LANSDOWNE – A QUAINT TOWN IN THE LAP OF GARHWAL HILLS

 

It was an early morning of October. The sun had started peeping slowly removing the cover of mist and cloud. As I was walking through the silent road between oak and blue pine forest, I recollected about at least twenty hill stations visited either in the Himalayas or in any other states of India but could not remember to have strolled in such a quiet hill station.

I could hear the sound of the gentle breeze flowing having touched the leaves of the gigantic trees, chirping of birds and the sound of a bell ringing in a distant temple.

Yes, I was at a much less known hill station of Uttarakhand, Lansdowne by name. The name remained hidden much below the fame of Nainital, Mussourie, Auli, Kausani, etc. 

Lansdowne, the headquarters of Garhwal Rifles carried a low profile and remained a minimum visited tourist spot, despite Uttarkhand, had been onslaught by umpteen numbers of domestic and international tourists every year.

Origin of Lansdowne

Originally known as Kaludanda Kalu=Black and Danda=Hills, the hill station was named after British Viceroy, Lord Lansdowne. The place became the headquarters of Garhwal Rifles in the British period where recruitment and training of soldiers took place.

The freedom fighters had a sharp eye over the place as there was a regular movement of British army personnel during the pre-independence period. As such the place was guarded by the British on a continuous basis and visitors were being interrogated before entering into the region.

The same myth continued during the post-independence period and the hesitation of the visit of ordinary tourists remained restricted despite being very near to the capital of India.

Incidentally, neither the national tourism department nor the state tourism department made much publicity of the place that had resulted in refraining of tourists during peak seasons also.

Places to Visit in and around Lansdowne

Basically, Lansdowne is a place, where the tourists and travellers visit to play hide and seek with nature in a very relaxing mood. The mobility is limited within the small town. The morning and evening stroll through the meandering roads with the presence of minimum vehicular traffic in a pollution-free environment adds few years to our lives.

The temperature throughout the year restrains the tourists from perspiring. The cool breeze, with a touch of the wild smell of the oak and blue pine trees and unknown flowers, refreshes the lost energy of the visitors.

However, Tip & Top View The point, Santoshi Mata Temple, Kaleshwar Mahadev Temple, Regimental Museum, Bhullatal Lake, Malini Barrage, and St Mary’s Church are few spots for the tourists to visit within the town itself.

The tourists, interested in bird watching can have a view of the playful Himalayan birds like Northern Shoveler, Ruddy Shelduck, Northern Pintail, Red Crested Pochard, Common Merganser and many other birds chirping in ecstasy through the comely vista of Lansdowne.

Since the place is located in the fringe area of Corbett National Park, the tourists may suddenly come across wild animals while walking through the silent roads of Lansdowne.

Temple of Tarakeswar Mahadev with Gauri Kund, Kanwashram (where Shakuntala gave birth to her child Bharat), Kalagarh Tiger Reserve (a part of Corbett National Park) is located in close distance of the town.   

How to Reach Lansdowne

The distance from Delhi to Lansdowne is only 250 km by road via Meerut, Bijnor, and Kotdwar.

Kotdwar is the nearest railway station located just 34 km away on the main route to Haridwar and Amritsar. Major trains on this route have a stoppage at Kotdwar.

Jolly Grant is the nearest airport from Lansdowne which is around 152 km away.

Boarding & Lodging

There are few good hotels including hotel of Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) at Lansdowne, In addition to that, there are budget hotels of standard quality and homestays which can accommodate a good number of tourists. But the number of hotels is less in comparison to other hill stations in Uttarakhand.

Other than restaurants attached to the hotels, there are few standard stand-alone restaurants which cater to the taste of the majority of the tourists with Continental, North Indian and Garhwali cuisines.

My Experience

As an avid lover of nature, with a special love for Himalayan beauty, I had the privilege of staying at Lansdowne for a couple of days on my way to Corbett National Park.

I had a unique experience to have witnessed a herd of spotted deers numbering around ten crossing the road at the top of their speed, perhaps after being chased by a stronger carnivorous.  

The serene and tranquility of the location had attracted me to make a re-visit. The nature of Uttarakhand had been bountiful to the highest extent in this region.

The lush green opulent surroundings having an essence of British regal period allured me to get rejuvenated in engaging myself with a plethora of natural beauty.

     

 Photo Courtesy-Google