The travel bug bit me and took me to the queen of hills, Mussorie this time. The place was so welcoming and picturesque that it has become my favorite destination and I am not able to get over the memories that I collected. Living in a city, an urban jungle drifts us apart from nature. We don’t know what lush greenery feels like. We don’t know what breathing among trees feels like and when we witness that in person, that feeling is heavenly. I have visited mountains before but Mussorie has the lushest vegetation cover among the ones I have visited before perhaps because it receives a good amount of rainfall.
My journey of witnessing the lush green mountains started from Dehradun and on my way, I was so excited to see mountains after such a long time. I have a good craving for mountains, they are so still, so quiet, unlike me whose mind buzzes like a bee and hops like a rabbit. Opposites attract each other! I love exploring cultures, different people, religions, ethnicity, it’s all so mesmerizing. After reaching Mussorie, I started walking towards Lal Tibba after absorbing the beauty of the mountains outside my hotel. The path to Lal Tibba was full of scenic views, tall trees, and children going to school in blazers when it was over 45 degrees Celsius in Delhi.
On my way, I saw clusters of settlements of Buddhists and some beautiful cafes. It was very hard to choose which cafe I would eat in, after coming back from Lal Tibba. My eyes were finally stuck on Doma’s cafe which so colorful and vibrant that I could not control the urge to go inside and try something. It is a Tibetan-themed restaurant which some really beautiful Thangka paintings of dragons outside. I was smitten and I had marked this place.
Going uphill, the temperature dropped and I could spot lesser people which was good as I had no distraction. The first stop was “Char Dukan” or four shops and I sat down to have tea and grab a sandwich. The place was quite peaceful, the food served was tasty and it had photos of a lot of celebrities who had visited that shop.
After that, I reached Lal Tibba which is the highest point in Mussorie, and took some rest. The mountains were quiet as usual, standing there for thousands of years teaching me to be patient and realize the power of time. It was surreal to have so much peace and lush greenery in front of my eyes and breathe fresh air. I did not want to go anywhere and just stay here. Here.
On my way back, I stopped at Doma’s cafe as I had marked it before. The interior was even more colorful with too many things to see in too little time. Yet, I tried to absorb things as I saw them and I had a ginger honey lemon tea with a pancake. It was blissful to sit at a quiet corner and gaze at mountains outside the glass window and to get a glimpse of some photos, paintings an some chimes inside that cafe. I want to go there again. Soon. Very soon. You’d be wondering why I didn’t go to Landour after Lal Tibba. Well, I went there the next morning.
As usual, I had breakfast at Char Dukan and started climbing uphill randomly without being aware that Landour is ahead and this stretch was even cooler, quieter, and devoid of people. I saw Kellog’s church and Lnadour language school in the mid and saw some beautiful homes on my way up.
I reached Landour bakehouse which was full of some foreign visitors and I found a spot perfect spot to sip coffee and write a book. Perhaps this is why Ruskin Bond is such a prolific writer.
Read more: Oh dear mountains, I miss you!
I had some cookies, a coffee and an apple tart there which was all too tasty. I wanted to sit there and read a book but there was no time.
Another good thing in Mussorie was a trek that I took towards George Everest’s house. Yes, the same guy who measured the height of Everest. The slope was sharp and looking below trees looked like they are about into the valley. The view was beautiful and I got to some grassland on my way which made it even more beautiful. We were a team of 10 people which made the trek even more enjoyable.
I explored the mall road a bit but it was all too crowded because it was the peak season so I shopped a bit and came back to hotel. I went to the Cambridge bookstore, the bookstore where Ruskin Bond comes every Saturday. I was surprised to see so many books written by him! The store has all the books written by him and I could not help but buy a book for my brother as I have a good number of books of Ruskin Bond already.
And that’s how trip to Mussorie concluded. A beautiful trip rather.
I wish to go to that place again and explore more. Stay more.
Have you been to the queen of hills?
Thank you pragati.