Mussoorie
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Mussoorie is a
hill station A hill station is a town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The term was used mostly in colonial Asia (particularly in India), but also in Africa (albeit rarely), for towns founded by European colonialists as refuges ...
and a
municipal board A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...
, near Dehradun city in the Dehradun district of the
Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...
of
Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...
. It is about from the state capital of
Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...
and north of the national capital of
New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
. The hill station is in the foothills of the
Garhwal Garhwal may refer to the following topics associated with Uttarakhand, India: Places *Garhwal Himalaya, a sub-range of the Himalayas *Garhwal Kingdom, a former kingdom * Garhwal District (British Garhwal), a former district of British India *Gar ...
Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
n range. The adjoining town of
Landour Landour, a small cantonment town contiguous with Mussoorie, is about from the city of Dehradun in the northern state of Uttarakhand in India. The twin towns of Mussoorie and Landour, together, are a well-known British Raj-era hill station in ...
, which includes a military
cantonment A cantonment (, , or ) is a military quarters. In Bangladesh, India and other parts of South Asia, a ''cantonment'' refers to a permanent military station (a term from the British India, colonial-era). In military of the United States, United Stat ...
, is considered part of "greater Mussoorie", as are the townships of Barlowganj and Jharipani. Mussoorie is at an average
altitude Altitude or height (also sometimes known as depth) is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context ...
of . To the northeast are the Himalayan snow ranges, and to the south, the
Doon Valley The Doon Valley is an unusually wide, long valley within the Sivalik Hills and the Lesser Himalayas, in the Indian states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana. Within the valley lies the city of Dehradun, the capital of Uttarakhand s ...
and
Shiwalik The Sivalik Hills, also known as the Shivalik Hills and Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas that stretches over about from the Indus River eastwards close to the Brahmaputra River, spanning the northern parts of the Indian ...
ranges. The second highest point is the original Lal Tibba in Landour, with a height of over . Mussoorie is popularly known as ''The Queen of the Hills''.


