Hill stations
Hill stations, in a vehicle and with a chauffeur chosen for the road
The hill road is the booking. A Shimla run from Chandigarh, a Munnar run from Kochi or a Darjeeling run from Bagdogra is three to five hours of hairpins, and the vehicle, the chauffeur and the departure time are chosen for that, not for the city.
34Hill stations
5Ranges
SUVStandard vehicle
DaylightWhen we drive the ghats
Mountain rules
Six things the desk does differently for a hill booking
- The vehicle is an SUV or a Hycross Ground clearance, four-wheel drive where the season needs it and a driver who has done the road before. Sedans are not sent up the ghats.
- The departure is timed for daylight Fog, landslides and single-lane sections are a morning problem, not a night one. The pickup at the airport is planned so the climb happens in the light.
- Permits and local vehicles are arranged Rohtang, Leh, Sikkim's protected areas and the Shimla and Mussoorie inner-city restrictions each need something. The desk tells you before you confirm.
- The chauffeur stays Multi-day hill bookings keep the same chauffeur and vehicle for the stay, with the daily rate covering the driver's lodging.
- Luggage is measured, not guessed Ski bags for Auli and Gulmarg, trekking packs for Manali, the family's cases for Ooty. The booker shows the bag count per class.
- The weather is checked twice The day before and the morning of, with the route changed or the departure moved if the road is closed.
Directory
Hill stations we drive to, with the gateway airport
34 destinations Each entry names the airport the run usually starts from and the altitude where verified.
Himalayas - Himachal & Uttarakhand 10
- 2,202 m ShimlaHimachal Pradesh · Shimla Airport (SLV) at Jubbarhatti, 23 km; Chandigarh Airport (IXC) for jet servicesFormer summer capital of British India; the Kalka-Shimla line is part of the UNESCO Mountain Railways of India.
- ManaliHimachal Pradesh · Bhuntar (Kullu) Airport (KUU), 50 kmBase for Rohtang, Solang Valley and the Atal Tunnel road to Lahaul.
- 1,951 m KasauliHimachal Pradesh · Chandigarh Airport (IXC) is the nearest airportQuiet cantonment town on the Kalka-Shimla road.
- 2,082 m (McLeod Ganj) Dharamshala and McLeod GanjHimachal Pradesh · Kangra Airport (DHM) at Gaggal, 14 kmSeat of the Tibetan government-in-exile; the HPCA cricket stadium sits below the town.
- DalhousieHimachal Pradesh · Kangra Airport (DHM) at Gaggal, 110 km; Pathankot railhead, 87 kmSpread over five hills of the Dhauladhar range, with Khajjiar meadow nearby.
- MussoorieUttarakhand · Dehradun, 38 km; Jolly Grant Airport (DED) is the nearest airportGun Hill, the second highest point in town, stands at 2,122 m.
- NainitalUttarakhand · Kathgodam railhead; Pantnagar Airport (PGH)Lake town of the Kumaon hills and the road base for Jim Corbett National Park.
- RanikhetUttarakhand · Kathgodam railhead; Pantnagar Airport (PGH)Cantonment town of the Kumaon Regiment with Himalayan views.
- AlmoraUttarakhand · Kathgodam railhead; Pantnagar Airport (PGH)Kumaon hill town near Kasar Devi and the Jageshwar temple group.
- 2,500 to 3,050 m AuliUttarakhand · Joshimath, 16 km; Rishikesh railhead about 250 km; Dehradun about 279 kmUttarakhand's ski slopes, reached by ropeway from Joshimath.
Himalayas - Kashmir, Ladakh & Sikkim 5
- 1,585 m SrinagarJammu and Kashmir · Srinagar Airport (SXR)Dal Lake houseboats and Mughal gardens; base for Gulmarg and Pahalgam.
- GulmargJammu and Kashmir · Srinagar, 60 km, about an hour and a half by carGondola rises in two phases to Kongdori at 8,530 ft and on to 12,293 ft.
- PahalgamJammu and Kashmir · Srinagar Airport (SXR), 96 kmLidder valley resort and the Amarnath yatra base.
- LehLadakh · Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport (IXL) in townLeh district ranges from 2,300 m to 5,000 m; Hemis monastery hosts the Hemis Tsechu each summer.
- GangtokSikkim · Bagdogra Airport (IXB) or Pakyong Airport (PYG); New Jalpaiguri railheadSikkim's capital and the permit base for Nathu La and Tsomgo Lake.
Northeast & Bengal hills 5
- DarjeelingWest Bengal · Bagdogra Airport (IXB); New Jalpaiguri railheadTea country served by the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, part of the UNESCO Mountain Railways of India.
- KalimpongWest Bengal · Siliguri, about 60 km; Bagdogra Airport (IXB)Deolo Hill viewpoint stands at 5,850 ft; Darjeeling, Gangtok and Pelling are two to three hours away by road.
- ShillongMeghalaya · Guwahati Airport (GAU) by roadCapital of Meghalaya in the East Khasi Hills.
- Cherrapunji (Sohra)Meghalaya · Shillong by road; Guwahati Airport (GAU)Living root bridges of the Khasi hills; neighbouring Mawsynram records nearly 12,000 mm of rain a year.
