Benog Bird Sanctuary/Jwalaji Temple

The Benog Sanctuary hill covers the forest of the western ridge of Mussoorie and happens to be the area where the extinct mountain quail was last seen during the 1970s. The thick oak jungles inhabits a healthy population of birds along with leopards, Himalayan black bear, barking deer, giant squirrels, rabbits, pheasants and wild rodents. The impressive Benog hilltop is perched by Goddess Jwalaji temple where an annual fair is held during autumn. The hilltop also provides magnificent view of the great Himalayas, the Mussoorie township, and the Yamuna river valley towards north and the Doon Valley in the south. The healthy population of avifauna in the forest makes an ideal place for bird watching. a ruin near the temple towards the west used to to be one of the observatories of Sir George Everest where a plaque is placed honoring the women mountaineer of the world. Some beliefs also relate the place with Heinrich Harrer, the Austrian Mountaineer of the film ‘Seven Years in Tibet’ fame who escaped from the Dehradun Clement Town POW jail and reached Tibet.