Explore Uttarakhand

The 'Queen of the Hills' rides a great ridge above the Doon valley, wrapped in oak and deodar with the snow range visible on clear winter days. Mall Road, Landour lanes and hill viewpoints make it the most loved weekend hill station near Dehradun.

Landour is Mussoorie's quieter upper cantonment — colonial cottages, deodar lanes and the famous bakeries of Char Dukan above a sea of hills. Ruskin Bond's home patch and the loveliest walk in the district.

Dhanaulti's quiet eco-parks and cedar forests sit on the Mussoorie–Chamba ridge, far quieter than its famous neighbour. Mist, pine walks and mountain camps define this easygoing hill escape.

Kanatal is a high meadow camp country between Dhanaulti and Chamba — apple orchards, starlit tent stays and forest trails. Its quiet roads are among the most scenic drives out of Dehradun.

Chakrata is a cantonment hill town on a ridge above the Yamuna valley — deodar forests, limestone caves at Budher and the roaring Tiger Falls nearby. Far quieter than Mussoorie, it's Dehradun's favourite offbeat escape.

Dehradun, the valley capital of Uttarakhand, blends colonial institutes, forest research campuses and monastery lanes beneath the Mussoorie ridge. It is the great starting point of every Garhwal journey — and a destination in itself.

Rishikesh, the yoga capital on the Ganga, strings ashrams, suspension bridges and white-water rapids beneath forested hills. Evenings at Triveni Ghat and mornings on the river make it Uttarakhand's most versatile stop.

Nainital curves around the emerald Naini Lake beneath the eyeshaped peaks of Kumaon. Boating, Mallital bazaars and viewpoint hikes make it the classic lake-and-ridge holiday of the Kumaon hills.

Almora is Kumaon's cultural capital — a horseshoe ridge town of stone lanes, Lala bazaars and temples that have watched the Himalaya for centuries. Swami Vivekananda and D. H. Lawrence both fell for its light.

Ranikhet, the 'Queen's Meadow', keeps its cantonment greens, golf course and orchards beneath a huge view of the Nanda Devi range. Pine forests and army neatness give it a calm few hill stations match.

Mukteshwar perches on a high orchard ridge famous for its 360° Himalayan view and the climber's playground of Chauli ki Jali. Orchards, a century-old temple and forest trails keep it wonderfully slow.

Kausani's tea gardens and pine ridges front a 300-km sweep of Himalaya that Gandhi called the 'Switzerland of India'. Sunrise here turns Trishul and Nanda Devi rose-gold above the Someshwar valley.

Chaukori is a quiet tea-and-pine ridge in Pithoragarh with one of the grandest sunrise views of the Panchachuli range. Tea gardens, orchards and deep silence define this offbeat Kumaon gem.

Pithoragarh, 'Little Kashmir', sits in a wide wooded valley on the old trade road to Tibet. Fort ruins, valley viewpoints and the road-head feel of the Himalayan frontier give it a distinct character.

Munsiyari is the end-of-the-road Johari valley town that stares straight up at the five fins of Panchachuli. Homestays, Johari crafts and the trailhead of the Milam and Nanda Devi routes make it Kumaon's grand frontier.

Lohaghat is a calm valley town on the Lohawati river in Champawat, ringed by oak forests and old devi shrines. It's the quiet base for Purnagiri, Mayawati ashram and Abbott Mount's colonial ghost-story charm.

Champawat, the ancient capital of the Chand dynasty, keeps carved temples like Baleshwar and Nagnath in stone that has seen a thousand years. Terraced hills and the Lohawati valley frame the old town.

Binsar is a dark-forested wildlife sanctuary crowned by Zero Point, where oak and rhododendron woods part for a panorama from Kedarnath to Nanda Devi. Colonial-era estate houses and forest lodges keep it hushed.

Auli, India's finest ski meadow, rolls beneath the twin summits of Nanda Devi and Trishul. The Joshimath ropeway, winter skiing and summer grasslands make it a year-round mountain playground.

Joshimath, the winter seat of Badrinath, is the great staging town of the Alaknanda — gateway to Auli, the Valley of Flowers and the Niti routes. Ancient Kalpavriksha and Shankaracharya math traditions run deep here.

Harsil is a deodar-lined army cantonment valley on the Bhagirathi — apple orchards, wooden houses and one of the prettiest river roads in Garhwal, just before Gangotri.

Chopta, the 'Mini Switzerland' of Garhwal, is a high meadow camp under the Tungnath ridge — bugyal grass, rhododendron thickets and some of the easiest grand-view treks in the Himalaya.

Ukhimath is the winter home of the Kedarnath and Madhyamaheshwar idols and the ancestral town of the old Garhwal royalty. Wooden temples and valley terraces make it a gentle cultural stop near Chopta.

Lansdowne is a neat Garhwali cantonment town of the Garhwal Rifles — oak and pine woods, a quiet lake, and the splendid Tarkeshwar Mahadev shrine in the forest nearby.

Pauri, headquarters of the Garhwal hills, spreads across a ridge with a 300 km view of the snow range from Chaukhamba to Nanda Devi. Terraced valleys and the Kandoliya woods make it a slow, grand detour.

Tehri is home to one of the world's tallest embankment dams and the vast turquoise Tehri Lake that backs up the Bhagirathi. Jet-ski pontoons, the ropeway over the gorge and hilltop views make it an unexpected adventure stop.

New Tehri, the planned town built when the old capital drowned under the dam's waters, stacks bright hillside housing above the great reservoir. It's the best base to understand the lake's story.

Gwaldam is a whisper-quiet ridge junction between Garhwal and Kumaon, with pine forests, terraced farms and the trailhead for theRoopkund and Tungnath sides of the mountains.

Ramgarh, the fruit bowl of Kumaon, rolls with apple, peach and apricot orchards beneath a wall of snow peaks. Writers' retreats and estate bungalows make it a slow-season favourite above Nainital.

Bhimtal wraps its lake around an island aquarium, calmer and greener than Nainital nearby. Boathouses, forest walks and butterfly-rich slopes make it a gentle lake holiday.

Binsar Sanctuary is 45-odd square kilometres of deep oak and rhododendron forest around a single grand ridge — leopards, barking deer, 200+ bird species and the Zero Point snowline panorama.