CityDekho
Hill Stations
Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh
Gangtok, Sikkim
Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu
Shatrunjaya Hill, Gujarat
Old Manali, Himachal Pradesh
Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir
Kalimpong, West Bengal
Kasar Devi (Almora), Uttarakhand
Lonavala & Khandala, Maharashtra
Munnar, Kerala
Shillong, Meghalaya
Coorg (Madikeri), Karnataka

Hill Stations

Hill Stations
All destinations

Pine forests and cool air, Shimla to Munnar.

58places19statesMarch–June

Browse hill stations

Things to do

Individual sights and experiences, rather than whole places to stay.

Auli Artificial Lake

Auli

Auli Artificial Lake

A reservoir built purely to feed snow cannons in the years the natural snow fails, which is often. One of the highest artificial lakes anywhere, half a kilometre from the slopes.

Saputara Lake

Saputara

Saputara Lake

The lake in the middle of town, with boats on it and a path around the edge. Half an hour, and it is what everyone does on arriving.

Serolsar Lake

Jibhi

Serolsar Lake

About five kilometres of level forest walking from Jalori Pass, through old oak. There is a small temple to Budhi Nagin at the water and a tea stall on the way. Snow shuts the pass in winter.

Lal Tibba Scenic Point

Mussoorie

Lal Tibba Scenic Point

The highest point in Mussoorie, up in Landour, five kilometres from the Mall. A telescope on a platform, and on a clear morning a line of peaks. Afternoon haze usually closes it down.

Deoriatal Lake

Chopta (Tungnath)

Deoriatal Lake

A small lake that holds a reflection of Chaukhamba on a still morning, about two and a half kilometres up from Sari village. Camping on the far bank is permitted and is why most people come.

Venna Lake

Mahabaleshwar

Venna Lake

Man-made, dug in 1842 to supply the town with water and now given over to pedal boats and pony rides. Crowded and commercial, and perfectly good for an hour with children.

Charlotte Lake

Matheran

Charlotte Lake

The primary natural water reservoir basin on the plateau, surrounded by dense evergreen forests and hosting an ancient temple shrine.

Louisa Point

Matheran

Louisa Point

Looks straight across at Prabal fort, with a seasonal waterfall on the far wall through the monsoon. A red laterite walk out from the market, and like everything in Matheran it has to be reached on foot or on horseback.

Sanasar Lake

Patnitop

Sanasar Lake

A beautiful, offbeat satellite meadow cup enclosing a small natural lake 20 km away, popular for paragliding and wilderness camping.

Marble Chhatri Point

Wilson Hills

Marble Chhatri Point

A historic marble dome structure built on the edge of a deep cliff, serving as the prime location for watching sunrises and panoramic valley horizons.

Naini Lake

Nainital

Naini Lake

The town's central lake, famous for boating and the lakeside Mall.

Snow View Point

Nainital

Snow View Point

A cable-car summit with panoramic Himalayan views.

Khandala Sunset Point

Lonavala & Khandala

Khandala Sunset Point

A ledge off the old highway looking across at Duke's Nose, with the ghat railway climbing the far wall. Best in the monsoon when the falls opposite are running, and busy every weekend.

Nakki Lake

Mount Abu

Nakki Lake

The lake at the centre of Rajasthan's only hill station, up in the Aravallis, and the reason Mount Abu gets called an oasis in the desert — a plateau twenty-two kilometres long carrying rivers, waterfalls and evergreen forest, in a state that has very little of any of them. Pedal boats go out from the shore and the walk around the water is the town's evening ritual. The rock formations on the ridge above have collected names over the years; Toad Rock is the one everybody photographs. The lake is treated as sacred, so it is a place to walk around rather than swim in.

Toad Rock Viewpoint

Mount Abu

Toad Rock Viewpoint

A boulder above Nakki Lake that does look like a toad from one angle and like a boulder from every other. Five minutes of scrambling, and the view over the lake basin is the actual reward.

