It’s not the easiest time to plan a holiday, but here’s taking one little pain-point away: we looked up the top Indian hill-stations that you can fly to right now, and found 12 that have decent air connectivity. More flights are being added every week, so this list will likely get longer as we go along. But for now, here’s a starter:
Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir
Closest airport: Srinagar
Distance: 59km
Driving time: 2 hours
Flights from: Ahmedabad, New Delhi
Manali, Himachal Pradesh
Closest airport: Kullu-Manali Airport
Distance: 50km
Driving time: 70 mins
Flights from: Chandigarh
Dharamsala & McLeod Ganj, Himachal Pradesh
Closest airport: Kangra airport, Dharamsala
Distance: 18km
Driving time: 45 minutes
Flights from: New Delhi, Chandigarh
Dehradun, Uttarakhand
Closest airport: Jolly Grant airport
Distance: 30km
Driving time: 45 mins
Flights from: New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Jaipur, Pantnagar
Mussoorie, Uttarakhand
Closest airport: Jolly Grant airport
Distance: 30km
Driving time: 90 mins
Flights from: New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Jaipur, Pantnagar
Nainital, Uttarakhand
Closest airport: Pantnagar airport
Distance: 68km
Driving time: 2 hours
Flights from: Dehradun
Darjeeling, West Bengal
Closest airport: Bagdogra airport
Distance: 70km
Driving time: 3 hours
Flights from: New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Guwahati
Gangtok, Sikkim
Closest airport: Bagdogra airport, West Bengal (No flights currently to Pakyong airport, Sikkim)
Distance: 125km (from Gangtok)
Driving time: 5 hours (from Gangtok)
Flights from: New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Guwahati to Bagdogra. (Tip: You can take a heli-taxi from Bagdogra to Gangtok)
Shillong, Meghalaya
Closest airport: Guwahati airport
Distance: 125km (Guwahati)
Driving time: 4 hours (Guwahati)
Flights from: Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Jaipur, Bhubaneswar, Agartala, Patna, Bagdogra, Imphal
Tip: November is when cherry blossoms are in bloom across Shillong
Ooty (Udagamandalam), Tamil Nadu
Closest airport: Coimbatore airport
Distance: 98km (Coimbatore)
Driving time: 3 hours (Coimbatore)
Flights from: Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad
Coorg, Karnataka
Closest airports: Kannur airport, Mysore airport, Mangalore airport
Distance: 112km (Kannur); 130km (Mysore); 144km (Mangalore)
Driving time: 2.5 hours (Kannur); 3 hours (Mysore); 3.5 hours (Mangalore); 6 hours (Bengaluru)
Flights to: Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad to Kannur; Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Goa, Kochi to Mysore; Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow to Mangalore (Mangaluru)