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Rowing boats tied up on Naini Lake with green hills and the town around the water
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Photo: Praveen Singh Bisht · CC BY 2.0
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Nainital or Mussoorie — which hill town, for whom, and when

Nainital or Mussoorie: a lake town in Kumaon or a ridge town above Dehradun. Distance from Delhi, what each is for, winter snow, and the plans that cover both.

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Both are old hill stations a long day's drive from Delhi, and both are crowded in summer. They are built in very different places, and that shapes the trip.

Nainital: a town round a lake

Nainital sits around Naini Lake, with the Mall on one shore and the Naina Devi Temple at its head. The point of a stay is the water: boats, the walk round the lake, and day trips to Bhimtal and Sattal. Kainchi Dham is on the road beyond. The nearest big station is Kathgodam, in the plains below.

Mussoorie: a town along a ridge

Mussoorie runs along a ridge above Dehradun. The days are walks: the Mall, Gun Hill by cable car, and up to Landour, the quiet old cantonment with the long view of the snows on a clear morning. Kempty Falls is the usual drive out. The nearest station is Dehradun.

Photos: Paul Hamilton (CC BY-SA 2.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.

How to choose

  • For a family with small children: Nainital, for the boats and the flat walk round the lake.
  • For walking and quiet: Mussoorie, and stay up at Landour rather than on the Mall.
  • For a week: pick the side, not the town. The Kumaon plan starts at Nainital, and the seven-day Uttarakhand plan ends at Mussoorie. The two towns are a long drive apart, so few trips include both.

See the best time to visit Nainital, the best time to visit Mussoorie, how to reach Nainital and how to reach Mussoorie.

Planning a trip?

Places to visit

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Destinations to explore

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Questions people ask

Which is better, Nainital or Mussoorie?

Neither is better for everyone. Choose Nainital for a lake, boating and the other Kumaon lakes nearby, such as Bhimtal and Sattal. Choose Mussoorie for a long ridge walk, the old cantonment at Landour and the view of the snow peaks on a clear day. Both are crowded at weekends and in summer.

Which is closer to Delhi, Nainital or Mussoorie?

Mussoorie, by a little: about 250 km by road against about 280 km for Nainital on our routing. Real driving takes longer than either figure suggests on the hill roads. Mussoorie's nearest station is Dehradun, and Nainital's is Kathgodam, in the plains below the hills.

Does it snow in Nainital or Mussoorie?

Both get snow in some winters, not every week. Mussoorie usually gets a few spells between December and February, though fewer than it once did. At Nainital, frost and mist are common in December and January, and snow falls more often on the higher ground above the lake. Nobody can promise snow for a given trip.