Places to Visit Near Mukteshwar: 12 Day Trips Worth the Drive

Mukteshwar itself takes one unhurried day. The temple, Chauli Ki Jali and a sunset walk, and you’ve seen the town. The reason people stay three or four nights is everything within 10 to 80 km of it: orchards, a waterfall hike, a village famous for honey and fruit, and one of the oldest temple complexes in Kumaon.

This guide lists 12 places to visit near Mukteshwar, grouped by direction so you don’t zigzag across the same hairpin bends twice. Distances are approximate road kilometres from Mukteshwar market. Hill roads make 30 km feel like an hour, so the “time needed” column matters more than the km figure.

Quick list: places near Mukteshwar at a glance

#	Place	Distance from Mukteshwar	Time needed	Best for
1	Mukteshwar Dham Temple	1 km	1 hour	Everyone, sunrise
2	Chauli Ki Jali	1.5 km	1–2 hours	Views, rock climbing
3	IVRI campus and colonial trail	1 km	1 hour	History, walks
4	Sitla	6–7 km	Half day	Quiet forest walks
5	Bhalu Gaad Waterfall	10–12 km + 2 km walk	Half day	Families, short hike
6	Dhanachuli	10 km	2 hours	Orchards, photography
7	Peora	20 km	Half day	Village life, fruit, honey
8	Ramgarh (Talla and Malla)	25 km	Full day	Tagore Top, orchards
9	Bhimtal and Naukuchiatal	38–42 km	Full day	Lakes, paragliding
10	Kainchi Dham	40 km	Half day	Neem Karoli Baba ashram
11	Nainital	46–50 km	Full day	Mall Road, boating
12	Jageshwar Dham	75–80 km	Full day	100+ stone temples

Check each distance on Google Maps the morning you drive. Landslide repairs and one-way plans (especially on weekends near Bhowali) can add 30–45 minutes.

In and around town (under 2 km)

1. Mukteshwar Dham Temple

The Shiva temple sits at the highest point of the ridge, about 2,285 m up, and it’s the reason the town exists. The climb is roughly 100 stone steps from the parking area. Go at sunrise if the sky is clear. On a crisp October or November morning you can see the snow line of the Nanda Devi range behind the temple roof, and the only sound is the bell.

It gets busy between 11 am and 3 pm on weekends, mostly with day-trippers from Nainital.

2. Chauli Ki Jali

A two-minute walk from the temple, Chauli Ki Jali is a cliff edge with rock formations and a sheer drop into the valley. Local operators run rock climbing and rappelling here, and there’s usually a paragliding tandem launch nearby in the dry months. Prices change every season, so agree on a figure before you’re clipped in.

The rock gets slippery after rain. If you’re with kids or older parents, stay behind the railings. The view is just as good from there.

3. IVRI campus and the colonial trail

The Indian Veterinary Research Institute moved its lab to Mukteshwar in 1893, which is why the town has British-era stone buildings, old bungalows and a long pine-lined road. Most of the campus is a working institute, so you walk the road and not the labs. It’s a good late-afternoon walk when the light turns golden on the deodars.

South and west: the Sitla, Dhanachuli and Bhalu Gaad loop

These three can be done in one half-day loop with a packed lunch.

4. Sitla

Sitla is a small estate area surrounded by oak and rhododendron forest, 6–7 km from town. There’s no single “sight” here. You come to walk, hear birds and see how quiet Kumaon gets once you’re away from the main road. In March and April the rhododendrons (buransh) turn the slopes red.

5. Bhalu Gaad Waterfall

This is the best short hike near Mukteshwar. You drive towards Dhari to the village trailhead (ask for Bhalu Gaad at any local shop, everyone knows it), then walk about 2 km through fields and forest to a waterfall of around 60 feet.

What goes wrong: people arrive at 3 pm in winter and walk back in the dark. Start by noon. Wear shoes with grip, because the last stretch is rocky and wet all year.

6. Dhanachuli

Dhanachuli sits on the Mukteshwar–Dhari road and is known for apple, plum and apricot orchards on terraced slopes. There’s not much to “do” except stop, walk the orchard edges and take photos, but in June and July you can buy fruit straight from growers at roadside stalls.

