Known as Devbhumi or land of the Lords, Uttarakhand is the window to Himalayas from India along with Himachal, Kashmir and Sikkim. Prominent places to visit in Uttarakhand include religious sites like Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri, Gangotri, even starting point for Kailash yatra, Valley of flowers, Rishikesh and many more. If you are an Indian, you can’t stay away from spiritual tourism. There is some magic in the historic mythology, the temples, the architecture, the faith, the ecosystem, the social net created by these stories that hold people together
While we are yet to visit the mountain temples, our visit has been to Dehradun, Rishikesh, Mussorie, Nainital, Haridwar so far. We would definitely like to visit the temples in future
While we write about the places here, you can pick any small town in the mountains and choose to stay for a few days. You will get to feel the warmth, the calmness, the mightiness and the feeling that you are a small peck in the world, with meaningless worries! The roads and journeys are have much more to offer with gushing Ganges, hanging bridges, pristine forests along the way. Personally, I am not a big fan of temples here since they are usually small, crowded, noisy and not so clean. I rather find the large, architecturally unique temples of South India peaceful and beautiful. The temples are worth visiting to see the power and beleifs of people that is continuing for thousands of years now
December is the best time to visit for clear skies although it will be cold. March- April, September- November have moderate weather. Any month outside of monsoon is pretty good here
Most of the snow clad mountain views are in the interiors of Uttarakhand, atleast 4-5 hours away from nearest airports in smaller towns
Mussorie, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Nainital are the places we have visited. They all happened to be separate visits over different weekends as a part of my office outings
Dehradun
The main airport and connecting point for all the places we have been to so far. Mussorie, Haridwar, Rishikesh are all about an hour away from Dehradun. Joshimath is the starting place for all the temple treks. However, Nainital is about 5-6 hours away, so it is better to take a flight from Pant Nagar airport although connections are few
Dehradun is home to many famous boarding schools like the Doon School. While there are temples, forts and war memorials here, the city is used as a point to get in and get out quickly, rather than spend time within the city
Mussorie
The mountains and views from height like Lal Tibba, Dhanaulti is worth a visit. Most tourists relax in cafes, visit the home of famous writer Ruskin Bond in Landour or meet him at Cambridge book store.
Kempty falls is a popular tourist falls, with a relatively small waterfall and truck loads of tourists. You can see former house of George Everest which feels abandoned now
There are many luxury properties emerging- we have stayed at Jaypee Residency Manor as a part of corporate booking
Rishikesh
Rishikesh has been my favorite destination in Uttarakand. There is peace, greenery and life in the river. You can see clouds floating from the river in the evenings. As you step out, this place is famous for white water rafting which I am yet to get my hands on
Triambakeshwar temple and Laxman Jhula are icons of this city. You can find various Chotiwala restaurants to try out thalis, where a person with long pony tail sits near the entrance. While the religious places in the city centre have large crowds, the properties slightly outside are very calm
You can also enrol in Yoga classes if you are planning to stay here for many days
We stayed at Taj Rishikesh– the location was excellent, next to the river Ganga. The architecture of the property fits well with the surroundings, the service and food was great as well. They have specific times of the day when pooja is held on the banks of the river
Haridwar
Home to many temples and the Kumb Mela that gets hosted every 6-12 years. The stand out here was Ganga Aarthi, held on the banks of river Ganges in the evenings
Nainital
My visit to Nainital happened on work as it was close to a branch visit I had to do in Haldwani. The Naina Devi temple, the mountain and the lake form pretty much all of the hill station. You can go boating on the lake and trek to Naina Peak or Tiffin’s top. While Nainital itself might be a nit overrated, it forms a very good point to reach other serene places like Almora, Bhimtal and Jim Corbett National Park which is 90 minutes from here