Which is the nearest hill station to Rishikesh?

Mussoorie at about 75 km via Dehradun and New Tehri at about 75 km straight up the Ganga are the two closest, both around two and a half hours. Dhanaulti is 100 km and three hours.

How far is Mussoorie from Haridwar and what does a cab cost?

About 85 km and two and a half hours through Dehradun. A sedan bills the local package: ₹2,200 for the first 4 hours and 40 km plus ₹11 for each extra kilometre, about ₹2,695 one-way. An Ertiga is about ₹3,175 and an Innova Crysta about ₹3,610.

Which hill station near Rishikesh is best for snow?

Dhanaulti and Kanatal at 2,200 metres usually have snow from late December to February and are three hours away. Auli, eight to nine hours up the Badrinath road, has skiing in January and February.

Is Nainital near Haridwar?

About 250 km and six hours via Bijnor, Kashipur and Haldwani. It is a two-night trip rather than a weekend one; a sedan bills ₹3,300 one-way and ₹6,600 for two days.

Is Chopta a hill station near Rishikesh?

Chopta is a meadow at 2,600 metres about 200 km and six and a half hours up the Badrinath road, with the Tungnath temple trek above it. It is a long-weekend trip; the Tungnath temple is closed in winter and the road can be snowbound.

Hill guide · Haridwar & Rishikesh

Hill stations near Haridwar and Rishikesh:the closest first

The nearest hill station to both Haridwar and Rishikesh is Mussoorie, about 85 km from Haridwar and 75 km from Rishikesh through Dehradun, a two-and-a-half-hour drive. Dhanaulti and Kanatal are half an hour beyond it on the Chamba road, New Tehri is two and a half hours straight up the river from Rishikesh, and Lansdowne is three and a half hours via Kotdwar. Nainital is a six-hour drive across the Terai; Chopta and Auli are long-weekend trips of six to eight hours into Garhwal. Short hops bill on the local package from ₹2,585; anything 100 km and over is ₹3,300 for a sedan.

WhatsApp a quote Call 7668570551

Updated 12 September 2026 · Fares from the published rate card, Sedan ₹11/km to Tempo ₹23/km

Nearest: Mussoorie · 75–85 km
Up the river: New Tehri · 75 km
Quietest: Lansdowne · 110 km
Sedan, Mussoorie: from ₹2,585

Haridwar is where the Ganga leaves the mountains and Rishikesh is twenty-five kilometres upstream, so the hills are not near these towns; they start in them. What people mean by the question is a proper hill station with a Mall Road, a view and a cool night, and the nearest of those is Mussoorie, via Dehradun. The guide runs outward from there.

Distances are given from Rishikesh where it is the closer town and from Haridwar where it makes no difference; the two are half an hour apart. Fares follow the rate card: under 100 km a sedan bills the 4 hour / 40 km package at ₹2,200 plus ₹11 for each extra kilometre; at 100 km and over it is ₹11/km on a 300 km minimum, ₹3,300.

Band one

Up to three hours: the hill stations you can reach for lunch

All via Dehradun or straight up the Ganga from Rishikesh. Day trips or one night.

75–85 km2.5 hrs

Mussoorie

Mall Road, Kempty, Landour

Through Dehradun and up the thirty-five kilometre climb. The Mall in the evening, Kempty Falls and the Gun Hill ropeway by day, and Landour above the town for the quiet version. Doable as a day from Haridwar, better as a night.

Mall Road
Kempty Falls
Gun Hill ropeway

Sedan from ₹2,585Cab to Mussoorie

80 km from Rishikesh2.75 hrs

Landour

Walks, bakeries, silence

The cantonment above Mussoorie: deodar forest, a loop walk, the Lal Tibba view and Char Dukan for breakfast. The place to stay if the Mall is too much.

Lal Tibba
Char Dukan
Sisters Bazaar

Sedan from ₹2,640Cab via Mussoorie

75 km2.5 hrs

New Tehri

Tehri Lake, water sports

Straight up the Badrinath road from Rishikesh and then the Tehri branch. A planned town above the dam reservoir, with boating, floating huts and a lake forty kilometres long. Good for a night that is not Mussoorie.

Tehri Lake
Boating and jet-ski
Chamba

Sedan from ₹2,585Rishikesh cabs

100 km3 hrs

Dhanaulti

Eco parks, snow

Twenty-five kilometres beyond Mussoorie on the Chamba road, at 2,200 metres. Deodar forest, two eco-parks, the Surkanda Devi ropeway, and snow most winters. A quieter night than Mussoorie by a distance.

Eco Park
Surkanda Devi
Camping

Sedan from ₹3,300Dhanaulti day tour

Band two

Three to five hours: the quiet ones

Off the tourist circuit. These are the hill stations locals send you to.

A green Himalayan valley in the middle hills

110 km3.5 hrs

Kanatal

Camps, apple orchards

Ten kilometres past Dhanaulti, and mostly camps and resorts in the forest with the Tehri reservoir below. Choose it for a night under canvas within three and a half hours of the Ganga.

