Mussoorie Things to Do

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Whatever glorious stories you have heard of Kempty Falls belongs to an era when concretisation had not taken place. In the name of improvement and facilities, this gorgeous falls has been totally ruined. A giant trolley, an incongruous temple, innumerable houses and some odd concrete platforms totally obscure the view of the falls. Do check out this video at VirtualTourist.

What is incomprehensible is the need to build facilities right up to touching distance of the falls by the authorities. The entire scene is ruined. It is like going up right close to a painting instead of stepping back and admiring the entire view. Such facilities could easily have been built on the opposite side of the falls, leaving the view uncluttered. You may get your photo but it will be of a falls hemmed in by man-made madness instead of Nature’s gracious gift formed by the Ringaul river.

All is not lost, however. As you wend you way back with a heavy heart, lean out of your left-side window and see Kempty Falls in all its glory! From an adequate distance, you will appreciate the three-tired Falls better. Whatever aberrations appear in your carefully composed photo may well be taken care of by photoshopping it. And if you wish to enjoy the Falls in the early morning light, there are a few budget hotels nearby.

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As you stroll along the Mall you cannot help but notice the graceful sweep of the Doon valley stretched out below. The houses, the terraced cultivation, the road slithering and snaking down, the rolling hills, the fleecy clouds – all add to the charm of the exquisite scenery. But it is the gracefulness of the sweep that catches the eye. You feel you could take a sufficiently large piece of tin, make yourself comfortable on it and gleefully glide down to the valley below – just as you swept down the slide in your schoolyard.

As dusk falls, the magic begins. First a small light goes on in the valley below, then another, then the next. And so on, until the entire Doon is but a carpet of light, iridescent, shimmering, enchanting.

As John Northam wrote in his guide book more than a century ago:

“The eye never tires at looking down upon the Dun, with its multitude of lovely detail,
and commanding, as the visitor does, the view from an altitude of from 6,000 to 7,000
feet, the effect is charming, and, under some conditions of the atmosphere, enchanting.
Description is beyond the power of the pen.”

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A trip to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) at Happy Valley, which was once the Charleville Hotel, 1.5 kms from Library point, is a must. This is the place where the future administrators of India are groomed after they are selected by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). It’s during the Foundational Course (FC) that all these youngsters get to know each other and forge bonds which last them throughout their service career and sometimes, their lifetime. The two-storeyed wooden building which houses the Director’s office is a heritage building. The full-length statue of the late Lal Bahadur Shastri as well as the bust of the late Sardar Vallabhai Patel, are both impressive. At one end of the campus, you get an uncluttered view of the hills and ranges that seem to roll on endlessly.

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A walk along the mall, at any point during the day, is an exhilarating experience. The throng of tourist, coupled with the vehicular traffic, may not make your peregrinations as soothing and as trouble-free as you would like it to be. Barring these mis-adventures as you take in the ubiquitous stalls and kiosks along the way, you will find your walk rather enjoyable.

The entire stretch of the Mall, starting from Library Point and going up to the Picture Palace, is a good 2 kms walk. However, as you stroll along you will hardly feel the distance owing to the variety of life that you witness.

In one corner you may notice a barber giving a swift haircut to a hapless country bumpkin while his colleagues wait for their customer for a body massage. At another point you will see a cluster of horses with their owners urging you to take a trip along Camel Back Road to Lal Tibba. Further on, you will be drawn to a woman making fire-roasted corn-cob (‘bhutta’) edible while, at the same time, she minds her baby. If the aroma of meat meets your nostrils, look further ahead to see a man preparing chicken ‘tikka’ over smoldering charcoal kept alive ingeniously by the use of a small electric fan.

If you hear haggling, look no further than a make-shift kiosk selling woolen garments. A throng of ladies may be seen choosing the most colourful of woolen scarves, caps, sweaters and cardigans.

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As you walk along, you cannot but help notice the once legendary ‘Whispering Windows’ hotel. In days of yore this was the ultimate joint to be seen in and to dine. A little further on, almost in a cul-de-sac, you will notice four famous restaurants vying with one another to entice you, ‘Nirula’s’, ‘Domino’s’, ‘Café Coffee Day’ and ‘The Rice Bowl’. If that was not enough, another Chinese restaurant, ‘Kalsang’ hits you in the eye with its bright red exterior. Next to it stands, ‘Le-Chef’, the restaurant whose tag line is ‘Indian by Birth, Punjabi by Nature’. Not to be missed is ‘Howard’, the circular revolving restaurant. As dusk falls, the Mall acquires a mystic charm. The air is pregnant with romance and expectations.

While at the Mall you cannot miss the Central Methodist Church at Kulri, established in 1885. Built sturdily of stone, this massive edifies is an oasis of peace from the throng of the tourist trampling up and down the Mall.

Authentic, period furniture, British-style, is available aplenty in Mussoorie. The reason could be the wholesale departure of the English residents of the town after Independence.

Whatever the reasons, there are quite a few shops dealing in antique furniture as well as antiques. One treasure house is just beside ‘Omi Sweet Shop’ in the Landour region of Mussoorie. Called ‘Ancient Palace’, you lose yourself in this shop if you like antiques. Some of the items are so old and uncared for that even the owner (Irfan Ahmed) or the shop helper can’t tell you much about them.

The other shop is near the Clock Tower area and doesn’t appear to have a name. The owner, Vinod Kumar, is a bit more knowledgeable. He judges your interest and only pulls out the real treasures if he feels you are truly interested and not just shielding yourself from the rain or the cold. A pure silver tea pot, milk pot and sugar pot, were a bargain. So also were a 100-year calendar (1950-2049) paper weight from Stanley, London, a sand timer (5-minutes) and an antique clock.

If you have a sweet tooth and you’re in Mussoorie, head straight for ‘Omi Sweet Shop’ at Landour. They have been in the sweet business for a little more than a century and a half (1860 onwards). From the Mall as you walk towards Landour, the shop is to your right-hand side.

Besides an array of mouth-watering delicacies, a number of different types of ‘namkeens’ (salted savouries) are also on display to entice you. You could pick up some chilly hot ones also for your sundowner. A few tables are also set aside for guests who may not want to wait too long to taste the sweets.

A type of sweet produced here that defies logic is chocolate ‘burfi’. These square-shaped dark brown sweets may be kept in your house for almost a month without it getting spoilt. And it’s not too sweet either.

The owner of the shop (Ashwani - +919897491821), is a knowledgeable person. You ask him about the town and he’ll tell you how to get there, when to go and whether it’s worth it or not.

A veritable feast.

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Kempty falls is 40 feets in hight,it is considered very beautiful however when we went the water was diverted as the construction was going on.It was simply waste of time for us.However in its former avatar,as described it looked lovely.

The Kempty Falls are a major attractions of Dehradun and Mussoorie. The falls are situated mid way between the Dehradun-Mussoorie path. Set on the hilly terrains, the Kempty falls are stunningly beautiful. The water cascading down from an altitude of 4,500 feet and splitting further into five cascades, the water falls from a height of 40 feet giving the appearance of water jumping and playing on the rocks before falling down. This place was developed as a tourist destination by John Mekinan, after 1835. The name Kempty is derived from 'Camp-tea', as the Britishers would organise their tea parties here