AIso spelt Dehradoon (Dehra means camp, doon means valley) the town is situated in a wooded valley in the Shivalik, foothills of the Himalaya. The district is spread over 1880 sq.m. with Himalayas in the north, Shivalik Hills in the south, river Ganga in the east & Yamuna in the west. The place is a major academic &c research centre. Among the most important are forest Research Institute (FRI), Survey of India, Indian Military Academy (IMA) &: the Doon School.

Dehradun is a pleasant place to stop enroute the hill station of Mussoorie, 34 km away, on a high mountain range above Dehradun. The pilgrim & yoga town of Rishikesh (43km) &c Haridwar, a half an hour drive from Rishikesh from the golden triangle with Dehradun as the important gateway to Garhwal Himalayas. The hub of the town is the Clock Tower and the area north of the Clock Tower, Astley Hall. Paltan Bazar is the main market and the Raj pur Road is the new commercial heart of the city.

Getting There

Air :
Jolly Grant, airstrip is 24 km from the city of Dehradun on the Dehradun- Rishikesh highway. It is 18 km from Rishikesh, 35 km from Haridwar & 38 km from Mussoorie via Dehradun. The Jollygrant at Dehradun is the only facility in the Garhwal region and located centrally to provide access to other gateway Rishikesh/ Haridwar for Garhwal Himalayas. Dehradun now being the working capital of the State of Uttaranchal born on 9th November, 2000 has the majority & main airlines offices located here. Tourist Cabs/ Taxis can be hired outside the airport for transfer into city centre and to the other major cities of the region. Also availabele is the state roadway transport outside the airport operating on way between Dehradun & Rishikesh. It takes almost an hour to reach Dehradun from the airport. The rates for hiring the taxi cab are generally fixed for transfer to city centres &c popular destinations but still one should negotiate generally. Airport - 682032 Drona Travels - 633309, GMVN 746817.

Rail :
ehradun is a terminus of Northern Railway. Services to Dehradun, include fully air conditioned Shatabdi Express leaving New Delhi Railway Station at 0710 hrs everyday via Haridwar reaching Dehradun at 1240 hrs. Chair Car/ Executive Class costs Rs. 515/1035. The Mussoorie Express (4041) is an overnight daily train from Delhi starting 2115 hrs & reaching Dehradun 0800 hrs, Doon Express (3010) from Dehradun to Howrah Link Express (4113) from Allahabad, Bandra Dehradun Express (9019) from Mumbai, Varanasi Dehradun Express (4263) are other important daily services to Dehradun. Enquiry arrival /departure trains - 131, 622131

Road :
The Delhi Bus Stand, besides the GMVN Drona Hotel serves most destinations on the plains. Buses of state roadways of Uttara Pradesh, Delhi, Himachal, Chandigarh, Haryana & Rajasthan along with private operators connect Dehradun with other centres of the region. Deluxe coaches are also simultaneously available. Buses from Delhi depart at very regular intervals and it takes about maximum of 6 hours to travel to Dehradun on GT road via Ghaziabad, Meerut, Muzzafarnagar, Roorkee (turn off to Dehradun).

The Mussoorie Bus Stand near the railway station has frequent services to Mussoorie (travel time about an hour) & other hill destinations. Other buses go to Nainital (II hrs), Uttarkashi (7 hrs) &L Tehri (4 hrs.), Shimla in Himachal Pradesh (7 hrs) etc.

The another option, is Taxis, specially from/ to Delhi, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Mussoorie; either full or per seat shared basis. They start from opposite Delhi & Mussoorie Bus Stands. A full taxi from Dehradun to Mussoorie will cost Rs. 350, Rishikesh Rs. 400, Haridwar Rs. 500. During peak season one will be required to pay almost 25% extra. Delhi Taxi stand : 636377 Mussoorie Taxi Stand - 627877 For train timings refer pg. 25-27

Local Transport :
Six scatcrs Tempos (Vikram) is the most common mode of public transport. I hey run on the Fixed routes and rates are Fixed. They are basically three wheelers with capacity tos adjust even 10 people. Auto rickshaws are available along with the unmetered taxis for local running. Rates are negotiable for both these modes of local transport. GMVN at Hotel Drona also provides the facility for hiring taxis. Car taxis can also be hired from local operators a few of which we have listed in this publication.