Dhanaulti — the pine-forest hill station between Mussoorie and Tehri
What it is
Dhanaulti is a small hill station in Tehri Garhwal at about 2,286 m, in the forest on the road between Mussoorie and Chamba. It is on the circuit that runs from Landour and Mussoorie through Dhanaulti, Kanatal and Chamba to New Tehri and the Tehri Lake.
Photos: SHUVADIP (CC BY-SA 4.0) · https://www.flickr.com/photos/ramkrsna/ (CC BY 2.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
The eco-parks and the forest
Amber and Dhara, the town's two eco-parks, lie within 200 m of each other in the pine and deodar forest. On a clear day the snow range shows above the blue ridges to the north. Wikipedia gives summer temperatures of 20 to 25°C and winter ones of 7°C down to -1°C.
Surkanda Devi and Kanatal
The Surkanda Devi temple stands on a summit at about 2,756 m, about 3 km from Dhanaulti by Wikivoyage. It is one of the Shakta pithas: here the head of Sati fell, and the goddess is worshipped on the summit. The path up starts at Kaddukhal on the road to Chamba. Further on, Kanatal sits at about 2,600 m, where winter snow can block the road.
Getting there
From New Tehri it is about 39 km and 77 minutes on our routing, by way of Chamba and Kanatal. Wikipedia puts it about 30 km from Mussoorie.
Combine it with
The two-day Tehri plan ends here after a day on the lake. Read things to do around Tehri and the best time to go.
Plans that include this
All 1 plans that stop here →
Nearby places
All of Tehri →
Nearby destinations
All destinations →
Questions people ask
How far is Dhanaulti from Mussoorie and New Tehri?
Wikipedia gives about 30 km from Mussoorie and 40 km from New Tehri; Wikivoyage counts 28 km from Mussoorie. On our routing it is about 39 km and 77 minutes from New Tehri. The road is a mountain road, slower than the distance suggests.
What is there to see in Dhanaulti?
Amber and Dhara, its two eco-parks, which lie within 200 m of each other in pine and deodar forest, and the views to the snow peaks. The Surkanda Devi temple, a Shakta pitha at about 2,756 m, is about 3 km away by Wikivoyage, and Kanatal is further along the road to Chamba.
Does Dhanaulti get snow?
It sits at about 2,286 m, and Wikipedia gives winter temperatures between 7°C and -1°C, so it can. Kanatal, nearby and higher, gets heavy snow that Wikipedia says can block the roads. Check the road before a winter drive, and carry warm clothes in any season.