Kodia jungle
Tehri Lake view
Camp stays

Sedan from ₹3,300Kanatal cab page

110 km3.5 hrs

Lansdowne

Cantonment quiet, pine

From Haridwar via Najibabad and Kotdwar, then a climb through oak and pine. A Garhwal Rifles cantonment with no Mall Road and no crowd. The stillest hill station within a morning of Haridwar.

Bhulla Lake
Tip-n-Top
St Mary’s Church

Sedan from ₹3,300Lansdowne cab page

150 km5 hrs

Chakrata

Tiger Falls, forest

Ninety kilometres north-west of Dehradun in a restricted cantonment area; Indian nationals only. Tiger Falls and the Deoban forest, and almost no one there.

Tiger Falls
Deoban
Budher caves

Sedan from ₹3,300Cab via Dehradun

Band three

Six hours and more: the long-weekend hills

East across the Terai to Kumaon, or north into Garhwal on the Badrinath road. Two nights each.

250 km6 hrs

Nainital

Lake town

Via Najibabad, Bijnor, Kashipur and Haldwani. Six hours across the plain and up. Two nights, with Bhimtal and Sattal on the second day.

Naini Lake
Snow View
Bhimtal

Sedan from ₹3,300Cab to Nainital

Kedarnath temple, up the same valley as Chopta and Tungnath

200 km6.5 hrs

Chopta & Tungnath

Meadows, Tungnath trek

Up the Badrinath road from Rishikesh to Rudraprayag, then the Ukhimath branch. The “mini Switzerland” of Garhwal at 2,600 metres; the Tungnath trek is four kilometres and Chandrashila an hour more. The Tungnath temple is closed in winter and the road can be snowbound.

Chopta meadows
Tungnath temple
Chandrashila

Sedan from ₹3,300Chopta trek tour

High meadows and snow peaks of upper Garhwal

280 km8–9 hrs

Auli

Skiing, ropeway

Beyond Joshimath on the Badrinath road. India’s ski resort in January and February, a meadow with a ropeway the rest of the year. A two-day drive with a halt at Rudraprayag or Joshimath is the sane way.

Auli ropeway
Ski slopes
Nanda Devi views

Sedan from ₹3,300Rishikesh–Auli 2 days

Hill stations near Haridwar and Rishikesh, by distance

Distances from the nearer of the two towns. Under 100 km the sedan bills the local package (₹2,200 for 4 hr / 40 km plus ₹11 per extra kilometre); at 100 km and over it is ₹11/km on a 300 km minimum.

Distance, drive time, road and sedan fare for hill stations near Haridwar and Rishikesh
Hill station	From	Distance	Drive time	Road	Sedan, one-way
New Tehri	Rishikesh	75 km	2.5 hrs	NH-7 to Chamba, Tehri road	₹2,585
Mussoorie	Rishikesh	75 km	2.5 hrs	via Dehradun	₹2,585
Mussoorie	Haridwar	85 km	2.5 hrs	via Dehradun	₹2,695
Landour	Rishikesh	80 km	2.75 hrs	via Mussoorie	₹2,640
Dhanaulti	Rishikesh	100 km	3 hrs	via Mussoorie	₹3,300
Kanatal	Rishikesh	110 km	3.5 hrs	via Dhanaulti	₹3,300
Lansdowne	Haridwar	110 km	3.5 hrs	via Najibabad, Kotdwar	₹3,300
Chakrata	Haridwar	150 km	5 hrs	via Dehradun, Vikasnagar	₹3,300
Chopta	Rishikesh	200 km	6.5 hrs	NH-7 to Rudraprayag, Ukhimath	₹3,300
Nainital	Haridwar	250 km	6 hrs	via Bijnor, Kashipur, Haldwani	₹3,300
Auli	Rishikesh	280 km	8–9 hrs	NH-7 to Joshimath	₹3,300

Round trips bill per day: 300 km × ₹11 = ₹3,300 a day for a sedan. Ertiga ₹15/km, Innova Crysta ₹18/km, Tempo Traveller ₹23/km. Tolls, parking and Mussoorie eco-cess at actual.

Nearest

Which is the nearest hill station to Haridwar?

Mussoorie, at about 85 km and two and a half hours. The route runs to Dehradun on the Haridwar–Dehradun highway, which is fast, and then up the thirty-five kilometre climb from Rajpur, which is not. From Rishikesh the same trip is ten kilometres shorter. New Tehri is the same distance from Rishikesh straight up the Ganga, and is the answer if you want a lake rather than a Mall Road.

For the very nearest hills of any kind, Rishikesh is already there: Neelkanth Mahadev and Kunjapuri temple are on ridges above the town at 1,300 and 1,600 metres, and both are a two-hour round trip that gives you the Himalayan view without a hill station.

