Dehradun in March: Rhododendrons, Holi and the Best Weather of the Year

If you can choose your month, choose March. The valley has finished with winter, the fog and the cold nights, and has not yet started on the heat of May; the sky is clear, the hills behind Mussoorie are still white at the top and red with rhododendron below, and the city is quiet apart from one loud weekend. This guide follows on from February and covers the weather in numbers, the 2027 dates, what to pack, what to do and what it costs.

The weather, honestly

March is spring proper. Expect nights of 11 to 13°C in the first week, rising to about 15 by the end, and days of 26 to 28°C, the figures from our month by month weather guide. The air is dry and the sky is clear on most mornings, which makes this and October the two months with the most reliable Himalayan views. Rain is a passing shower or two; the pre-monsoon storms belong to April and May. Up the hill, Mussoorie averages 7 to 16°C and a late flurry in the first days of March is not unusual.

The rhododendron month

Buransh, the tree rhododendron, is Uttarakhand's state flower, and March is when it covers the hills between about 1,500 and 2,500 metres in red. From the valley you see it first on the upper bends of the Mussoorie road above Malsi, then all along the Dhanaulti road out of Mussoorie and in the oak forests around Chakrata. Villagers pick the flowers for juice; the squash is sold in Paltan Bazaar and on the roadside stalls, tart and deep pink, and it is the souvenir of the month (our things to buy guide has the shops). The Dhanaulti and Kanatal drive and the Chakrata day trip are both at their best in March for exactly this reason.

March 2027 dates

• Maha Shivratri (5 or 6 March 2027, by the panchang used): the Tapkeshwar cave temple on the Tons river is the place to be at dawn, with a fair around it. See our temples guide for the setting.
• Holika Dahan (Sunday 21 March) and Holi (Monday 22 March 2027): bonfires on the Sunday evening, colours on the Monday morning, and a three-day weekend that fills Mussoorie and raises hill prices. The valley is the calmer place to sleep; book our homes a few weeks ahead for these dates.
• Board exam season: schools are in exams through March, so apart from Holi weekend the city is quiet and midweek rates are at their lowest of the spring.
• Summer time starts in late March: by the last week the afternoons touch 30°C and the summer season on the Mussoorie road begins to stir.

What to pack

• Light layers: t-shirts for the day, one light jacket or fleece for mornings and evenings.
• Sunglasses and sunscreen: March sun in a dry sky is stronger than it feels.
• A warmer layer for the hill: Mussoorie and Dhanaulti evenings are still single digits in early March.
• Old clothes for Holi if you are here on the 22nd, and a bottle of coconut oil for your hair and skin before the colours.

Things to do in March

• The rhododendron drives: Mussoorie road, Dhanaulti road, Chakrata (see above).
• Rajaji National Park: the safari season runs to mid-June and March mornings are warm enough to be comfortable and early enough that the forest is still green. About 45 minutes from Rajpur Road.
• Robber's Cave and Sahastradhara: March is the first month the water is warm enough to wade. The Robber's Cave and Sahastradhara guide has the timings.
• FRI in spring: the lawns are green again and the snow line still shows behind the colonnades on clear mornings. Timings in the FRI visitor guide.
• Mussoorie and Landour without the summer crowd: the day trip guide covers the route; go midweek.
• Walks and short treks: the treks and nature walks guide is written for exactly this weather.
• Café afternoons: Rajpur Road terraces are open from morning to night. The best cafés in Dehradun has the list.
• Garhwali food: March is kandali (nettle) season in the hill kitchens. Our famous food of Dehradun guide explains what to order.

Crowds, prices and where to stay

Outside Holi weekend, March is shoulder season: the winter crowd has gone, the summer crowd has not arrived, and ridge hotels price accordingly. Our six homes stay at their normal rates, from ₹1,800 a night plus taxes (prices vary by date), each with AC for the first warm afternoons, a kitchen, fast Wi-Fi and free parking. The Mountain View Studio at Malsi sits on the first stretch of the rhododendron road; the Boho 2BHK on Canal Road takes a Holi family; the 1BHK on Rajpur Road is for café afternoons and a dog. For a longer stay, March is the last cool month for a monthly workcation before the summer rates on the hill.

March asks nothing of you. It gives the clearest skies, the red hills and a valley that is quiet on every day but one. Check live availability, then message us on WhatsApp with your dates.