History

Mussoorie has long been known as Queen of the Hills. The name Mussoorie is often attributed to a derivation of ', a shrub which is indigenous to the area. The town is often referred to as ''Mansuri'' by Indians. In 1803 the
Gorkhas The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with endonym Gorkhali ), are soldiers native to the Indian Subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of Northeast India. The Gurkha units are composed of Nepalis and Indian Gorkhas and are recruit ...
under Umer Singh Thapa conquered the Garhwal and the Dehra, whereby Mussoorie was established. On 1 November 1814, a war broke out between the Gorkhas and the British. Dehradun and Mussoorie were evacuated by the Gorkhas by the year 1815 and were annexed to the district of Saharanpur by 1819. Mussoorie as a resort was established in 1825 by Captain Young, a British military officer. With Mr Shore, the resident Superintendent of Revenues at Dehradun, he explored the present site and jointly constructed a shooting lodge. Lt. Frederick Young of the
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
came to Mussoorie to shoot game. He built a hunting lodge (shooting box) on the Camel's Back Road, and became a magistrate of Doon in 1823. He raised the first Gurkha Regiment and planted the first potatoes in the valley. His tenure in Mussoorie ended in 1844, after which he served in
Dimapur Dimapur () is the largest city in the Indian state of Nagaland. As of 2011, the municipality had a population of 122,834. The city is the main gateway and commercial centre of Nagaland. Located near the border with Assam along the banks of the ...
and
Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...
, later retiring as a General and returning to Ireland. There are no memorials to commemorate Young in Mussoorie. However, there is a Young Road in Dehradun on which
ONGC The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is a central public sector undertaking under the ownership of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India. It is headquartered in New Delhi. ONGC was founded on 14 August 1956 by the ...
's Tel Bhawan stands. In 1832, Mussoorie was the intended terminus of the
Great Trigonometric Survey The Great Trigonometrical Survey was a project that aimed to survey the entire Indian subcontinent with scientific precision. It was begun in 1802 by the British infantry officer William Lambton, under the auspices of the East India Company.Gil ...
of India that began at the southern tip of the country. Although unsuccessful, the Surveyor General of India at the time,
George Everest Colonel Sir George Everest CB FRS FRAS FRGS (; 4 July 1790 – 1 December 1866) was a British surveyor and geographer who served as Surveyor General of India from 1830 to 1843. After receiving a military education in Marlow, Everest joined ...
, wanted the new office of the
Survey of India The Survey of India is India's central engineering agency in charge of Cartography, mapping and surveying.
to be based in Mussoorie; a compromise location was
Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...
, where it remains. The same year the first beer brewery at Mussoorie was established by Sir Henry Bohle as "The Old Brewery". The brewery opened and closed twice before it was re-established by Sir John Mackinnon as Mackinnon & Co. in 1850. By 1901, Mussoorie's population had grown to 6,461, rising to 15,000 in the summer. Earlier, Mussoorie was approachable by road from
Saharanpur Saharanpur is a city and a municipal corporation in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is also the administrative headquarters of Saharanpur district. Saharanpur city's name was given after the Saint Shah Haroon Chishti. Saharanpur is declared as on ...
, away. Accessibility became easier in 1900 with the railway coming to
Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...
, thus shortening the road trip to . The Nehru family, including Nehru's daughter Indira (later
Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...
) were frequent visitors to Mussoorie in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, and stayed at the
Savoy Hotel The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August 188 ...
. They also spent time in nearby
Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...
, where Nehru's sister Vijayalakshmi Pandit ultimately settled full-time. On 20 April 1959, during the 1959 Tibetan Rebellion, the
14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ''bsTan-'dzin rgya-mtsho''); né Lhamo Thondup), known as ...
took up residence at Mussoorie, this until April 1960 when he relocated to
Dharamsala Dharamshala (; also spelled Dharamsala) is the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh, India. It serves as administrative headquarters of the Kangra district after being relocated from Kangra, a city located away from Dharamshala, in 1855. Th ...
in Himachal Pradesh, where the
Central Tibetan Administration The Central Tibetan Administration (, , ), often referred to as the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, is a non-profit political organization based in Dharamshala, India. Its organization is modeled after an elective parliamentary government, compo ...
is today headquartered. The first Tibetan school was established in Mussoorie in 1960. Tibetans settled mainly in Happy Valley. Today, about 5,000 Tibetans live in Mussoorie.


Geography and climate

Mussoorie has an average elevation of about . The highest point is "Lal Tibba", at a height of about , although the name Lal Tibba is now also used to describe a lookout point, a short distance from the peak. Mussoorie has a fairly typical
subtropical highland climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''Cwb'') for the mid-altitude Himalaya. Summers are warm and very wet, with July and August averaging approximately of rain per month due to orographic lift of the extremely moist monsoonal air. The pre-monsoon seasons in April and May is warm and generally dry and clear, giving way to heavy rainfall from mid-June, while the post-monsoon season is also dry and clear but substantially cooler. In winter, rainfall is a little more frequent than in the pre-and post-monsoon seasons, and the general weather cool and partly cloudy. Mussoorie usually receives a few spells of snowfall in December, January and February, although the number of snowy days has come down in recent years due to a combination of local and global factors, such as deforestation, construction activity and global warming. Between October to February the town shows the rare "
winterline Winterline or winter line is the term used to describe the false horizon that is formed at dusk and is visible from certain mountainous parts of the world. The reason for its formation is not clear, but it has been reported that "experts" believe ...
" phenomenon.


Demographics

As of 2011 India
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
, Mussoorie had a population of 30,118. Males constitute 55% of the population and females 45%. Mussoorie has an average literacy rate of 89%, higher than the national average of 75%: male literacy is 94%, and female literacy is 84%. In Mussoorie, 9% of the population is under 6 years of age. In Mussoorie Nagar Palika Parishad, female sex ratio is of 812 against the state average of 963. Moreover, the child sex ratio in Mussoorie is around 918 compared to Uttarakhand state average of 890.


Landmarks

Tourism, concentrated during summer and winter, is the most significant segment of the Mussoorie economy.