Kempty Falls near Mussoorie — Kempty Falls on the Mussoorie–Yamunotri road, the day-trip stop from either town.

Day trip or night

Can I do Mussoorie as a day trip from Haridwar or Rishikesh?

Yes, and the same-day tour exists for exactly that: leave at seven, the Mall and Gun Hill by mid-morning, Kempty Falls after lunch, back by evening. It is a fixed same-day package, priced on its own page rather than on the per-kilometre rate card.

The night is worth it, though. Mussoorie after the day-trippers leave is a different town, and Landour in the early morning is the best hour in the district. If you have one night, stay in Landour and do Dhanaulti on the way back.

Haridwar to Mussoorie same-day tour

Quiet

Which hill station near Rishikesh is the quietest?

Lansdowne, and then Kanatal. Lansdowne is a working cantonment, which keeps the building and the traffic down, and it has never had a Mall Road to fill; Bhulla Lake, the Tip-n-Top viewpoint and the church are the whole itinerary, and the point is the forest. Kanatal is a stretch of camps and resorts on a ridge above the Tehri reservoir, ten kilometres beyond Dhanaulti; you go for a night under the trees, not for a town.

Chakrata is quieter still, because it is a restricted area open only to Indian nationals and is ninety kilometres from the nearest railway. Tiger Falls and the Deoban forest are the draw.

Bhulla Lake at Lansdowne — Bhulla Lake, Lansdowne: a cantonment town with no Mall Road to fill.

Higher

What are the best long-weekend hill trips from Rishikesh into Garhwal?

Chopta for meadows and the Tungnath trek, and Auli for the ropeway and, in January and February, skiing. Both go up the Badrinath road, NH-7, which follows the Alaknanda through Devprayag, Srinagar and Rudraprayag and is a slow, spectacular six to nine hours. The Tungnath temple is closed in winter and the Chopta road can be snowbound; Auli is at its best in exactly those months.

Neither should be driven in one push from the plains. Break at Rudraprayag for Chopta and at Joshimath for Auli, and book an Innova or an SUV rather than a sedan for the last stretches.

Rishikesh to Auli in two days

Season

When is the best time for the hills from Haridwar and Rishikesh?

March to June for the classic escape, when Haridwar is at forty degrees and Mussoorie at twenty-five. September to November is clearer and quieter, and the Ganga is at its best colour after the monsoon. December to February brings snow to Dhanaulti, Kanatal and sometimes Mussoorie, and the ski season to Auli. The monsoon, July to mid-September, is the time to stay off the Badrinath road and the Chakrata road; the Mussoorie climb is fine but the falls are unsafe.

Fare box

Rishikesh or Haridwar to Mussoorie

Under 100 km, so the local package applies: ₹2,200 for the first 4 hours and 40 km, then ₹11 for each extra kilometre. Shown for the 75 km run from Rishikesh; add ₹110 from Haridwar.

Outstation trips bill a 300 km/day minimum; tolls, parking and state permits are extra at actual.
Driver allowance and fuel are included. No advance for most bookings; pay after the trip.
Fixed fares, no festival or weekend surge.

Get the Mussoorie fare Haridwar to Mussoorie page

Rishikesh to Mussoorie cab fare by vehicle
Vehicle	Seats	Rate	One-way, 75 km
Sedan (Swift Dzire, Etios)	4	₹2,200 + ₹11/km	₹2,585
Ertiga / SUV	6	₹2,500 + ₹15/km	₹3,025
Innova Crysta	6–7	₹2,800 + ₹18/km	₹3,430
Tempo Traveller (12-seater)	12	₹2,800 + ₹23/km	₹3,605

Local package: 40 km included; the extra 35 km at the vehicle’s per-km rate. For a same-day return with the car waiting, see the Haridwar to Mussoorie same-day tour page. Mussoorie eco-cess and parking at actual.

In pictures

Above the Ganga

Gun Hill, Mussoorie
The ropeway from the Mall.

Tip-n-Top, Lansdowne
The Garhwal snow line on a clear morning.

Naukuchiatal
The nine-cornered lake below Nainital.

Sahastradhara, Dehradun
The sulphur springs, a detour from Dehradun.

From the drivers

Three things the drivers would tell you

Go through Dehradun, not Rajaji

The Haridwar–Dehradun highway is the fast way to Mussoorie. The Rajaji park road via Chilla is scenic but closes at dusk and adds an hour.

The Badrinath road is a two-day road

Chopta and Auli are not weekend drives from the plains. Break at Rudraprayag or Joshimath, and take an Innova or SUV for the last stretch.

Ask for the local package under 100 km

Mussoorie, Landour and New Tehri are local-package runs from Rishikesh. Say so when you book; it is the cheaper product for the same car.

Questions people ask

Frequently asked questions

FAQs

Mussoorie, about 85 km and two and a half hours via Dehradun. Landour is just above it, Dhanaulti twenty-five kilometres beyond, and Lansdowne 110 km away via Kotdwar.