Top Station Viewpoint

Munnar

Top Station Viewpoint

On the state border above Munnar, looking down into Tamil Nadu, and the cloud usually arrives by mid-morning, so go early. The slopes below are Neelakurinji country, which flowers once every twelve years.

Suicide Point Roghi

Kalpa (Kinnaur)

Suicide Point Roghi

A famous roadside viewpoint on the way to Roghi village, characterized by a staggering near-vertical cliff drop into the river gorge below.

Tiger Hill Viewpoint

Darjeeling

Tiger Hill Viewpoint

The high-altitude mountain summit at 2,590 metres, world-famous for catching the sunrise illuminating the snow peaks of Kanchenjunga and Everest.

Explore hill stations

Filter by state, or keep scrolling — 19 states for summer escapes.

Arunachal Pradesh

Bomdila

Bomdila is a scenic Himalayan hill town in the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh, perched around 2,400 metres with sweeping views of snow-capped peaks. Home to the Monpa people and a large Buddhist monastery, it is a popular stop on the mountain road to Tawang, surrounded by apple orchards and craft centres.

Mizoram

Aizawl

Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram, is a hill city draped across steep ridges at around 1,100 metres. Known for its warm Mizo culture, churches and lively markets, there are long views from Durtlang Hills and landmarks such as Solomon's Temple, all set among green northeastern hills.

Nagaland

Khonoma

Khonoma is a historic Angami Naga village about 20 km from Kohima in Nagaland, celebrated as India's first green village. Famous for community-led conservation, terraced rice fields and a proud history of resistance, it is surrounded by the Khonoma Nature Conservation and Tragopan Sanctuary.

Sikkim

Yumthang Valley

Yumthang Valley, often called the Valley of Flowers of Sikkim, is an alpine meadow at around 3,500 metres in North Sikkim. In spring its slopes blaze with rhododendrons and primulas, and there are hot springs, the Shingba Rhododendron Sanctuary, and Zero Point higher up.

Arunachal Pradesh

Mechuka

Mechuka (Menchukha) is a remote, wide-floored valley in the Shi Yomi district of Arunachal Pradesh near the border, ringed by pine-clad mountains at around 1,900 metres. Long isolated and only recently opened to travellers, it is home to Memba and Tibetan Buddhist culture and the centuries-old Samten Yongcha monastery.

Manipur

Ukhrul

Ukhrul is the highest hill town in Manipur and the home of the Tangkhul Naga people, set among rolling green hills in the state's northeast. It is famous for the rare Shirui Lily, a pinkish-white flower found only on nearby Shirui Peak, along with caves, waterfalls and Tangkhul Naga villages.

Sikkim

Lachung

Lachung is a mountain village in North Sikkim at around 2,700 metres, set where the Lachen and Lachung rivers meet amid apple orchards and waterfalls. Home to the Lepcha and Bhutia communities and the century-old Lachung Monastery, it is the main gateway to the flower-filled Yumthang Valley.

Sikkim

Namchi

Namchi, the district headquarters of South Sikkim, is a hill town famed for its giant religious landmarks. It is home to the towering Samdruptse statue of Guru Padmasambhava, the Siddhesvara Dham (Char Dham) pilgrimage complex with replica temples, and sweeping views over tea gardens and the Himalayas.

Tamil Nadu

Coonoor

Coonoor is the second-largest of the Nilgiri hill stations in Tamil Nadu, quieter than neighbouring Ooty and wrapped in rolling tea gardens. Reached by the UNESCO-listed Nilgiri Mountain Railway, it has cool air, old bungalows, Dolphin's Nose and Sim's Park.

Sikkim

Pelling

Pelling is a hill town in western Sikkim known for its close-up views of Kanchenjunga, the world's third-highest peak. Set amid forested ridges, it is a base for the historic Pemayangtse and Sanga Choling monasteries, the ruins of Rabdentse (a former Sikkimese capital), and the dramatic glass Skywalk at Chenrezig.

