I didn’t know about Landour until it suddenly blew up all over social media.

I was a bit sceptical while planning the trip. While social media sang only praises, I didn’t want it to be a bust. After all, I was travelling a long way to see whether Landour was worth the hype.

So, was it?

Yes!!

Landour is worth the hype.

Within minutes of arriving in Landour, I fell in love. It was better than I imagined.

Before leaving for Landour and Mussoorie, my sister and I had compiled a list of must-visit places in Landour. You’ll soon notice that my entire Landour itinerary is mainly cafe-hopping.

That’s because we wanted to eat at all the best places in town.

If you want the perfect blend of nature walks and cafe-hopping, here’s how I spent the best day of my short trip to the mountains.

I already did extensive research– so you didn’t have to– and based on my experience, I created the perfect, busy one-day Landour itinerary.

Here it goes.

• Breakfast at 9:30 a.m.
• Kellogg’s Memorial Church at noon (12 p.m.)
• Landour Bakehouse at 12:30 p.m.
• Cafe Ivy at 1:10 p.m.
• Rokeby Manor at 2:10 p.m.
• St Paul’s Church at 3:10 p.m.
• Cafe de Landour at 3:25 p.m.
• Char Dukan at 4 p.m.
• Lal Tibba Cafe at 5 p.m.
• Return to Mussoorie at 7 p.m.
• Dinner at 7:30 p.m.

Before I dive into my busy Landour itinerary, I want you to have a clear idea about Landour.

ABOUT LANDOUR

3.4 km from Mussoorie, hidden in the mountains, is the Landour Cantonment.

It is a small hamlet comprising a handful of houses turned guesthouses and hotels, a small market selling locally-made jams and pickles, and a few cafes.

Truthfully, there’s nothing else in Landour. If you’re uninterested in cafe-hopping, you can stroll the lanes of Landour, see the churches from outside (they open on Sundays only) and enjoy the Lal Tibba viewpoint.

But that takes hardly two hours; if you’ve hired a taxi, it’ll take hardly 45 minutes.

If you want to stroll the canopied road away from the bustling mall road and occasionally stop to explore the various cafes, visit Landour.

It might be an unpopular opinion, but Landour is not everyone’s cup of tea.

You’ll either love it or get bored.

Taxis cost Rs.1500 from Mussoorie to Landour for the entire day; They won’t return your money if you’ve completed exploring the cantonment within a few hours.

So, before planning a trip to Landour, be sure you want to go there.

BREAKFAST AT 9:30 A.M.

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ll know I always insist on having a heavy breakfast when you have a full itinerary.

However, this time, have a light breakfast because you’ll want to save space for the different foods you’ll eat at the various cafes and restaurants in Landour.

My hotel stay included complimentary breakfast, so I didn’t have to search for a cafe for breakfast. Another reason I wanted complimentary breakfast was because the good cafes open at 11 a.m.

Those who don’t have complimentary breakfast can find small stalls on Mall Road offering breakfast, but their menu is limited.

TRAVEL TIP:- Therefore, ensure your hotel stay offers complimentary breakfast. You can visit the popular cafes and restaurants for lunch and dinner.

After breakfast, head to Mall Road to hire a taxi.

If you have a private vehicle, you can head to Landour.

My sisters and I had negotiated with our taxi driver that he would drop us off at Char Dukan and return in the evening to pick us up from Lal Tibba viewpoint.

It took us quite a long time to negotiate with the driver.

I have explained the travel details in my blog post– Landour Travel Guide.

The drive from Mussoorie to Landour is short, but due to narrow roads, congestion is a constant; the out-of-town drivers are unfamiliar with navigating the steep, curvy road to Landour.

On the way to Landour, I was glad my sisters and I hadn’t been foolish enough to walk to Landour.

KELLOGG’S MEMORIAL CHURCH AT NOON (12 P.M.)

The taxi driver dropped us off at St. Paul’s Church near Char Dukan.

It was 11:30 a.m. when we arrived in Landour.

If you’re travelling in a private vehicle, I suggest you find a parking spot near Lal Tibba Cafe.

From there, walk towards Kellogg’s Memorial Church.

TRAVEL TIP:- Parking charges are Rs.200 for private vehicles, Rs.100 for local taxis and around Rs.50-80 for bikes.

