The summer brings to Uttarakhand pilgrims, tourists , adventure lovers, yoga enthusiasts and all kinds of visitors who come here looking for what interests them most.

Uttarakhand region has always attracted  trekkers  from various parts of the country and abroad. Several popular treks are found in the region ,promising breathtaking views at every turn a trekker takes.

Garhwal has been described as “the most beautiful land in the mountains of the Asian sub-continent” by T longstaff, renowned mountaineer and trekker.

Treks are available throughout the year. Among the most popular are the Nagtibba Trek which takes one from Rishikesh  to Mussoorie, Kedarnath-Vasukital Trek, Valley of Flowers Trek and Devi Darshan Trek.

Not very long ago, treks upto Mussoorie and to places around Mussoorie were extremely popular among adventure seekers.

Even school students used to go to the hill station from Doon through the old trek routes ,the most popular being the one from Rajpur village.

However, the trend  faded away over the last few decades.There  have been some efforts to revive  this and some other routes but facilities are still few and far between. Complete revamping of facilities on these routes can add a new dimension to adventure  tourism in the State.  

These routes  include the ones between Sartali and Bhadraj Temple and Dudhli and Bhadraj Temple.

Efforts also need to be  made to repopularise the treks from Rajpur to Mussoorie and Raipur to Suakholi. Amenities for trekkers and “Hawaghars” need to be  set up on the trek routes as also  rest houses

on these routes for trekkers to stay at night.

After Nepal,  Uttarakhand has the potential  to emerge as a major world class trekking destination.Trekkers from all parts of the country and abroad come in large numbers to Uttarakhand. Many  Tourist Rest Houses of the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam and Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam  have  been renovated for the convenience of trekkers and other visitors to the State.

The Pauri-Khirsu -lansdowne trekking circuit in  Garhwal and the Pithoragarh-Munsyari  circuit in  Kumaon  are spectacular.

In and around Mussoorie itself ,  there are 21 kilometres of trekking routes.

Mussoorie is  a “Trekker’s Delight”.Students of schools from Dehra Dun and Mussoorie can be seen trekking and camping on these routes during their “mid-term” breaks. Suakholi which lies between Mussoorie and Dhanaulti and  is twelve kilometres from Mussoorie ,  is a pristine destination,affording  campers the  delight of experiencing nature in its purest form.

These camps have none of the trappings of a professional resort. They are raw camps with hikes and walks, and panoramic views of the Himalayas.

All aspects of environment awareness and outdoor skills are taken care of at the camps and the students  come back well-informed . Walks and Treks starting from Mussoorie are   the    walk from Mussoorie to landour,  the walk from Mussoorie to Kempty and walk  to  Clouds End.

The walk from Mussoorie to landour begins from “Picture Palace” point and passes through the mile-long landour Bazaar known for its quaint  shops of selling antiques. The  four kilometers walk takes one past the old churches of the hill station and  offers magnificent views of  the Doon Valley and the splendid Himalayan range.When one reaches the St.Paul’s Church near the popular “Char Dukaan”, one can take the road going up to Sisters Bazaar which is also part of the cantonment.

Around  fourteen kilometers from the library Point (Gandhi Chowk), which is one of the ends of the Mall Road is Kempty Falls at an altitude of 4500 feet on the Mussoorie-Chakrata Road. The walk to this picnic spot is a long one but tourists usually like to walk upto Kempty, taking a few tea breaks on the way  which  has many little tea and “bun -makhan’  joints .The walk from  Mussoorie to Clouds End is an eight kilometres’ picturesque walk from the library Point. The bungalow built  at Clouds End  by the British in 1835 is among the first four buildings  of Mussoorie. It is now a resort.

The trek from Mussoorie to Suakholi  is 11 km long and  passes through rhododendron  forests. The view of the Himalayas is breathtaking along this route. The   Mussoorie -Nagtibba  Trek is also very popular. The Nagtibba Trek begins from  Thatyur which is is thirty kilometers from Mussoorie while Nag Tibba is 20 kilometres ahead of Thatyur.

The trek to Nag Tibba (9990 feet) is very steep. One can view Banderpoonchh, Gangotri peaks, Nanda Devi and Chaukhamba . Fifteen kilometers from Mussoorie is  Bhadraj.The Bhadraj temple is dedicated to Bal Bhadra.

Bhadraj offers a commanding view of the Doon valley. The temple is located on the top of a hill. The trek goes through Clouds End and Dudhli village.