Bhadraj Temple

Bhadraj Temple is a famous temple in Yamuna Valley. It is dedicated to Lord Balram (brother of
Sri Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one o ...
). People visit here to go
trekking Backpacking is the outdoor recreation of carrying gear on one's back, while hiking for more than a day. It is often an extended journey, and may involve camping outdoors. In North America tenting is common, where simple shelters and mountain h ...
and for camping. Greenfield is a safe place for camping here. There are views of the
Chaukhamba Chaukhamba is a mountain massif in the Gangotri Group of the Garhwal Himalaya. Its main summit, Chaukhamba I, is the highest peak in the group. It lies at the head of the Gangotri Glacier and forms the eastern anchor of the group.Andy Fansha ...
and Banderpunch peaks.


Dhanaulti

Dhanaulti Dhanaulti is a quiet hill station at an elevation of 2286 meters above sea level, it offers panoramic views of the lofty Himalayas. Situated in the foothills of the Garhwal Himalayan range located from New Tehri, the district headquarter, 6 ...
is a hill station located away from Mussoorie. The Doon Valley and snow-covered Garhwal Himalayas can be viewed from there.


Camel's Back Road

Camel's Back Road incorporates a nature walk. The road, which takes its name from a rocky outcrop in the shape of a camel's hump, contains hotels, motels, and a cemetery. The oldest Christian church in the Himalayas, St Mary's, is above Mall Road.


Lal Tibba

Lal Tibba earlier was at the highest peak of Mussoorie where presently TV Tower is located. The earlier Lal Tibba peak had a fixed large binocular through which one could see the snow clad peaks of Himalayas that lies to the north. After the construction of TV Tower the binocular was shifted on the Landour ridge towards west which is now named as Lal Tibba and is located near "Childer's Lodge".


Gun Hill

Gun Hill is the second highest point of Mussoorie, at an altitude of and at , and is accessed by cable car constructed from the Mall road. The cable car was constructed by the efforts of Mr. Hukam Singh Pawar when he was the Chairman, Mussoorie Municipal Board. At Gun Hill is a cannon previously used to sound midday time for the local inhabitants.. It is the second-highest spot after Lal Tibba.


Kempty Falls

The
Kempty Falls __NOTOC__ Kempty Falls is a waterfall in Ram Gaon and at the south of Kempty, in the Tehri Garhwal District of Uttarakhand, India. It is from Mussoorie on the Chakrata Road, and from Dehradun. It is nearly 1364 meters above sea level, at 78° ...
, high and above sea level, is from Mussoorie, accessed by track and ropeway from Mussoorie-Yamuna Bridge Road. The Britishers on their way to and from Mussoorie to Chakrata camped at the falls for tea and therefore the name Camp Tea became Kempty.


Lake Mist

About before Kempty Falls on the Mussoorie-Kempty road is Lake Mist, through which flows the Kempty river with its numerous small waterfalls. The resort of Lake Mist provides accommodation, restaurant facilities and boating.


Municipal Garden

The Municipal Garden provides an artificial mini-lake with paddle boats. It is by road transport and via Waverly Convent School road on foot.


Mussoorie Lake

The newly developed (1994) Mussoorie Lake was built by City Board and
Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority MDDA is a state-run parastatal which was established in 1984 with the objective of planning and development of the city. Mussoorie Dehradun Development area includes Dehradun Urban Agglomeration, Mussoorie Municipal area and its surrounding 185 ...
. The lake, providing pedal boats and views of Doon Valley and nearby villages, is from Mussoorie on the Mussoorie-Dehradun road.


Bhatta Falls

Bhatta Falls are from Mussoorie on the Mussoorie-Dehradun Road near the village of Bhatta. The falls are by foot from Bhatta which can also be reached by ropeway started around in 2019


Jharipani Fall

Jharipani Fall is on the Mussoorie-Jharipani road, from Mussoorie.


Mossy Fall

Mossy Fall is surrounded by a dense forest and is from Mussoorie, and is accessed via Barlowganj or Balahisar.


