Mussoorie: From Ancient Trails to the Modern Ropeway Thrill
Mussoorie Ropeway Travel : Dehradun-Mussoorie Ropeway: 5.5 Km Project to Cut Travel to 20 Mins
Mussoorie Ropeway Travel : Dehradun, July 30, 2025: Every year, millions of tourists flock to Mussoorie to behold the enchanting vistas of the Queen of Hills. Since the early 19th century, when British officer Captain Frederick Young discovered this magnificent place at an elevation of 6,155 feet above sea level, Mussoorie’s allure has remained strong. However, Mussoorie has also evolved with time. The paths leading here once wound through footpaths, and this journey has now progressed from roads to a ropeway. If the Doon-Mussoorie ropeway project continues its rapid pace, you’ll be able to reach Mussoorie from Dehradun in just 20 minutes via the ropeway by the end of 2026. Work on this Rs 285 crore project is currently moving at full speed.
About 200 years ago, the journey from Doon to Mussoorie via footpaths was as adventurous as it was fascinating. See how time has flown: once, reaching Mussoorie from Dehradun required walking about nine to ten kilometers, a journey of roughly three to four hours. Then, a road was built, making Mussoorie about 35 kilometers away and reducing travel time to one and a half to two hours. With the ropeway, this distance will shrink to 5.5 kilometers, and the journey will take a mere 15 to 20 minutes.
Let’s take a stroll down those old footpaths that people used to reach Mussoorie until the mid-19th and 20th centuries. This path, starting from a place called Rajpur in Dehradun, went all the way to Barlowganj in Mussoorie. On this approximately nine to ten-kilometer long route, there were five steep inclines, also known as ‘Paanch Kanchi’ (Five Scissors). It’s said that the renowned poet and novelist Rudyard Kipling also traveled to Mussoorie via this very path, which is why it was named the Kipling Trail in his memory. Later, by the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a road suitable for bullock carts had been prepared up to Mussoorie. Even materials for the construction of the Gloogi Power House were transported to Mussoorie by bullock carts. According to historian Jai Prakash Uttarakhandi, who has extensively researched Mussoorie’s history, in 1920, an Englishman named E.W. Bell was the first to drive a car, bumping along this uneven road, to reach Mussoorie. However, by 1929, Mussoorie was connected by a proper paved road.
26 Towers to Connect Mussoorie to Doon
For the Doon-Mussoorie ropeway project, 26 towers are being constructed between Purukul in Dehradun and Library Chowk in Mussoorie. The ground floor of the lower terminal station in Purukul village has been completed. A three-story parking facility has also been built here, and the fourth floor is under construction. Work on the upper terminal in Mussoorie has also commenced. This project, which began in 2024, is slated for completion by the end of 2026.