- 3,500 m TawangArunachal Pradesh · Guwahati Airport (GAU), roughly 480 km; Bomdila, 183 kmMonastery town near the Sela Pass; Inner Line Permit required.
Western Ghats & South 7
- Ooty (Udhagamandalam)Tamil Nadu · Coimbatore Airport (CJB); Mettupalayam railhead for the Nilgiri Mountain RailwayThe Nilgiris district lies between 900 m and 2,636 m; the rack railway is a UNESCO Mountain Railway of India.
- CoonoorTamil Nadu · Coimbatore Airport (CJB); Mettupalayam railheadTea estates and Sim's Park on the Nilgiri Mountain Railway below Ooty.
- 7,200 ft KodaikanalTamil Nadu · Madurai Airport (IXM) is the nearest airport; Kodai Road railheadPalani hills lake resort.
- 1,515 m YercaudTamil Nadu · Salem Junction railhead, 35 kmShevaroy hills coffee country above Salem.
- 1,600 m MunnarKerala · Cochin International Airport (COK), about 108 kmTea plantations and Eravikulam National Park in the Idukki high ranges.
- 700 to 2,100 m WayanadKerala · Kozhikode (Calicut) Airport (CCJ)Plateau district of Kerala with the Edakkal caves and Chembra peak.
- Coorg (Madikeri)Karnataka · Mangaluru Airport (IXE) or Bengaluru Airport (BLR) by roadKodagu district coffee hills; the district's lowest elevation is 900 m.
Central & West 7
- MahabaleshwarMaharashtra · Pune Airport (PNQ) by roadSahyadri plateau resort in Satara district, source of the Krishna river.
- PanchganiMaharashtra · Pune Airport (PNQ) by roadTableland plateau town on the road to Mahabaleshwar.
- 622 m LonavalaMaharashtra · Pune about 1.5 hours; Mumbai about 2 hoursTwin hill station with Khandala on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.
- 800 m MatheranMaharashtra · Mumbai about 110 km via Karjat and Neral; Neral station 20 km for the toy trainVehicle-free hill station; cars stop at Dasturi and the last stretch is by foot, horse or toy train.
- 1,722 m Mount AbuRajasthan · Abu Road railhead; Udaipur Airport (UDR) by roadRajasthan's only hill station, with Nakki Lake and the Dilwara Jain temples.
- about 1,100 m PachmarhiMadhya Pradesh · Bhopal Airport (BHO), about 200 km; Pipariya railhead, 40 kmSatpura range valley resort; Dhoopgarh, the nearby high point, reaches 1,352 m.
- SaputaraGujarat · Surat Airport (STV) or Nashik by roadGujarat's hill station in the Dang district near the Maharashtra border.
The runs asked for most
Gateway airport to hill hotel, as a fixed fare
| From | To | Typical drive | Vehicle | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chandigarh airport (IXC) | Shimla | 3 h 30 to 4 h 30 | SUV / Hycross | Kalka-Shimla road; inner-city vehicle restrictions in Shimla |
| Chandigarh airport (IXC) | Kasauli | 1 h 45 to 2 h 15 | SUV / Hycross | The short run |
| Chandigarh or Kullu (KUU) | Manali | 7 to 8 h / 1 h 30 | SUV | Rohtang and Atal Tunnel permits arranged |
| Dehradun Jolly Grant (DED) | Mussoorie | 1 h 30 to 2 h | SUV / Hycross | Mall Road restrictions; drop at the hotel's permitted point |
| Pantnagar (PGH) or Delhi | Nainital | 2 h / 7 h | SUV / Hycross | Weekend lake-road closures |
| Bagdogra (IXB) | Darjeeling | 3 to 4 h | SUV | Rohini or Hill Cart Road by conditions |
| Bagdogra (IXB) | Gangtok | 4 to 5 h | SUV | Sikkim entry; protected-area permits for onward travel |
| Coimbatore (CJB) | Ooty | 2 h 30 to 3 h | SUV / Hycross | 36 hairpins on the Mettupalayam ghat |
| Kochi (COK) | Munnar | 3 h 30 to 4 h | SUV / Hycross | Tea-estate roads; daylight departure |
| Bengaluru (BLR) or Mangaluru | Coorg (Madikeri) | 5 to 6 h / 3 h | SUV / Hycross | Coffee-estate resorts off the main road |
| Srinagar (SXR) | Gulmarg or Pahalgam | 1 h 30 / 2 h 30 | SUV | Winter chains; ski luggage |
| Udaipur (UDR) | Mount Abu | 3 h | SUV / Hycross | Rajasthan's only hill station |
Multi-day hill bookings
The same chauffeur for the whole stay
A week in Himachal or ten days across Sikkim and Darjeeling is booked as a private chauffeur engagement: one vehicle and one driver for the duration, the daily rate covering the chauffeur's lodging and meals, the itinerary agreed the night before each day and changed on the morning if the weather says so. The airport legs at each end are inside the same quote.
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Book
Book a hill-station journey
Enter the gateway airport and the hotel; the booker prices the run for an SUV. Multi-day engagements are quoted by a coordinator.
Weddings, film units, multi-day chauffeur hire, outstation journeys and anything with more than one vehicle are quoted by a person: call (877) 860-3388 or send the outline and a coordinator replies with a written quote.