Sir George Everest's House

At Park Estate are the remains of the building and laboratory of Sir
George Everest Colonel Sir George Everest CB FRS FRAS FRGS (; 4 July 1790 – 1 December 1866) was a British surveyor and geographer who served as Surveyor General of India from 1830 to 1843. After receiving a military education in Marlow, Everest joined ...
, the Surveyor-General of India from 1830 to 1843. It is after George Everest that the world's highest peak
Mt. Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is List of highest mountains on Earth, Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border ru ...
is named. It is from Gandhi Chowk and a scenic walk from Library Bazaar, although accessible by road transport to at least Haathi Paon. The place provides a view of Doon Valley on one side and a panoramic view of the Aglar River valley and the peaks of the Himalayan ranges on the other.


Happy Valley

Happy Valley lies on the western side of Library Point. The tourist attraction includes Tibetan sanctuaries, a municipal garden, and the IAS Academy. Lal Tibba is a further tourist attraction in the cantonment of
Landour Landour, a small cantonment town contiguous with Mussoorie, is about from the city of Dehradun in the northern state of Uttarakhand in India. The twin towns of Mussoorie and Landour, together, are a well-known British Raj-era hill station in ...
near Mussoorie, and overlooks the Himalayas.


Nag Devta Temple

The ancient Nag Devta Temple is dedicated to Snake God Lord Shiva, It is on Cart Mackenzie Road about from Mussoorie on the road to Dehradun. There is vehicular access to the temple, which provides a view of Mussoorie and the Doon Valley.


Jwalaji Temple (Benog Hill)

At an altitude of Jwalaji Temple is west from Mussoorie, and cannot be accessed by vehicle although a motor road goes most of the way from Mussoorie. It is at the top of Benog Hill and contains an idol of the Goddess Durga; from the temple is a view of the valley of the Aglar River.


Cloud End

Cloud End is surrounded by thick deodar forest. The bungalow, built-in 1835 by a British major, was one of the first four buildings in Mussoorie and has been converted to a hotel.


Van Chetna Kendra

Van Chetna Kendra, a sanctuary to the south from Library Point, was established in 1993. It is significant for the extinct bird species
Mountain Quail The mountain quail (''Oreortyx pictus'') is a small ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family. This species is the only one in the genus ''Oreortyx'', which is sometimes included in ''Callipepla''. This is not appropriate, however, as t ...
(Pahari Bater), last spotted in 1876.


Benog Wildlife Sanctuary

The sanctuary, about from Library Point and open to the public, provides a woodland habitat for indigenous birds, and animals.


Mall Road

Mall Road, with architectural evidence of a colonial past, is a shopping area at the centre of Mussoorie, and contains shops, cafes,
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
establishments, skating rinks, a nearby Tibetan market place, and a Methodist church. The Mall road starts from Picture Palace in the east to Library point towards the west.


Lal Tibba

Lal Tibba, also called Depot Hill because of its former use as a military depot, is the highest point in Mussoorie with an altitude of , with views over the town and its surroundings. A Japanese telescope, with views of Himalayan ranges including Badrinath, Kedarnath, Banderpunch, was installed at Lal Tibba in 1967. Dalai HIlls Mussoorie The Dalai Hills Mussoorie and Happy Valley are two of the most impressive and beautiful places in Mussoorie. It takes about 400 meters walk from the Tibetan temple in Happy Valley to reac


Soham Heritage and Art Centre

Bala Hisar is a museum in Uttarakhand that showcases cultural heritage of the state in different art forms.


