Most Mussoorie weekends from Delhi start with a six-to-eight-hour drive on a Saturday morning and end with the same drive on Sunday, in traffic. There's a calmer way: sleep on the train on Friday night and wake up at the foot of the hills.
This is the plan I suggest to friends who ask, and it's how we put together Mussoorie trips at Tavora.
Getting there: the Mussoorie Express
The train to know is the Mussoorie Express (14341). It leaves Old Delhi at 10:25 pm, runs daily, and reaches Dehradun at 9:05 am: 10 h 40 min, which sounds long until you realise you spend almost all of it asleep. Leaving after dinner on a Friday means nobody has to take the afternoon off.
From Dehradun station, Mussoorie is about 17 km away as the crow flies, up a winding hill road. Arrange your taxi before the train gets in, so you're not bargaining on the platform at 9 am.
If the train is full, buses are the fallback: a typical Delhi–Dehradun–Mussoorie service takes about 8 hours, the fastest around 6 h 15 min, with fares from ₹702 at our last check. An overnight bus works, but you'll sleep worse than on a berth.
When to go
Mussoorie's best months are October to December and March to June. Here's why, from our climate data for the town:
- October: 11–19°C, about 6 rainy days. Clear after the monsoon.
- November: 7–15°C, about 3 rainy days. My favourite: crisp, dry and quieter.
- December–January: nights around 2–4°C. Cold, clear, and the occasional dusting of snow.
- July–August: 29–30 rainy days a month. Landslides on hill roads and clouds where the views should be.
Saturday: the Landour loop
Skip Mall Road on your first morning. Walk up to Landour, the old cantonment above town, which is greener, quieter and older.
- Breakfast at Landour Bakehouse around 9 am.
- Char Dukan, St Paul's Church and the chakkar loop, a flat circuit through deodar forest.
- Lal Tibba viewpoint, then Prakash Store at Sister's Bazaar for the peanut butter and jams people carry home.
- In the afternoon, come down for the Camel's Back Road walk: a level path with long views and almost no traffic.
Sunday: George Everest and Gun Hill
Start early and drive to Park Estate to walk up to George Everest House and the ridge behind it. Mornings are clearest, and you'll beat the crowd.
Back in town, take the Gun Hill ropeway from Mall Road, have lunch around Library Chowk, and head down to Dehradun mid-afternoon for the train home. Plan the drive down with time to spare: hill traffic on a Sunday afternoon is the one thing on this trip you can't control.
If you have an extra day
Dhanaulti (about 18 km) and Kanatal (about 28 km) are quieter, forested and an easy add-on for a long weekend. See the Mussoorie weekend guide for nearby places and a full day-by-day plan.
Questions people ask
Is there a direct train from Delhi to Mussoorie?
No train goes up to Mussoorie itself. The Mussoorie Express (14341) runs daily from Old Delhi at 10:25 pm to Dehradun, arriving at 9:05 am, and you go up the hill by road from there.
Does it snow in Mussoorie?
Rarely, and briefly. Our climate data has about 1.6 snow days in January and 1 in February, with nights around 2–3°C. Plan a winter trip for the cold and the clear views, and treat snow as a bonus.
Is one night enough for Mussoorie?
Yes, if you take the overnight train both ways. You get two full days on the ground and only one hotel night, which is how we plan most Mussoorie weekends.
Plan Mussoorie for your dates
Your weekend and your group: the train or bus, where you'd stay, every day planned and one all-in price per person. We book all of it and confirm it before you pay.
Written by
Dhruv Shah
Founder, Tavora and RailRoute
I build Tavora and RailRoute. RailRoute started with Indian Railways data: which trains run on time, which routes actually work. Tavora uses it to plan weekends out of Delhi end to end. Here I write about leaving on a Friday night and being back for Monday.
More from Dhruv →
