If you love adventures, skiing, rock climbing and hiking as part of your holidays, there are the 10 most beautiful hill stations in the world worth visiting.
Located in various mountain ranges of the world, these hill stations are a major tourist attraction almost all year round.
Additionally, they are also home to some of the best mountain resorts where you can indulge in sports and other outdoor activities.
As tourist destinations, all these hill stations are well connected with the rest of their countries and the world itself. Therefore, accessing them is very easy.
Therefore, the next time you wish to take a holiday away from the hustle and bustle of cities and other tourist resorts, consider these 10 most beautiful hill stations in the world, that are definitely worth visiting.
Top 10 Hill Stations in the World
Basically, a hill station is nothing more than a village or town located within the mountains. The term ‘hill station’ was coined by the British colonialists during the conquest of the Indian subcontinent.
In some countries, hill stations are also referred to as mountain resort towns or simply, mountain resorts.
If you wish to visit any of these 10 most beautiful hill stations or mountain resorts in the world, here’s my curated list.
Andorra de Vella (Andorra)
Andorra de Vella is the capital city of the Principality of Andorra, a small nation located high in the East Pyrenees mountains bordering Spain and France.
Actually, Andorra is also an independent state and part of the European Union. The city, Andorra de Vella boasts of old stone streets and houses as well as modern hotels and resorts.
This is the most beautiful hill station that I’ve visited during my travels.
Andorra de Vella has a surreal atmosphere that’s very relaxing and is sure to enthral any visitor.
The locals are friendly and warm toward tourists. And I can assure you, Andorra de Vella isn’t a place you should miss during your lifetime.
Madonna di Campiglio (Italy)
Madonna di Campiglio is also known as the Pearl of the Dolomites. It’s located deep within the Alpine range, in the Dolomites region that borders Italy, Austria and Switzerland.
The small city is very touristic and boasts of boutiques, superb hotels, artisan workshops and fine dining places.
You can view the great lakes and brooks of the Alpine range from Madonna di Campiglio and even go fishing.
There’s a dedicated skiing area that consists of 57 ski lifts and extends over 93 miles of slopes.
Additionally, Madonna di Campiglio has about 590,000 square feet of snowboarding and freestyle ranges and other mountain sports attractions.
Kanchanaburi (Thailand)
Personally, I would rank Kanchanaburi, a mountainous provide of Thailand among the most hospitable and picturesque hill stations anywhere in Asia.
It has a lot to offer for tourists looking either for total relaxation or adventure and sightseeing.
The eponymous hill station, Kanchanaburi offers amazing hotels, nightlife and fabulous local and international restaurants.
You can also buy local handicrafts here. Kanchanaburi boasts of a wonderful national park and amazing waterfalls, that relaxes your mind.
If you wish to visit a hill station for your next vacation but are on a budget, I would recommend Kanchanaburi.
Nuwara Eliya (Sri Lanka)
After being plagued by decades of insurgency, Sri Lanka is now opening up to foreign tourists.
And one such major tourist attraction in Sri Lanka is the hill station, Nuwara Eliya.
Actually, Nuwara Eliya is also home to fine Sri Lankan tea, which is exported around the world.
Thanks to the amazing landscape, Nuwara Eliya is often referred to as the Little England of Sri Lanka.
Attractions here include superb waterfalls, tea plantations, lush green gardens with exotic flowers and plants, a bird sanctuary and the nearby eponymous lake where you can go fishing with permission from local authorities.
Nuwara Eliya is a blend of modern and ancient and offers a lot of tranquillity to tourists looking for sheer relaxation during their holidays.
Citta di San Marino (San Marino)
Citta di San Marino is the capital city of the eponymous country, San Marino which hosts the famous San Marino & Rimini Motorcycle Grand Prix.
San Marino is a landlocked country bordering Italy. It is also the capital of one of the oldest republics in the world.
As a world-famous tourist destination, you can find superb infrastructure here. At the same time, San Marino is also an ancient city.
Therefore, you can stroll down its cobbled roads and enjoy the local architecture that spans several centuries of different styles.
The basilicas, piazzas and monasteries of San Marino maintain their aura of secrecy, even as the rest of this modern city boasts of the latest infrastructure.
Zakopane (Poland)
The Tatra range of mountains in Eastern Europe is home to several hill stations.
One among them is the small mountain city of Zakopane, located near the southernmost borders of Poland.
Zakopane is very famous among foreign tourists for its ski resorts and mountain trails. Zakopane is also home to a hillock that resembles a person lying down.
Since the Tatra range of mountains shares a lot in common with the Alps, you can see countless snowcapped peaks in season.
Zakopane is also famous for its hospitality and modern tourism infrastructure that helps it host various skiing contests.
It is also a popular area for mountain sports such as climbing and trekking.
Matterhorn (Switzerland)
Matterhorn ranks among the topmost hill stations of Switzerland. In fact, Matterhorn has everything to offer and is open all around the year.
The biggest attraction here is the high-altitude cable car ride, which is said to be the highest anywhere in Europe.
Other than that, we have fabulous ski resorts during winters and amazing, lush green peaks of the Alps in summer.
Here, the weather is moderate all through the year, though in winters it does get chill and snows, which brings skiing to life.
Other than that, you can also try trekking around the Matterhorn Glacier and other rocky areas.
Matheran (India)
Matheran is one of the best hill stations in India. Not many people are aware of this little gem of a hill station tucked away in the Sahyadri range of mountains in Maharashtra.
The word Matheran literally means ‘forest on the head’. It is recognized by UNESCO as one of the most environment-friendly tourist destinations in the world.
Matheran is located on a mesa-like mountain. There’re no fuel-driven vehicles here, save for an ambulance and a fire tender.
All local transportation is on bicycles, horseback or walking. It’s located about 90km south of Mumbai and is accessible easily.
Matheran has several picturesque points such as Sunset Point from where you can take amazing pictures of surrounding hills, waterfalls and forests.
Toowoomba (Australia)
Australia, being a continent, also has a lot of hill stations. Perhaps the most famous among these would be my favourite, Toowoomba.
Easily accessible from Brisbane, Queensland, Toowoomba is also the home of the local aboriginal tribes, the Jarowair and the Giabal.
From Toowoomba, you can view the amazing mountains of the Great Dividing Range.
It is also the Garden City of the Darlings Downs and the second most populous city of Australia after Canberra, the capital.
From Toowoomba, you can visit the Blue Mountains, Mount Lofty, Centenary Heights and other attractions, either for mountain sports or simple sightseeing.
Machu Pichu (Peru)
Machu Pichu is one of the most famous hill stations in South America.
The place is famous for its Mayan citadel and other mysterious buildings, including some, believed to be the handiwork of ancient aliens from other planets that visited the Earth.
Machu Pichu is therefore a delightful hill station for anyone that’s interested in history and culture.
While the ancient city of Machu Pichu is accessible during the day and almost around the year, you can live nearby in the eponymous township that boasts modern hotels and fabulous restaurants.
Machu Pichu is a superb, must-see hill station during your lifetime.
In Conclusion
The next time you’re planning on visiting a hill station, consider any of these from my above list of 10 best ones in the world.
Some of them are inexpensive, meaning you could explore them even on a small budget. Others can cost a lot since they are very popular tourist attractions.
However, these hill stations I list have everything that a tourist would look for during a holiday- sightseeing, adventure, history and culture as well as fine dining.
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