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Visiting Woodstock
Woodstock welcomes visits from alumni, parents and friends of the school. In order to make your visit as successful as possible, please give us as much notice as possible of your visit by emailing alumni@woodstock.ac.in. We do have some protocols for visitors, particularly for alumni, which you can download here. These are intended to help you have a pleasant visit while ensuring that the day-to-day work of the school is not disturbed. If you are planning a class reunion or group trip, we would particularly like to hear from you.
Planning your travel
The nearest international airport is Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. The 6-8 hour trip from Delhi to Mussoorie can be made by car, taxi, bus or train. The Jolly Grant domestic airport is about 2 hours from Mussoorie. Flights are available through Kingfisher Airlines but are weather dependent. The rail terminus for Mussoorie is Dehra Dun where taxi and bus services are available for the 37 km (23 mile) climb up the mountain.
Travel from Delhi to Dehra Dun is efficiently done by AC, chair-car train, called the Shatabdi, for Rs. 1000 round trip ($24). A taxi from Dehra Dun to Mussoorie is Rs. 500 ($10). Taxis make the trip from the Delhi airport to Mussoorie for Rs. up to 5000 ($120) Click here for more detailed taxi information.
If you want help with reservations, train schedules, or housing, contact the Woodstock Travel Office at: TravelOffice@woodstock.ac.in.
Additional travel information is available here.
For help with international and domestic airline bookings as well as travel arrangements within India, the following agencies are used by many staff and visitors:
- President Travel ( www.presidenttravels.net )
- Uday Travel and Tours (www.udaytour.com
- Vinstring (www.vinstring.com/main.htm)
- Momo Tours (www.momotours.com)
Health information
Information on vaccinations and other health precautions, such as safe food and water precautions and insect bite protection for malaria and dengue fever (if you are travelling in the plains) may be obtained from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's internet home page at www.cdc.gov/travel.
Do not drink any water except approved brands of drinking water (such as bottled water provided on the Dehra Dun Express). You should remove the seal yourself. No ice! Be wary of salads, uncooked vegetables, and fruits which you can't peel. Brush your teeth with bottled water or properly filtered water, NOT tap water. It is recommended that you carry bottled water with you for drinking at all times. It is readily available for sale. Water in the Woodstock dining room is filtered.
Mussoorie is located at an altitude of 7000 feet, and this does present problems for some people, particularly in the first few days - you may have some symptoms of altitude sickness (headaches, nausea, dizziness). Here are some tips.
- Drink lots of water.
- Avoid over-exerting yourself, especially the first day.
- If you feel the effects of the altitude, be sure to make yourself breathe out all the air you can, then take in new air.
- To avoid sleeplessness, one symptom of altitude sickness, take Tylenol PM or Sominex at bedtime.
- Drink coffee or tea which are diuretics that remove water from your system and allow oxygen to process in your body.
Where to stay
Mussoorie has many hotels and you can search for them on the web. Some of the sites listed below have accommodation information.The school does not recommend particular accommodations, but the following are some of those which are popular with parents and alumni. Not all will accept telephone bookings.
- All Seasons Guest House, Kulri, Mussoorie, Uttarakhand 248179 Phone: +91-135-263-1672 or 0694 Email: winkie@vsnl.com
- Brentwood Hotel, Kulri, Mussoorie, Uttarakhand 248179 Phone: +91-135-263-2102 or 2126 Fax: +91-135-263-2604 Email:hotelbrentwood@hotmail.com
- Carlton's Plaisance Hotel, Happy Valley Rd, Mussoorie Phone: +91-135-263-2800 Email:carltons@rediffmail.com. Click here for website - a lovely Raj-era bungalow with excellent food (about 45 minutes from Woodstock School)
- Devdar Woods,
Sisters Bazaar, Landour, Mussoorie, Uttarakhand 248179
Phone: +91-135-263-2644 or 2544 Email:anilprakash56@yahoo.com - Filigree Hotel, Camel's Back Road, Kulri, Mussoorie, Uttarakhand 248179 Phone: +91-135-263-2380 or 1380 or 2360 or 2390
- Hotel Himalaya Castle, Landour, Mussoorie, Uttarakhand 248179 Phone: +91-9837254643 (Prabhat Vaish) or +91-987578676 (Pranav Vaish) Fax: +91-135-263-3665
Email:himcastle@rediffmail.com. Click here for website - Hotel Horizon,
R K Verma Road, Kulri, Mussoorie, Uttarakhand 248179
Phone: +91-135-263-2899 - Ivy Bank Guest House,
Landour Cantt., Mussoorie, Uttarakhand 248179
Phone: +91-135-263-2324 - Kasmanda Palace, The Mall Road, Mussoorie, Uttarakhand 248179 Phone: +91-135-263-2424 Fax: +91-135-263-0007 Email: kasmanda@vsnl.com. Click here for website - a heritage hotel which some parents enjoy
- Nabha Palace, Mussoorie, a Claridges Resort: Barlowganj Road, Mussoorie - 248172 Phone: +91-135-263-1426, 263-1427 Fax: +91-135-263-1426 Email:nabha@claridges.com -another heritage hotel which some parents enjoy
- Padmini Nivas, library, Mussoorie, Uttarakhand 248179 Phone: +91-135-263-1093 or 3123
- Residency Manor (JayPee) (4 star),
Barlowgang, Mussoorie, Uttarakhand 248179
Phone: +91-135-263-1803 or 1800 or 3818 Click here for online bookings - See Forth Lodge, Clock Tower, Mussoorie, Uttarakhand +91-135-263-2801 (Mr. Vinod Kumar) Email:revinodkumarart@hotmail.com
- Shipra,Landour, Mussoorie, Uttarakhand 248179 Phone: +91-135-263-1325
- Shiva Continental, Kulri, Mussoorie, Uttarakhand 248179 Phone: +91-135-263-2175 Email:shivacon@yahoo.com. Click here for website
- Silverton Park Plaza, Kulri, Mussoorie, Uttarakhand 248179 Phone: +91-135-263-5528 Fax: +91-135-263-2312 Email:ppm@sarovarhotels.com
Currency
Currency can be exchanged at the Delhi airport on arrival. Rupees may not be traded in your country of residence, so you may not be able to exchange money at banks in most countries outside India. US dollars and GB sterling can be exchanged at the State Bank and the Bank of Baroda in Mussoorie. Travellers' checks can be cashed at the State Bank (American Express and Thomas Cook), and at the Bank of Baroda (Visa), both of which have branches in Mussoorie.
VISA and MasterCard ATM's are available at the Bank of Baroda (Kulri, near Picture Palace), Axis Bank (Woodstock School and library end of the Mall) and the State Bank (Clock Tower and Kulri, near the Post Office) in Mussoorie.
What to do in and around Mussoorie
Mussoorie is approx. 3 hours' drive from Rishikesh, Haridwar and Rajaji National Park; about one hour from Dehra Dun (Forest Institute, Survey of India), George Everest House (derelict but in a spectacular setting) and the Tibetan settlement at Happy Valley. There are many local and longer walks, which Woodstock staff will be glad to tell you about. The following links give general information about Mussoorie and the surrounding area.
Please note that Woodstock School is not responsible for the contents or accuracy of external websites.