Gujarat

Taranga Hills

The Taranga Hills are a rugged sandstone range in the Satlasana area of Mehsana district, part of the old Aravalli system, with jagged cliffs, scrub and caves. They are best known for a well-preserved 12th-century Jain temple set on a high plateau, and for Buddhist rock-cut caves hidden among the surrounding boulders.

Gujarat

Shatrunjaya Hill

Shatrunjaya Hill, near Palitana town in the Bhavnagar district, is a world-famous sacred mountain rising above the Shatrunjaya River. It stands as a unique structural wonder, being the world's only mountain holding a fortified complex of more than 860 carved marble temples built over a millennium. Considered an entirely holy landscape by the Jain community, no vehicles are permitted past the base database, requiring pilgrims and travelers to scale approximately 3,500 stone steps to reach the mountaintop complex.

Gujarat

Pavagadh Hill

Pavagadh Hill is a volcanic plateau rising about 822 metres from the plains of the Panchmahal district, at the heart of the UNESCO-listed Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park. Its slopes hold Rajput fortifications, medieval gateways and reservoirs, and a much-visited Kalika Mata (Shakti Peeth) shrine near the top.

Gujarat

Girnar Hills

The Girnar Hills rise outside Junagadh, an old volcanic range whose highest point, Gorakhnath Peak, reaches 1,031 metres — the highest in Gujarat. Wrapped in the dry-deciduous forest of the Gir landscape, the hills are a shared sacred site, with Jain marble temples and Hindu shrines near the top. Reaching them means either climbing a famous stairway of nearly 10,000 steps or taking the ropeway up over the forested valleys.

Gujarat

Wilson Hills

Wilson Hills is a small hill retreat in the Dharampur area of Valsad district, set around 2,500 feet up in the Pangarbari forests — one of the few hill spots in Gujarat from which, on a clear day, you can glimpse the distant Arabian Sea. Laid out as a summer retreat by the Dharampur ruler Vijaydevji and named after a Governor of Bombay, it is known for its winding ghat roads, cliffs and seasonal waterfalls.

Gujarat

Don Hill Station

Don Hill Station is an emerging, hill village deep within the Sahyadri mountain range in the Dang district of South Gujarat. At about 1,000 metres it matches Saputara in elevation but remains entirely untouched by mass commercial commercialization. The destination is a rustic, eco-tourism landscape enveloped by dense bamboo forests, steep valley drop-offs, and small mountain streams. It is inhabited by a small indigenous tribal community, with an authentic rural escape characterized by clean mountain air and rich bio-diversity.

Gujarat

Saputara

Saputara is Gujarat's only hill station, which makes it modest by Himalayan standards and genuinely useful if you are anywhere near Surat or Ahmedabad. It sits at about a thousand metres in the Dang forests near the Maharashtra border. The lake at the centre is the focus — boating, a promenade, and a ropeway up to the sunset point. None of it is dramatic. What is good is the drive in through the Sahyadri forest, the Gira waterfall after the monsoon, and the tribal museum, which is small and better than it needs to be. The monsoon and the weeks just after it are when this place justifies itself. The Saputara Monsoon Festival runs through those months, the forest is fully green and the waterfalls are actually falling. By March the hills have gone brown and the lake is low. Set your expectations to a cool weekend in the woods rather than a mountain trip, and it holds up. Two nights is right; a week would be too long. July to November.

Sikkim

Gangtok

Gangtok is where most Sikkim trips begin, and its real value is as a base rather than a destination. The town itself is a steep ridge of concrete with one pleasant pedestrian street, MG Marg, where no vehicles and no spitting are allowed and the whole town walks in the evening. Rumtek monastery, half an hour out, is the seat of the Karma Kagyu lineage and the more worthwhile hour. Enchey, closer in, is quieter still. Tsomgo lake and Nathu La are the standard day trip. Both need permits arranged through a registered operator in Gangtok, both are high — Tsomgo is at around 3,700 metres — and Nathu La is closed to foreign nationals entirely. If you have only been in the hills a day, that altitude gain in a single drive is a lot. For actual Sikkim, keep going. Pelling for the Kanchenjunga view, Yuksom for the walking, north Sikkim for Lachung and the Yumthang valley — all of which need their own permits. March to May and October to early December. The monsoon here brings serious landslides and roads close for days at a time.