East: Peora and the Almora road

7. Peora

Peora is a small village about 20 km from Mukteshwar on the road towards Almora. It’s known for honey, fruit preserves and old Kumaoni stone houses with carved wooden doors (called likhai). If you want to see a Kumaoni village that hasn’t been turned into a resort strip, this is it.

Take cash. Card machines and UPI signal are both unreliable here.

North-west: towards Ramgarh, Bhowali and the lakes

This direction has the most to see, and it’s also the route you drive on when you arrive from Delhi or Kathgodam. Save it for your last day and do the sights on the way out. For the full road route, see our guide on how to reach Mukteshwar from Delhi.

8. Ramgarh (Talla and Malla Ramgarh)

Ramgarh is Kumaon’s fruit bowl, about 25 km from Mukteshwar. Rabindranath Tagore stayed here and the hilltop where his house stood is now called Tagore Top. Mahadevi Verma’s former summer home at Umagarh, next to Ramgarh, is now the Mahadevi Verma Srijan Peeth. In late spring the whole valley smells of peach blossom.

We’ve written a separate list of the top things to do in Ramgarh, so we’ll keep this short. If you only have two hours, go to Tagore Top and walk one orchard lane.

9. Bhimtal and Naukuchiatal

Bhimtal (around 38 km) and Naukuchiatal (around 42 km) are lake towns that are quieter than Nainital. You can boat on both, and Naukuchiatal is the main tandem paragliding spot in this part of Kumaon. Our Bhimtal guide covers the island aquarium, Victoria Dam and the butterfly centre.

10. Kainchi Dham

The Neem Karoli Baba ashram at Kainchi is about 40 km from Mukteshwar via Bhowali. It’s the most visited place in the region right now, and weekend traffic plans often send private cars to parking at Bhowali or Bhimtal with shuttles to the ashram. Go on a weekday, early. Our Kainchi Dham visitor guide has timings, rules and the 15 June fair plan.

11. Nainital

Nainital is 46–50 km away, about 2 hours by road. It’s worth a day if you haven’t been: boating on Naini Lake, the Mall Road, Snow View point and the Naina Devi temple. But it’s also the most crowded hill town in Kumaon from April to June. Plenty of people who stay in Mukteshwar skip it on purpose.

The long day trip: Jageshwar Dham

12. Jageshwar Dham

Jageshwar is a cluster of more than 100 stone temples in a deodar forest, roughly 75–80 km from Mukteshwar via Almora. The temples were built over several centuries, roughly between the 7th and 14th and the complex is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India. There’s a small ASI museum on site.

It’s a full day with 3 hours of driving each way. Combine it with lunch in Almora and a box of bal mithai on the way back. Don’t try it in peak monsoon (July–August), when the Almora road has frequent slips.

How to plan these into a 3-day stay

You don’t need a tour operator for this. Here’s how we’d split it:

• Day 1 (arrival day): Reach by early afternoon, rest, then Chauli Ki Jali and the temple at sunset.
• Day 2: Sitla, Bhalu Gaad and Dhanachuli in the morning; Peora in the afternoon.
• Day 3: Check out and do Ramgarh, Kainchi Dham (weekday) and Bhimtal on the drive down to Kathgodam.

Add a fourth day for Jageshwar or Nainital. Families with young kids should drop one item per day. Hill drives tire children faster than walking does.

If you’re still deciding whether the trip is right for you, read Is Mukteshwar worth visiting? first.

Where to base yourself for these day trips

Staying in Mukteshwar puts the temple, Chauli Ki Jali, Sitla and Bhalu Gaad within 30 minutes, and the Ramgarh–Bhimtal side within 1.5 hours. Nature Home by Saanjh Stays has Himalayan-view rooms and home-cooked food, which matters after a day on the road (there aren’t many dinner options in Mukteshwar after 8 pm). See our Mukteshwar homestay options.

Plan your stay: Nature Home by Saanjh Stays (from ₹3,500/night) and A Cottage by Saanjh Stays (from ₹5,000/night), both in Mukteshwar. Book directly at Saanjh Stays.

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