Suwakholi

Where it is

Suwakholi sits on the ridge road that links Mussoorie to Dhanaulti, in Tehri Garhwal district, Uttarakhand. It is about 16 km up from Mussoorie, past Landour, and Dhanaulti is roughly another twenty minutes further on. The road to Surkanda Devi at Kaddukhal branches off along the same stretch.

That position is the whole story of the place. Almost everybody who drives between Mussoorie and Dhanaulti passes through Suwakholi; almost nobody stops.

What is actually here

Let us be straight about it: Suwakholi is not a town and there is no sightseeing in it. It is a bend in the road, a scattering of houses down the hillside, deodar and pine on both sides, a few roadside places to eat, and a lot of sky.

There is no market, no ATM and no chemist. If you are coming up for a few days, buy what you need in Mussoorie on the way through.

What it does have is the view. Because the road runs along the ridge here, the ground falls away on the valley side, and on a clear morning after rain the far snow line comes out above the haze.

Why people stop here

• It is quiet in a way that neither Mussoorie nor Dhanaulti manages on a weekend.
• It is between things — both hill stations are day trips rather than destinations you are stuck inside.
• The Surkanda Devi road passes through, so a dawn start is a short drive rather than a long one.
• Rooms on this stretch tend to look at a valley rather than at other rooms.

If you are weighing it up properly, we wrote a longer and deliberately even-handed comparison: Mussoorie, Dhanaulti or the road in between?

What to do from Suwakholi

Everything worth doing is within an hour, which is the advantage of being in the middle:

• Surkanda Devi — a Shaktipeeth on a bare summit at about 2,750 m, with a climb from Kaddukhal or a ropeway. Best at first light.
• Dhanaulti — the Eco Parks and the deodar forest, twenty minutes on. Go early and you will have it nearly to yourself.
• Landour — the old cantonment above Mussoorie, for the walks, the bakery and the bookshop.
• Tehri Lake and Devalsari — the two that most visitors miss entirely.

The full version, with timings and honest opinions, is on things to do nearby.

When to come

• March to June — the reliable season. Warm days, cold evenings, everything open.
• July to September — monsoon. The hills are at their greenest and their emptiest, and the road can be slow after heavy rain. Come for the cloud, not for the views.
• October and November — the clearest air of the year and the best chance of seeing the snow line. Our own favourite.
• December to February — cold, quiet and occasionally white. What winter is actually like up here is its own page, because most people are told the wrong thing about it.

Suwakholi or Matholi?

You will find this stretch written both ways, and some maps and listings still carry the older spelling Matholi. They refer to the same place on the same road. If you have found us under one and are looking at the other, you are in the right spot.

Getting here

The short version: Dehradun is the nearest railhead at about 50 km, Jolly Grant (DED) the nearest airport at about 83 km and three hours, and Delhi is roughly 300 km. Drive up through Mussoorie for the views, or up through Chamba and Kanatal to approach from the Dhanaulti side.

Routes, timings and the warning about the turning are all on how to reach us.