Since I took a taxi, the driver dropped me off at Char Dukan.

From there, I walked past St. Paul’s Church towards Kellogg’s Memorial Church.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re walking from Lal Tibba Cafe or Char Dukan; Both roads converge at Kellogg’s Church.

It is a 15-minute walk from both starting points. But it was noon when my sisters and I reached Kellogg’s Memorial Church because we kept stopping for photos at every corner.

The Kellogg’s Church is an iconic landmark of Landour. You’ll recognise it from movies like Shivaay and Student of the Year 2.

It was a weekday, so the church was closed. After taking photos from the outside, I continued walking to my next stop– Landour Bakehouse.

LANDOUR BAKEHOUSE AT 12:30 P.M.

The next pit stop on the Landour itinerary is the famous Landour Bakehouse.

Two roads diverge from Kellogg’s Church. I took the one on the right because it was the quickest route and passed near Sister’s Bazaar.

Landour Bakehouse is a 10-minute walk from Kellogg’s Church.

All the blog and Instagram posts I’d read labelled Landour Bakehouse a must-visit. When I arrived, the cosy, compact bakery was busy.

We gave our names to the host, who’d call us once a table was vacant.

While waiting, I took hundreds of photos outside the Landour Bakehouse.

Just a few doors down from the bakehouse is the Prakash Provision store, famous for its locally made jams and pickles. I took a quick peek inside before I returned to Landour Bakehouse.

It took 15-20 minutes before we were seated.

Everything on the menu seemed delicious 🤤. But we controlled ourselves and settled on ordering a couple of treats.

I would have spent more time sitting here and enjoying the baked goods and pastries, but I had a full-day Landour itinerary to get through.

CAFE IVY AT 1:10 P.M.

The next cafe on the list is Cafe Ivy, a 5-minute walk from Landour Bakehouse.

After exiting the Bakehouse, turn right and continue walking until you see a slope on the left. Walk up the slope. You’ll soon notice a board reading “Devdar Woods”.

Most cafes and restaurants in Landour are a part of hotels. Similarly, Cafe Ivy is the in-house restaurant of Hotel Devdar Woods.

Once you see a giant Devdar tree in the courtyard, you’ll know you’ve arrived at Cafe Ivy.

They have two seatings– indoors and outdoors.

Initially, I chose a wrought iron table under the giant Devdar tree.

My fingers were freezing from the short walk over, and the cool breeze had me rethinking my decision to stay outside. Only after I had taken a dozen photos outside did I escape to the warm, toasty indoors.

I was (slightly) stuffed from the pastry tasting at Landour Bakehouse and wanted to save some space for lunch at Emily’s, so I settled for a hot cup of coffee to warm me up.

Since it’s lunchtime, you can eat lunch here or wait like I did and only order a beverage.

After finishing my coffee while people-watching, it was time to head back into the cold and onto the next destination.

ROKEBY MANOR AT 2:10 P.M.

Up next is lunch at Rokeby Manor’s in-house restaurant, Emily’s.

While researching this cantonment, eating at Emily’s was one of the must-dos.

I kept thinking Rokeby Manor was Ruskin Bond’s residence. If you had a similar misconception– it’s not. The famous writer lives in Ivy Cottage, adjacent to Doma’s Inn.

The English-styled manor is a 10-15 minute walk from Cafe Ivy.

From Cafe Ivy, continue walking straight to Kellogg’s Church. From there, take the left road. Continue till you come up on another ramp on the right.

The Rokeby Manor sign is small and easy to miss.

Emily’s has two seatings– in the library and on the balcony.

The staff seated me on the balcony, but once I saw the library, that’s where I wanted to be. It was like stepping into a scene from Beauty and the Beast.

After all the pastries and coffee, I wasn’t too hungry, but I wasn’t missing out on eating here. So, my sisters and I decided to share a lasagna and cheese sandwich.

After taking a couple hundred photos in the library and a delicious lunch, it was time to move on.

ST. PAUL’S CHURCH AT 3:10 P.M.

The next destination is St. Paul’s Church, 10 minutes from the Rokeby Manor.

The yellow church is another iconic landmark of Landour. Unfortunately, it was closed. According to locals, the church opens only on Sundays from 10-11:45 a.m.

