Finally at Land’s End: 'Lansdowne'

Lansdowne, A place surrounded by beautiful oak, silver fir, spruce and pine forests is a proper weekend getaway from Delhi. At 1700 meters from mean sea level is an easy 240 kilometres drive from National Capital Region (NCR) and only 40 kilometres from Kotdwar, the entrance to ‘Pauri-Garhwal’ of Uttarakhand/Uttaranchal.

This serene and unspoilt hilly town was established as a British Cantonment in 1887 and named in the honour of Lord Lansdowne.

But now it houses the Regimental Centre of famous ‘Garhwal Rifles’ of ‘Indian Army’.

Places to see:

Bhulla Tal:

In Garhwali ‘Bhulla’ means ‘Younger Brother’. This small beautiful small lake was created in the memory of young men of Garhwali Rifles who sacrificed their life in the service of the nation. A small park is also constructed close to it.

Sitting peacefully there for some time and watching the reflection of Deodar trees on the lake was really worth. And there is also provision of boating in the Lake.

Tip in Top:

It is the top most point in Lansdowne with a magnificent view of the Great Himalayan Range. The view of snow claded mountains can just take your breath away. Chaukhamba and Trishul are to name the few peaks visible from here. The view of sunset from here is magnificent.

St. John’s Catholic Church:

This Church was built in the year 1936 and the construction was completed in 1937 and is the only one in Lansdowne to worship. It is situated close to Forest Bungalow.

St. Mary’s Church:

It is the oldest church in Lansdowne which was built in 1895-96 with a surreal backdrop of Snow topped mountains.

Best time to Visit: Throughout the year though January is considered as the coldest month.

Route: Delhi-Meerut (no by-pass)-Mawana (by-pass)-Bijnor-Kiratpur-Najibabad-Kotdwar-Dugadda-Lansdwone (NH-58 and NH-119)

How to reach?

With well laid tarmac and with available of all amenities through out the way driving or riding is a sure fun. The last gas station is in Kotdwar so don’t forget to get your car/bike’s tummy full from here though I found some boards selling Diesel in black, but better to keep the LUCK aside.

NH-58 and NH-119 are to be followed to reach Lansdowne.

You need to take a right at Dugadda on NH-119 and I’ll suggest not to return via same route but to ask for the other route which meets NH-119 some 10-12 kilometers ahead of Dugadda, it will increase the distance by 5-6 kilometers but I bet you will love the surreal nature and superb twisties that you will find on your way.

With other options one can find UPRTC bus service from New Delhi to Kotdwar and then one can hire a taxi or shared cab to Lansdowne.

Still, train is the most preferable way to travel to Kotdwar in the opinion of local people and to hire a taxi or something to Lansdowne. And daily service of Mussoorie Express may solve your problem.

Where to stay?

There are few very good options available to stay and explore this non-commercialized little hill station. GMVN (Garhwal Mandal Vikash Nigam) is always preferred in Uttarakhand for their proper service and all. Except it there are also few other private guest houses for the pleasant stay.

The first view of 'Lansdowne'...


View of Great Himalayan Range...


The road from 'Dugadda' to 'Lansdowne'...




'Bhulla Lake'










'St. John's Catholic Church'







View from 'Tip in Top'






Some superb surroundings on the way back...




'Lush Green' fields just after Kotdwar...

The Garhwal Marathon

Another quickie to the Hills of Uttarakhand.

Winter is already here and I was yet to see some snow topping over the Himalayan Range. Had to rush to Hardwar for some personal work and I again choose to ride so that could go little further in to the hills.

So a quick ride to the Garhwal hills which lasted only for a day but not to mention about the experience of those awesome twisties and the nostalgia of riding the same old stretch of NH-58 which leads to Mana Village, commonly known as Valley of Flowers.

Pauri and Lansdwone were the places where I wanted to ride since long. And Satpuli is the another place in-between.

I missed Lansdwone because of a flat tyre some 15-20 kilometers before it which killed 2 precious hours. It was already dark then and I was in a hurry to reach Delhi soon.

PAURI-GARHWAL
Most locations in Pauri Garhwal offer a breathtaking view of the snow laden Himalayan Splendour and is full of scenic valleys. Pauri has an altitude of about 1800 meters and is the district head quarter of Pauri-Garhwal.

Pauri also provides a panoramic view of the snow covered Himalayan peaks of Nandadevi & Trisul,Gangotri Group,Thalaiya- sagar,Neelkanth, Bandar Poonch, Swarga-Rohini, Kedarnath, kharcha Kund, Satopanth, Chaukhamba, Ghoriparvat, Hathiparvat and Sumeru etc.


SATPULI
It is a lovely village Hill Station on Pauri-Kotdwar road on the banks of Nayyar River.
A very good Friend 'Saurabh' is from Satpuli and HERE is his newly developed website on Satpuli. You will get all required information from there.


LANSDWONE
It is the quietest Hill Station close to Delhi and is only 300 kilometers away. It is at an altitude of 1700 meters and is full of Oak and Pine trees.

The Kotdwar-Lansdwone stretch is laid with awesome twisties and very good tarmac.

My friend ‘Aryan’ (Bobby Roy) has a credit of visiting this place for 15 times. So who can tell you better than this guy? HERE is the link to his blog.

Best Time to Visit: April to June and September to mid-November

Route: Hardwar-Rishikesh-Devprayag-Pauri-Satpuli-Dogadda-Kotdwar-Kiratpur-Bijnor-Meerut-Ghaziabad-Delhi

Distance: 470+ Kilometers

And a special thanks to ‘Kunjal’ for his company.

Somewhere after Rishikesh

Enroute Devprayag


'Devprayag' below


Innocent Garhwali people


The first Glimpse of SNOW


The great Himalayan Range on the backdrop of GBPEC


The lonely roads


My Best Shot of the Trip


My Co-rider 'KUNJAL'


Kunjal and his Hybrid CBZ


A Pano...