Education and services

There is a Christian institution called the Landour Community Hospital. It is a small mission hospital run by the Emmanuel Hospital Association, Delhi catering to the medical needs of the people on the hills for the last 75 years. The schools include Convent of Jesus and Mary, Waverly (1845), St. George's College (1853), Woodstock School (1854), Oak Grove School (1888), Wynberg-Allen (1888), Guru Nanak Fifth Centenary (1969), and Convent of Jesus and Mary Hampton Court.
St. George's College, Mussoorie St. George's College, Mussoorie, is an all-boys boarding and non-boarding school in Mussoorie, in the state of Uttarakhand, India, affiliated to the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations board. The school, an all-boys resident ...
(founded in 1853) is amongst the oldest and most reputed schools in the country. It has been run by the
Patrician Brothers The Patrician Brothers officially named Brothers of Saint Patrick ( la, Congregatio Fratrum a Sancto Patricio), abbreviated F.S.P. is a Catholic lay religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men founded for the religious and literary educa ...
since 1893. Spread over , the school is popularly referred to as 'Manor House'. Over the years, its alumni have made distinguished contributions in several fields, especially in serving the armed forces of the nation. The school's imposing facade stands out as one of the main architectural attractions of Mussoorie.
Woodstock School Woodstock School is an international coeducational residential school located in Landour, a small hill station contiguous with the town of Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, India, in the foothills of the Himalayas. Woodstock is one of the oldest resid ...
is a Christian, international, co-educational, residential school in Landour, a small hill station contiguous with the town of Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, India. The school traces its origin to the 1850s when a group of English ladies were enlisted by British officers and American missionaries to provide a Protestant education for girls. Woodstock is among the most well-known boarding schools of the Indian Subcontinent, said by some to be currently the best international school in India. (Others are the
Kodaikanal International School Kodaikanal International School (KIS) is a co-educational independent residential school offering education for grades P-12. It is located on in Kodaikanal, Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, India. Kodaikanal is a hill station at in the Palani Hills, n ...
and the
Hebron School, Ooty Hebron School is a Mixed-sex education, co-educational Independent school, independent boarding school in the hill station known as Ooty, in Tamil Nadu, southern India. The school is operated by a Protestantism, Protestant Christian trust with ...
, both in South India.) The school has a campus spread over an area of about and is in a forest region with a variety of flora including pine, rhododendron, and oak. The terrain of the campus has an altitude range of from its lowest point to the highest point. Classes at Woodstock begin from ECP (Early Childhood Program) and follow up to grade 12. Oak Grove School stands out from the other notable institutions of Mussoorie for two reasons. First, it is affiliated with the CBSE, New Delhi, which is a rarity amongst the residential schools of Mussoorie. Second, it is a secular government-aided school, run by the Northern Railway. The school was founded in 1888 by the East Indian Railway (EIR) and passed to the Indian Railways when railways were nationalised after Independence. It has three semi-independent wings and is on two hills in Jharipani, from Mussoorie town, near the famous Jharipani fall.
Wynberg Allen School Wynberg-Allen School is a boarding school in India, founded in 1888. It is located at Bala hissar in Mussoorie, India. The alumni of Wynberg Allen School are known as Alwynians. History From a meeting in Kanpur in 1887 of friends, Mr. Powe ...
, established in 1888, is a well-known school which ranks amongst the finest in the country. In Kanpur, during the year 1887, a group of friends, Mr. Alfred Powell, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Foy and Brigadier J H Condon met and decided to set up a school in Mussoorie. The school was built at Jabarkhet along the Tehri road and was later shifted to the present Wynberg Estate. The object was to provide for and give to children, wholly or partly of European descent, an education based on Protestant Christian principles; to maintain such children; and to give them an academic and practical training conducive to economic welfare and happiness. It now accommodates students of all descents. The school consists of two branches—the Junior branch (Wynberg) and the Senior branch (Allen) and accommodates around 700 children. The school has four houses: Allen, Powell, Foy and Condon. A student from the institution is referred to as an "Alwynin." The Convent of Jesus and Mary, Waverley, Mussoorie was established in 1845 by the Religious Sisters of Jesus and Mary Mussoorie Educational Society. The school is conducted by the Religious Sisters of Jesus and Mary. It is an all-girls school and perhaps the oldest Convent school in India. Waverley is at an elevation of above sea level on one of the healthiest, most extensive and well wooded hills of Mussoorie. The Jesus and Mary congregation was the first congregation of Sisters to come to the north in 1842 at the invitation of Bishop Borghi the Vicar Apostolic of the Agra Mission. The Archbishop requested the sisters to come to Mussoorie to start a school for girls. In 1845 the sisters came to Mussoorie. The estate of Waverley belonging to an Italian gentleman had just come into the market and the nuns bought it. That year saw the commencement of one of the most important Catholic educational institutions in the North of India. Thousands of girls, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, have since passed through Waverley. The small inadequate bungalow which was all the accommodation at first offered, has given place to a group of tastefully conceived buildings which dominate the town of Mussoorie.
Guru Nanak Fifth Centenary School Guru Nanak Fifth Centenary school Mussoorie (G.N.F.C.S) is a Sikh, international, English medium school in India, Mussoorie. G.N.F.C.S is a boarding school with two separate campuses for boys and girls. The short name for the boys' school is Vin ...
(GNFCS) is another one of Mussoorie's well-known schools and one of the best boarding establishments in India. Previously owned by the Seventh-day Adventists and known from 1922–1969 as Vincent Hill School, GNFCS purchased the land and extensive buildings and founded an international school in the sacred memory of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, on the occasion of His 500th birth anniversary, celebrated in November 1969. The girls are housed at Shangri La at above sea level on an plot, wooded with cypress, cedar and oak, on the south and west, facing the snow clad Himalayan peaks, to the north. The boys are at Vincent Hill: It is from the Library Chowk. Surrounded by picturesque scenery and upgrading the old Vincent Hill School, it comprises a campus spread over . The GNFCS prepares students in accordance with the 10+2 formula for school education, for the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (10 year course) examination and the Indian School Certificate (12 year course) examination. Other schools in Mussourie include
Mussoorie International School Mussoorie International School (MIS) is an all-girls residential school in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, India. Established in 1984, MIS is affiliated to the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE code UT026), New Delhi and Un ...
(founded in 1984), Mussoorie Modern School, Tibetan Homes, CST Mussoorie and St Clares Convent School. Mussorie has the
Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) is a civil service training institute on public policy and public administration in India. The academy's main purpose is to train civil servants of the IAS cadre and also con ...
, the premier training institute for officers of the Indian Foreign Service, Indian Administrative Service and other civil services. This unique institute is about from Gandhi Chowk. The library area houses the premier academy of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force, an elite central police organization belonging to the Government of India. It is a well-respected institute for training ITBP officer recruits patrolling the porous borders. The academy was moved to this location in 1978, consequent upon reorganization of the force, and located at two separate patches of land known as Cainville Estate (Adminb wing) and Astel estate (Combat wing) The academy has grown over the years so as to take friendly foreign countries officers as its trainees. State-of-the-art facilities have been established here in order to provide the latest modern training to its trainees. The academy has a helipad, synthetic tennis courts, modern computer labs and simulators, and one of the best libraries in town. The Academy also serves the local inhabitants as the first-responder in any major or minor rescue and relief work, be it a traffic accident, or a cable car mishap. ITBP has provided much needed relief immediately. They have been instrumental in assisting the town's local administration in preserving the green cover of this exotic hill station. The Academy is headed by M. C. Bhatt, IG, at present, with Sh Satyendra Kumar as Commandant.


