If you ever need a little peace and quite, there is a place just above Mussoorie that will leave your soul spellbound and your mind in complete calmness. But first you have to get there.
For years now my spiritual retreat has been in the tiny hill town called Landour, which is situated just 3 kilometres from the ever-so-popular hill-station known as Mussoorie. Just a six-hour drive from New Delhi, and you will be able to immerse yourself in an environment that is the complete opposite of what you have been attuned to – if that is what you seek. But to get there you must climb up a frightening road.
The little town of Landour is almost 1,500 feet higher than Mussorie, and you cannot pass through the main city if you wish to get there. There is a very narrow and incredibly steep road that runs along the cliffs of the mountain and must be climbed in order for you to reach this oasis of bliss and tranquility.
I left Delhi at a very late hour – some might say – at 10 am. Fortunately, it was a national holiday so I didn’t face much traffic heading up towards Dehradun. As you leave Delhi and pass Ghaziabad and Meerut, the road becomes fairly good for quite a fair distance. However, once you pass the town of Muzaffarnagar – which is nearly the halfway point – the roads become treacherous, and some might not even call them roads. My set of wheels for this trip was the Hyundai Eon – a small but brilliant car that is stylish, comfortable and extremely practical.
On the nicely paved roads and highways the Eon is well grounded and composed, and when the roads turn into piles of tiny rocks or blots of massive sink holes, the Eon still moves over them with full confidence. The roads in some places towards Roorkee and in Dehradun were quite bad, but the Eon just trounced over them.
Once we crossed through Dehradun the real climb began towards Mussoorie, which is just 50 kilometers up the mountain range. The roads are fairly good and not very steep. I was really taken aback by how well the Eon handled and climbed up the mountain roads. Taking on those roads was a piece of cake. The engine can rev incredibly high and at the same time feel very smooth.
I was now approaching the road that breaks off just before Mussoorie and heads up towards Landour. I must admit that I was a bit concerned about how the Eon would handle the incredibly steep climb, but once again I was happily surprised. The Eon is a peppy little machine and I could feel the pistons moving seamlessly and the engine revving with ease as it climbed in just the first gear. With all of its torque the car climbed its way up the tiny steep streets and I was happy that I finally made it to the top of the hill.
The trip was worth it and as soon as I reached Landour, I headed straight to Char Dukan to have some lovely food and soak up the scenery. Landour is an old city and as you walk around you will notice this when you visit St. Paul’s Church and go for a lovely stroll through the forest, or around circular road that takes you to LalTibba and through Sister’s Bazaar. Once again I found my self ignoring time and soaking in the calmness and serenity of the world after making this incredible climb up the mountain.
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