My Visit to the Great Gun Hill at Masuri in India

The hill station of Masuri is one of the most beautiful hill stations of India. It was developed by the British during their rule in India. It is known as the queen of the hill stations in India. It attracts thousands of tourists from all over the world. A lot of foreigners also visit this hill station to view the snow cladded mountains of the Himalayas. There are many site seeing places at Masuri for the tourists. Gun Hill is one of the most vital spots to visit at Masuri. All the tourists visiting Masuri should make sure to visit Gun Hill.

Masuri is around 170 miles away from Delhi. It can be reached by air, by train, or by bus or hired car or taxi. The nearest airport is Dehradun, which is only around 24 miles away. The nearest railway station is also Dehradun. There are regular night buses plying from Delhi, leaving Delhi at 9 pm, reaching Masuri on next day morning. Masuri has an area of forty square kilometers and is situated at the height of around 6500 feet from the mean sea level. The winter is extremely cold here and the temperature goes as low as 30 degrees. There is a main market of Masuri on the Mall road. The famous Gun Hill is located very near to this mall road. There are two ways to reach up to the top of this Gun Hill. The first is to climb it on feet through a hilly and steep road. The second is to travel by a rope way cable car that starts from the base of the Gun Hill. The ride in this cable car is very pleasant and offers lovely panoramic view of the Himalaya Mountains. It takes around 12 minutes to reach to the top of this Gun Hill by the cable car and the cable way is around 500 meters long. As soon as you reach at the top of Gun Hill, you will feel cool fresh breeze blowing. You will be able to view the beautiful, white snow cladded mountain summits of Himalaya. The view of the Masuri down below is also very fabulous and eye catching. There are telescopes placed at the top of Gun Hill to view the famous Himalaya Summits like Kanchanjhangha, Mount Kailash, and a partial side view of the Mount Everest. This Gun Hill is the highest point of Masuri. During the Britisher's rule, the gun was fired exactly at 12 noon from the top of this hill to confirm the time. That is why the name of Gun Hill is given to this point.

There are many good restaurants and hotels that serve many types of food items and the drinks at the top of gun Hill. The tourists enjoy their lunch here at the top of this hill, enjoying the scenic views of the snow Cladded Mountains. The to and fro ticket of the cable car is Rs.40 ($1.0) per head. Try to reach rather early in the morning at the cable car station as there is a heavy rush of tourists during the peak season. The cable car service starts at 10 am and stops at 6 pm in the evening on all seven days of the week. Some of the young adventure loving tourists prefer to climb up the Gun Hill by walking. It may take around fifty minutes to reach to the top by walking. The walk way passes through the thick and lush green forests. All the tourists have to come down from the Gun Hill in the evening as there are no arrangements for the night halt at the top.

I love all the places of tourist's interest at Masuri, however, Gun hill is the best of all in view of its height and an opportunity to view the rare Himalayan Mountain summits. I would strongly recommend all my AC readers and friends to visit Masuri to see this unique spot of Gun Hill during their next visit to India.