Himachal Pradesh

Old Manali

Old Manali is the laid-back, bohemian counterpart to Manali town — a riverside cluster of guesthouses, cafes and orchards above the Manalsu stream. While Manali proper is a busy hill-station hub, Old Manali draws backpackers and long-stay travellers with its slower pace, music cafes and mountain-village feel. It works as both a chilled base and an adventure springboard, with the Hampta Pass, Solang Valley and Jogini Falls within easy reach. Cobbled lanes lined with German bakeries, hostels and gear shops make it a favourite first stop for those heading deeper into Himachal or up to Spiti and Leh.

Himachal Pradesh

Dalhousie

Dalhousie is a peaceful colonial-era hill station built across five distinct hills of the Dhauladhar mountain range, sitting at an altitude of 1,970 metres. Established in the mid-19th century under the British Raj, the town has systematically preserved its old-world charm, characterized by wide pine-fringed walking loops, traditional stone mansions, and vintage Scottish architecture. Tourism in Dalhousie centers around the historic public squares of Gandhi Chowk and Subhash Chowk, linked by wooded walking paths like Garam Sadak. The town is the quiet alternative to the commercial hill stations, with views of the winding Ravi River and the distant snow-covered peaks of the inner Himalayas.

Himachal Pradesh

Kalpa (Kinnaur)

Kalpa is an offbeat mountain village on a high ridge at an elevation of 2,960 metres in the Kinnaur Valley. Positioned directly above the district hub of Reckong Peo, it looks down into the deep, thundering canyon of the Sutlej River. The settlement is known for its unique geographical position, with an uninterrupted view of the sacred Kinner Kailash massif. The architectural landscape of Kalpa features a beautiful indigenous blend of traditional wooden Hindu temples and Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, showcasing the rich syncretic culture of Kinnaur. The village pathways wind through dense pine forests and some of the finest high-altitude organic apple orchards in the country.

Himachal Pradesh

Kullu

Kullu is the valley Manali sits at the top of, and the town itself is an administrative centre with a bus stand rather than a resort. Most people are through it in an hour. Two things are worth stopping for. Bijli Mahadev, on the ridge above, is an hour's climb from the road: a tall wooden staff there is said to draw lightning, and the lingam beneath it is broken by the strike and reset with butter. And the weaving — Kullu shawls carry a GI tag, and the co-operative showrooms on the highway sell at fixed prices, which the roadside stalls do not. The one time Kullu itself is the destination is Dussehra in October. It starts on the day the rest of India's ends, runs about a week, and brings the village deities down into the maidan on palanquins. Rafting on the Beas runs from Pirdi, roughly March to June and again once the monsoon has passed.

Jammu & Kashmir

Gulmarg

Gulmarg is a bowl of meadow at 2,650 metres in the Pir Panjal, and it does two completely different jobs depending on the month. December to March it is the only serious ski resort in India. The Apharwat face has real off-piste terrain and the snow is dry enough to justify the trip. May to September the snow is gone and it is a meadow full of wildflowers with a golf course on it, one of the highest anywhere. The gondola climbs in two stages. The first, to Kongdoori, almost always runs. The second, up to just under four thousand metres on Apharwat, is frequently closed for wind and its tickets are capped daily — buy both stages early or accept that you may only get the first. If you are skiing off-piste, a guide is not optional. This is avalanche terrain and it has killed people.

Jammu & Kashmir

Pahalgam

Pahalgam is a valley settlement at 2,130 metres in the Anantnag district of Kashmir. Positioned at the scenic junction of the fast-flowing Lidder River and the Sheshnag stream, it stands surrounded by steep hills carpeted with dense, old-growth pine and cedar forests. It suits anglers, walkers and people who camp. The commercial heart of the valley transitions smoothly into alpine glades like Baisaran, popularly nicknamed 'Mini Switzerland' due to its vast undulating pine-ringed meadows. Pahalgam serves as a paramount transit launchpad for the annual holy pilgrimage of the Amarnath Yatra, with the traditional tracking route commencing directly from Chandanwari village upstream.

