Dehradun

Uttarakhand's capital sits in the Doon Valley with the Shivalik Range to the south and the outer Himalayan ranges to the north, and its weather follows suit: hot summers, cool winters, a lot of monsoon rain. Most of what the city does is work rather than sightseeing. The Indian Military Academy, the Forest Research Institute, the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology and the headquarters of the Survey of India are all here. It has been the state's interim capital since 2000, after growing under British rule as an administrative and military station. Use it as a base, not a stop.