Economy

The economy in Mussoorie is primarily dependent on tourism. Tourists come primarily from New Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and other northern states. In Mussoorie itself, there were domestic tourist arrivals and 1865 foreign arrivals in 2017. There is a projected 58.5% growth forecast in foreign tourist arrivals due to EVisa nationally. Educational institutions are another contributor to the local economy. The Uttarakhand Government has created investment proposals for the development of a mountain forest resort and a development of ropeways in order to boost tourism in the region. The ropeway which was inaugurated on 6 March 2019 is being built at a cost of and is expected to be completed by 2022.


Transport

Mussoorie is connected by road to
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
and major cities. It is called the "Gateway" to
Yamunotri Yamunotri, also Jamnotri, is the source of the Yamuna River and the seat of the Goddess Yamuna in Hinduism. It is situated at an altitude of in the Garhwal Himalayas and located approximately North of Uttarkashi, the headquarters of the Uttark ...
and Gangotri shrines of Northern India. The nearest Airport Jolly Grant in Dehradun is away from the city The closest rail station is
Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...
. Within Mussoorie are taxis and buses. A ropeway between Purkul Gaon, Dehradun and Mussoorie is in the works. This rope way is projected to reduce traffic congestion and increase tourist footfall to Mussoorie. File:Mussoorie and Landour, 1860s.jpg, Mussoorie and
Landour Landour, a small cantonment town contiguous with Mussoorie, is about from the city of Dehradun in the northern state of Uttarakhand in India. The twin towns of Mussoorie and Landour, together, are a well-known British Raj-era hill station in ...
, 1860s File:Hampton Court School, Mussoorie 01.JPG, Hampton Court School File:Mussoorie to doon valley.jpg, Mussoorie at night. File:Kempty Water Fall Mussoorie.jpg, Kempty Water Fall, Mussoorie (in winter) File:Ropeway Car in Mussoorie.jpg, The Ropeway/Cable Car is a tourist attraction in Mussoorie File:View of Deharadun from Mussourie.JPG, A view of Dehradun from Mussourie File:Beautiful Mussoorie.jpg, View of the Hills in Mussoorie Towards Sunset File:Mussoorie Uttarakhand India.ogv, A video of sightseeing while driving on the roads at Mussoorie File:Himalayas at dusk from Mussoorie, Uttarakhand.jpg, Himalayas at dusk from Mussoorie, Uttarakhand File:Dehradun from Mussoorie.jpg, View of Dehradun from Mussoorie at Night


Notable people

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Ruskin Bond Ruskin Bond (born 19 May 1934) is an Anglo-Indian author . His first novel, ''The Room on the Roof'', was published in 1956, and it received the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize in 1957. Bond has authored more than 500 short stories, essays, and n ...
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Tom Alter Thomas Beach Alter (22 June 1950 – 29 September 2017) was an Indian actor. He was best known for his works in Hindi cinema, and Indian theatre. In 2008, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. Early life Born in Mussoorie i ...
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Anita Desai Anita Desai, born Anita Mazumdar (born 24 June 1937) is an Indian novelist and the Emerita John E. Burchard Professor of Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As a writer she has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize three ti ...
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Saira Banu Saira Banu (born 23 August 1944) is a former Indian actress who mainly worked in Hindi language films. She was one of the most popular actresses in her heyday in the Indian film industry in the 1960s and early 1970s. Career Saira Banu was the ...
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Jamila Gavin Jamila Gavin (born 9 August 1941) is a British writer born in Mussoorie in the United Provinces of India, in the present-day state of Uttarakhand in the Western Himalayas. She is known mainly for children's books, including several with Indian ...
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Stephen Alter Stephen Alter (born 1956) is an author of non-fiction and fiction, who was born and raised in India, where he grew up as the son of American missionaries. He lives in Littleton, Colorado, Littleton, Colorado, United States and Landour, Uttarakhan ...
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Nayantara Sahgal Nayantara Sahgal (born 10 May 1927) is an Indian writer who writes in English. She is a member of the Nehru–Gandhi family, the second of the three daughters born to Jawaharlal Nehru's sister, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit. She was awarded the 1986 S ...
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Martha Chen Martha Chen (née Alter; born February 9, 1944) is an American academic, scholar and social worker, who is presently a lecturer in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and senior advisor of the global research-policy-action network WIEGO ...
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Victor Banerjee Victor Banerjee is an Indian actor who appears in English, Hindi, Bengali and Assamese language films. He has worked for directors such as Roman Polanski, James Ivory, Sir David Lean, Jerry London, Ronald Neame, Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Shya ...


References


External links

* An engraving of a painting by Thomas Colman Dibdin with a poetical illustration bt
Letitia Elizabeth Landon Letitia Elizabeth Landon (14 August 1802 – 15 October 1838) was an English poet and novelist, better known by her initials L.E.L. The writings of Landon are transitional between Romanticism and the Victorian Age. Her first major breakthrough ...
in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1838.
Mussoorie on official website of Dehradun district
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Dehradun district Hill stations in Uttarakhand Tibetan diaspora in India Tourism in Uttarakhand Tourist attractions in Dehradun Articles containing video clips