Jammu & Kashmir

Sonamarg

Sonamarg is eighty kilometres up from Srinagar and the last town before Zoji La and Ladakh. The road in is shut by snow from roughly December to April, so this is a summer place whether you like it or not. Thajiwas glacier is four kilometres up the side valley, on foot or by pony. It has been retreating for years, so the walk to the ice is longer than older guidebooks suggest, and the pony rates are officially fixed and routinely ignored — settle the price and the route before you mount. It is also the start of two serious walks: the Amarnath yatra from Baltal, and the Kashmir Great Lakes trek, which takes a week and is among the best in the country. Come as a day trip from Srinagar if you only want the meadow. Stay if you are walking.

Jammu & Kashmir

Patnitop

Patnitop is a plateau at 2,024 metres above the Chenab on the Jammu–Srinagar highway, and almost everyone who stops there was on the way somewhere else. As a stop it works well. Deodar forest, open meadows and easy walking — this is not a trekking destination and does not pretend to be. The Skyview gondola at Sanasar runs 2.8 kilometres across the gorge and is the one thing here worth a detour on its own. Snow falls for a few weeks in January and February and the place fills up for it. The rest of winter it is cold and empty. March to June and September to November. Avoid the monsoon, when the highway below is prone to landslides and closures.

West Bengal

Darjeeling

Darjeeling is a highland town at about 2,042 metres on a steep mountain ridge of the Lesser Himalayas in northern West Bengal. Dominated visually by the snow mass of Mount Kanchenjunga, the third-highest peak on earth, the town is known for its carpeted loops of colonial-era tea estates. The commercial heart of Darjeeling centers around the pedestrian square of Chowrasta Mall, packed with vintage bookstores, old tea lounges, and handicraft stalls. The town features distinct architectural layers combining British colonial masonry with rich Tibetan Buddhist monastic heritages, synchronized with the narrow-gauge Darjeeling Himalayan Railway toy train.

West Bengal

Kalimpong

Kalimpong sits at 1,250 metres — some eight hundred metres lower than Darjeeling and a couple of hours further on — and is warmer and quieter for both reasons. The town's real trade is flowers. The nurseries here grow orchids, cacti and gladioli commercially and ship them out, and most will let you walk through the greenhouses if you ask. Zang Dhok Palri Phodang on Durpin hill holds scriptures the Dalai Lama brought out of Tibet in 1959. Thongsa Gompa, down in town, is Bhutanese and older. Kanchenjunga is visible on a clear morning and gone by ten. If the mountain is why you came, be up early or accept you may not see it at all. October and November for the clearest air; March and April for the orchids.

Himachal Pradesh

McLeodganj & Dharamshala

McLeodganj, the upper town of Dharamshala, is the home of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile, and one of India's most beloved workation and backpacker bases. On a ridge of the Dhauladhar range, it blends Tibetan Buddhist culture, Himalayan trekking and a deeply traveller-friendly cafe and hostel scene. The town is a hub for meditation and yoga retreats, momos and global cafes, and treks to Triund and the Indrahar Pass. With its mix of monasteries, fast Wi-Fi cafes, long-stay hostels and a permanent international community, it has become a year-round magnet for digital nomads, solo travellers and spiritual seekers alike.

Uttarakhand

Kasar Devi (Almora)

Kasar Devi is a ridge-top village near Almora in the Kumaon Himalayas, long famous as a counterculture and spiritual retreat with sweeping Himalayan views. Once home to artists and seekers on the hippie trail, today it has become a quiet workation and slow-travel base known for its cafes, the famous 'Crank's Ridge', and an unusual geomagnetic phenomenon. The village looks out at Trishul and Nanda Devi, pine forests, and a cluster of cosy cafes and homestays. Its mellow, creative atmosphere makes it a favourite among writers, remote workers and travellers seeking calm over crowds.