So, after a quick photo op outside the church, I walked to the next cafe.

HEART OF LANDOUR AT 3:25 P.M.

Next on the list is Heart of Landour Cafe.

Like Cafe Ivy, Heart of Landour is a part of Hotel Tattava.

Opposite the road from St Paul’s Church, you’ll see a door with a sloped roof. The sign reads “Cafe de Landour”. It’s the entrance to the Heart of Landour.

They have two seatings– indoors and balcony tables.

Despite the drop in the temperature, I chose the balcony seating because that’s where the scenery is.

The table in the corner of the balcony is the best seat in the house. It offers an unobstructed view of the forest and the mountains.

While the lunch at Emily’s was delicious, it was time for dessert.

We had to visit two more places before the day ended, so my sisters and I decided to share a dessert– a Blueberry Cheesecake.

I would have loved to try their pasta and shakes. They looked tempting.

After gobbling up the cheesecake, we decided to rest our feet. We had been walking in the cold for a while.

After taking photos of the beautiful scenery, we headed out.

CHAR DUKAN AT 4 P.M.

Across the road from Heart of Landour is Char Dukan.

In Hindi, Char means four, and Dukan means shop. As the name suggests, Char Dukan is a group of four shops. All of them are popular and just as busy.

After all the cafe and restaurant visits, I could eat no more. So, I had to skip on the tea and bun maska. 😔

I had a little time before heading to the next destination. So I decided to go souvenir shopping. It was the only place in Landour where I saw any souvenirs.

TRAVEL TIP:- If you want to buy souvenirs for Mussoorie and Landour, try Char Dukan. It is cheaper here than at Mall Road in Mussoorie.

After souvenir shopping for 20 minutes, it was time to head out.

LAL TIBBA AT 5 P.M.

The last stop of the Landour itinerary is the Lal Tibba Cafe.

I have saved the best for last.

Lal Tibba is the highest point where you can see both the sunrise and sunset. I was interested in the sunset, more specifically, the winter line.

TRAVEL TIP:- The winter line is visible only during the winter.

Before leaving for Landour, I’d checked the timing for the sunset.

It was 4:30 p.m. when we left Char Dukan, and according to Google Maps, it was a 15-minute walk to Lal Tibba.

We were running late, as the sunset was at 5:15 p.m. Luckily, our taxi driver had just arrived. So, we quickly hopped in and had him drop us at Lal Tibba.

So, at Lal Tibba, there are two cafes- Lal Tibba Cafe and Savoy Cafe. Lal Tibba Cafe is simple-looking and charges an entry fee of Rs.50, which you can redeem in your bill. But it has the best views. The Savoy Cafe is better looking and classy, but their view is slightly obscured by the trees. I’m not sure if they have an entry fee.

So, after paying the Rs.50 charge, we climbed to the rooftop and found ourselves a table.

If we hadn’t arrived early, we wouldn’t have been able to snag the best seat in the cafe.

Since we arrived earlier than planned, we had to wait 30 minutes for the sun to set. It was freezing on the rooftop, but the beautiful sunset was worth it.

After watching the winter line and changing sky colours for another 10 minutes, we walked to our taxi.

TRAVEL TIP: Don’t forget to bring a warm jacket if travelling to Landour in the winter. The temperature starts dropping after 2 p.m.

RETURN TO MUSSOORIE AT 7 P.M.

The sunset was at 5:15 p.m., but it was almost 6 p.m. when we reached our taxi.

All the cars were leaving at once, so there was a long line of vehicles. And, as we drove down to Old Landour, the police told us that they had diverted the traffic going to Mussoorie. We had to take the long way back to Mussoorie. It took us about an hour to arrive at the Mall Road.

On the brighter side, the sunset accompanied us back to Mussoorie. Also, the night view of Mussoorie from below was stunning.

Upon returning to Mussoorie, we walked around Mall Road for a while.

All the walking around and cafe-hopping had tired us out. So, we decided to have a light dinner at Cafe de Tavern and return to our hotel.

CONCLUSION

That brings us to the end of the one-day Landour itinerary.

I hope this was helpful and you have as much fun as I did in Landour. If you have any queries or suggestions, let me know in the comments.

I hope this ignites your wanderlust and you enjoy all the cafes in Landour because

Vacation calories don’t count.

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