering chutney. No fusion here, just authentic flavours. The same applies to Chinese. As the wind turns nippy and you huddle with your mates, jackets bunched up to your ears, it is time for hot tea. If you feel like walking still, then perk up your carb levels with piping hot jalebi or steaming momos. When we come out from the restaurant, the main market is bustling with humanity. It’s a vibrant sight with people crowding eating joints, video libraries and heading for pool parlours and the skating rink. The activity shifts indoors. You will walk the Tibetan market many times over, bargaining as you do at the rows of jewellery stores that you see here and often tempted to check every ware out, thinking you might miss on a rare piece because you didn’t try hard enough. Or go for the funky T-shirts with their edgy graffiti and cool jackets.
 You could browse through the antique and curio shops, sifting through compasses and sextants, china coins, clocks, crystal, statuettes and paintings, and thousands of brass, wood, glass, and metal flotsam from another era. All of them filled with wisened, furrowed old men, looking more and more like their own exhibits. Clearly you don’t remember time; are you in the here and now or have you rewound in a retro trip? Antique shops are really like time machines, standing still as the world moves by. Step outside and there’s a moment of disorientation before the reality comes back... there’s a reassurance in the noise, the dust, the smells, but also a slight wistfulness. Of not being part of a classier, quaint, silvery world. Memories are always sweet. So are the desserts of apple pie and ice cream at Chiki Chocki, which has posters of Bond movies and gives pride of place to two newspapers — one, where the headlines screamed out “India Independent! British Rule ends!” and the other, more simply put, “Everest Conquered.” Achievements have a way of yellowing as they fade into history. But their passion doesn’t, it only pushes us towards newer horizons.
GUN HILL
This is a pleasant 30-minute slightly uphill walk by a bridle path that forks off from Mall Road near Kutchery. A ropeway ride is also available to this second highest peak of Mussoorie. The distance by ropeway is only 400 metres. In the pre-Independence era, a gun from this point was fired at midday to help people adjust their watches and that’s how it got its name. It’s sought after because from here Mussoorie seems to be changing colour every minute. And in one sweep, you get panoramic views of the Banderpunch, Gangotri, Pithwara and Srikantha among the lengthy Himalayan folds and ridges. Looking down, you can see the town going about its workday while further down you see the tail of Dehra Dun. The place is favourable for picnics and other recreational activities. You could just as well read yourself to day’s end lying on a red-checked spread. There are a few eateries and some souvenir shops for those who need something more enticing than Nature itself. If far away from the madding crowd is where you want to be, Gun Hill is your best bet.
LAL TIBBA
Walk to Lal Tibba, which is supposed to be the highest point of Mussoorie. This is where you get the feel of the town’s British connection. Lal Tibba is the oldest inhabited area around. The reason why it is called so is because everything here appears red at the time of sunset. But it’s probably attributed to the rhododendrons that are in full bloom with the burst of spring. The municipality had placed a Japanese telescope here in 1967 that gives you splendid views of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Banderpunch and other Himalayan ranges. We take hours, wheezing, gasping, each leading the other with loud exhortations and rallying cries until at one point one of us gets ready to throw herself off the edge as she catches her breath. But here’s a tip for non-habitual trekkers. Be convinced that at the top there’s an elixir of youth and you would climb down younger. You would definitely feel better.
LANDOUR
 The walk from Mussoorie to Landour (old Mussoorie) begins from Picture Palace point and passes through the mile-long Landour Bazaar known for its quaint shops selling odds and necessities. The four-kilometre effort is never tiring as it takes you past the old churches and offers sweeping views of the Doon Valley skirted by the splendid Himalayan range. When you reach St Paul’s Church near the popular Char Dukaan, you can take the road going up to Sisters Bazaar which is also part of the cantonment. Pine and deodar trees line this beautiful walk from the heart of Mussoorie up to the pristine environment of Landour cantonment, which was where the British Army convalesced. It is where you would find heartwarming author Ruskin Bond giving autographs and sharing his stories. Nobody can describe the cul-de-sac of Hampton Court, Scottsburn, Connaught Estate, Shemrick Cottage or the period pantomime here better than he does as a resident in Landour Days: “No water in the taps. No electricity until late afternoon. Telephone out of order. Postman comes by, but without any mail.” And so he fills up his time listening to the “hum and moan” of the wind bellowing through pines become “cheerful and chattering” in a chestnut. Or watch the mating habits of birds. Listen closely and you may pick up the cowbells and the song of the herdsman wafting up with the winds. If you need to air yourself up, just walk to Landour.
CLOUD’S END
An eight-kilometre picturesque walk from the Library Point takes you to Cloud’s End, which is surrounded by thick forests. The bungalow built here by the British in 1835 is among the first four houses of Mussoorie. It is now a resort hotel. There are miles of deodar, patches of fir and, somewhere, the scantier but stately pines that glisten in the season of snow. And if it happens to be spring, rhododendrons are a spectacular sight.
 KEMPTY
Around 14-km from the Library Point (Gandhi Chowk), which is one of the ends of the Mall Road (Picture Palace being the other) is Kempty Falls. At an altitude of 4,500 ft on the Mussoorie-Chakrata Road, the walk to this picnic spot is a long one but when you don’t have to chase time, you don’t mind taking a few leisurely breaks along the way, especially when you have some
bun-butter joints and placebos to relax. Up ahead is the Yamuna bridge. Go there to see what a majestic river it still is and may be get motivated to save it downstream.
WITCHES HILL OR PARI TIBBA
A two-hour trek from below Woodstock School. Cross the Tehri Road and descend via the steep staircase that leads past the Sagar Estate and curves left towards Dhobi Ghat. From Dhobi Ghat, climb the hill passing an abandoned mine on the way. The entrance to the mine is so small that if you do not know about its existence, you would miss it. We try to enter but a flapping of bats deters us. After the mine, we head right and make our way along the wooded trails till the clearing at the top. The hill has repeatedly been struck by lightning and is best avoided on stormy nights. Probably, from a distance it seems like a celestial dance or ritual and hence the name.
FLAG HILL
A one-hour trek that starts from behind the Woodstock School. Walk along the Upper Tehri Road past Jabbarkhet and you will find the hill on your right. The trail leads past a small spring, which might be dry during summer and then on to a slight break on the ridge from where it climbs left towards the hilltop. |
Mussoorie
Uttarakhand
India
