Mussoorie Mall Road: A Walk from Picture Palace to Library Chowk

Every trip to Mussoorie ends up on the Mall. It is the town's spine: a promenade of a little over two kilometres along the ridge, with Picture Palace at its eastern end and Library Chowk, also called Gandhi Chowk, at the western one. Shops, cafés, the ropeway and the bus stands all hang off it, and which end you sleep at shapes your whole stay. This guide walks it from east to west.

The Picture Palace end

Picture Palace takes its name from an old cinema and is the eastern gateway to the Mall. Buses and taxis from Dehradun stop here as well as at Library, so it is a natural place to arrive. Two things make this end worth staying at:

• Kulri Bazaar, the busiest market on the ridge, starts here: restaurants, bakeries, woollens, and the evening crowd.
• The road to Landour climbs from just beyond Picture Palace through Landour Bazaar to the Clock Tower, and on up to Char Dukan, Lal Tibba and Sister's Bazaar. From this end, the old cantonment is a walk rather than a drive.

Hotel Tourist Home by Palak Hospitality sits right at Picture Palace, on the Mall itself, with a rooftop terrace over the town. It is the kind of small hotel this end is made of: simple rooms, everything on foot.

The middle of the Mall

West of Kulri the Mall flattens into its classic promenade, with benches and railings over the Doon Valley. Midway along it is the lower station of the Gun Hill ropeway, a few minutes up to Mussoorie's second-highest point; there is a steep footpath too. The Camel's Back Road leaves the Mall at Kulri and rejoins it near Library, a level loop of about three kilometres on the quieter, northern side of the hill — the better walk at sunset, when the Mall itself is at its most crowded.

Christ Church, built in 1836 and among the oldest churches in the Himalayas, stands just off the Mall and is worth the short detour for its stained glass.

The Library Chowk end

Library Chowk is named for the old Mussoorie Library at the junction. It is where the Kempty Falls road and the road towards Company Garden and George Everest's House begin, so it suits anyone with day trips planned to the west. The Tibetan stalls selling woollens and souvenirs cluster along this stretch, and the Mall Road bus stand here is the other arrival point from Dehradun.

How long does the walk take?

End to end, Picture Palace to Library Chowk is a flat walk of about half an hour at an easy pace. In practice it takes the whole evening, because nobody walks it without stopping. Add an hour for Gun Hill, and another for the Camel's Back loop. The climb from Picture Palace to the Landour Clock Tower is short but steep; allow twenty minutes and take it slowly if you have just come up from the plains.

Cars, traffic and parking

Vehicles are restricted on the Mall at busy times, especially in the evenings and on summer and holiday weekends, and many hotels along it are reached on foot from the nearest point a car can stop. Before you book, ask the hotel where your car can drop you and where to park. If you are arriving late, come in from the end nearest your hotel: Picture Palace for Kulri and Landour, Library for the western half.

When the Mall is at its best

October to early December has the clearest air, and on many evenings the "winter line", a band of colour along the horizon at sunset, can be seen from the railings. Late December brings the Winterline Carnival to the Mall, with music, food and the town at its fullest; see our guide to Christmas and New Year in Mussoorie. Summer weekends are the busiest of all. Weekday mornings, before the shops open, are when the views are yours alone.

Which end to stay at

See every verified stay on the ridge on our hotels in Mussoorie page, and our two-day plan from Dehradun for the rest of the town.