Travel & Places Other - Destinations

Dehradun, The Best Holiday Destination

Dehradun, a city best known for its beauty, people, and multiple tourist spots, is one of the best holiday destinations in the country. Located in the foothills of the Himalayan Range, the city is the perfect escapade for those who are tired of their hectic urban life and are looking for some time to relax in the lap of nature. It is the capital of Uttrakhand, and is the administrative and economical centre of the region. The nearby cities and tourist destinations to Dehradun include - Mussoorie, Auli, Nainital and Haridwar and Rishikesh. These cities/towns, in turn are themselves the popular holiday destinations in the country.

Besides popularly known as one of the best tourist destination, the city is also known for its prestigious eduction system. The city is home to some of the best schools and colleges in India, namely The Doon School, Dehradun Institute of Technology, Rashtriya India Military College, Brooklyn School, Convent of Jesus, St. Joseph's Academy, Welham Boy's School, and HBN Garhwal University.

How to reach Dehradun

The city has its own domestic airport - Jolly Grant Airport. Few airlines namely, The jet Airways, Kingfisher, and India Airlines operates two flights on daily basis between Delhi to Dehradun. Furthermore, there are other connecting flights from all major cities in the country.

One could also reach the city through train. The city is a major station in the state of Uttrakhand. Several trains, such as Shatabdi Express, Mussoorie Express, Upasana Express, Sangam Express, Chennai-Dehradun Express, etc., connects the city to all major parts of the country. Booking the train tickets is easy, however, it does gets a little difficult during festivals and other holiday seasons.

The city is also very well connected to all nearby cities by road. The National Highway 72 runs through the city. Delhi the prime metropolitan, is the nearest major city to Dehradun. It is 237 km from the city and is around 5-6 hours drive (if there is no traffic). The other major cities near to Dehradun are - Roorkee - 71.4 km, Mussoorie - 32.6 km, Mussoorie - 32.6 km, Rishikesh - 45 km, and Shimla - 231 km. One could choose to go through the deluxe, semi-deluxe, or regular buses or, he/she can choose to hire a cab.

Once you reach the city, then there are several things to do. There are multiple major places to visit in Dehradun. The Kalinga War Memorial is one of the major attractions of the city. It is the only war memorial of its kind in the world, and was built by the Britishers in the honour of Gurkhas, their foes. Besides that, the Museum, Mindrolling Monastery, Tapkeshwar Temple,The Char Siddhs,Tapovan,Tiger View Jungle Camp, Robber's Cave,Sahastradhara, and Sai Darbar Temple etc. are the other attractions.

Picnic, trekking, rock climbing are some of the major activities to do in the city. These are the significant part of Dehradun tourism and contribute their share in the city's tourism. In addition to these, shopping and dining-out are the two other popular activities to do in the city. The brightly coloured hand-made woollen items like shawls, scarves, stoles, and pashmina etc. are some of the best items to buy. The Paltan Bazzar, Indra Market, Atey Hall, Rajpur Road etc. are the popular marketplaces in the city.

Furthermore, there are several good restaurants, coffee-houses, and hotels in Dehradun, which serves all kinds of services and comfort to travellers. If you are little constrained on your budget then Best Western Madhuban, Hotel Softel Plaza, and Great Value Hotel some of the mid range hotels to choose from.


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