Lansdowne - Amidst The Pine Forest
Lansdowne is located in Uttarakhand, India in the Pauri Garhwal district. It is 1870mts above sea level, 250kms away from Delhi and 81 kms from Pauri. Kotdwara is the nearest station 41kms away”, read out a fellow Terrainspotter as we made our way to the Old Delhi Railway Station. We gave him a deaf ear as we were running late and the traffic wasn’t helping and to make things worse the pedestrian traffic too had over spilled onto the road.
Inside the Old Delhi Railway station where somehow the crowd seemed to have dispersed onto their respective platforms, we followed suit and boarded the Mussorie Express (a daily train from Delhi to Kotdwara) at 9:45pm sharp. There were other train options such as the Garhwal Express and the Dehradun Express. For more details on trains to Kotdwara log on to http://tinyurl.com/3uykk6h
We tugged our way through the narrow passageway, tucked our luggage under the seats and got comfortable for the next 9 hours on the train. There was the option to fly to Dehradun’s Jolly Grant airport and then make a 100kms long mountainous journey to Landsdowne by taxi but some group members were prone to car sickness and wanted the car journey as short as possible.
We arrived at the Kotdwara Railway Station at 7am sharp. It was a quaint little station with a single platform. It almost seemed like the station came alive when the train came in and the activity lasted till the last passenger filtered out of the station. The single ‘chai’ vendor looked extremely content as almost all passengers made a stop at his stall and devoured his cups of tea almost as though they were hot cups of nectar.
The air had a slight chill and the clouds still covered the sun. We exited the station to look for a taxi to Landsdowne. Finding transportation to Landsdowne wasn’t much of a problem as there were many jeep drivers looking for passengers. Since we were in a group we hired an entire jeep, else for couples or smaller groups you can opt for a shared jeep. Be warned though that they try to fit in 7-8 people into these shared rides, which aren’t the most comfortable. The rates that they charge first up are sky high, but If you negotiate well, they will come down by half!
The Road To Lansdowne
Kotdwara is at an elevation of 370mts only, while Landsdowne is another 1500mts higher. The roads were mountainous, steep and winding. All of us felt like someone had installed a washing machine in our stomachs and left it on, we were all very queasy. To add to this the drive up wasn’t short either a 41km journey took as long as a 71km journey would. We would highly recommend carrying motion sickness medicines. While the ride was uncomfortable, the views from the car were stunning. Endless stretches of green, some in the shape of pine trees some in the shape of oaks. In some places there were beautifully contoured terraces of green. As we drove higher the air got thinner, fresher and cooler. Eventually we arrived!
The Winding Road up the hills on a sunny morning in April
Lansdowne is high up in the mountains and has relatively low temperatures through the year. In summer the temperature ranges from 15 degrees centigrade to 30 degrees centigrade and in winters the temperature plummets to -4 degrees centigrade going up to a maximum of 17 degrees centigrade. In the months of January-February the town is covered in snow. It is advisable to visit between March-October. We visited Landsdowne in April.
Originally known as, Kaludanda, after Kalun (Black) and Danda (Hill) in local language, Lansdowne was founded and named after then Viceroy of India, Lord Lansdowne in 1887, and by 1901 it had a population of 3943. Lansdowne was developed by the British for catering for the Recruits Training center of the Garhwal Rifles. Lansdowne was a major place of the activities of freedom fighters from British Garhwal during British period. Nowadays, the famous Garhwal Rifles of the Indian Army has its command office here.
The Hotel balcony View
Landsdowne doesn’t have many hotels within its limits(Except the Government run Guest House at Tiffin Top), as Lansdowne is a Army cantonment area, but there are many hotels within the distance of 2-5kms. We had booked ourselves in the Blue Pine resort. The rooms were cheap, we got a package of Rs. 4000 for a 3nights 4 days for two people. We thought it was a steal. The rooms were cute with big beds and colourful curtains. The town was a 15mins comfortable uphill walk from there.
Lansdowne Cantonment
Chasing Shadows from Deriyakhal To Lansdowne
We freshened up and were all set to explore. The walk from Deriyakhal (where the hotel was) to Lansdowne Cantonment was around 5kms. The walk took us through the twisted roads lined with evergreen trees and every now and then one of us would stop to take a picture against the backdrop of mountains topped with snow and clouds that descended into different shades of green.
Lansdowne Cantonment – Quaint and Clean
Lansdowne is a cantonment area, home to the Garhwal Rifles - a well-known infantry rifle regiment of the Indian army. The town is predominantly run by military personnel and is extremely clean. With over 40,000 citizens in this small area the silence and peace is exemplary and is hard to be seen elsewhere.
The town was small and unlike other Indian hill stations its devoid of hordes of tourists. We walked around and made our way to Mall road (the central market place). This area was a complete contrast to the cantonment, it was noisy, bustling with locals shopping for their daily wares, some meeting friends at the local tea stall, some enjoying the music blaring from the stores and some just here for a shave.
No Shave Foam here…A good old fashioned shave!
Some of the men in our group decided it would be fun to get a shave and a head massage. We entered a sea green parlor with huge mirrors and 1950s barbers chairs, the owner welcomed us and set his boys to the task. After around 15mins of shaving foam razors and some karate chop kind of head massage the boys came out even happier than before. We shopped around here and there before we headed off to Tiffin Top.
Tiffin Top
GMVN Guest houses at Tiffin top
Tiffin top is the highest point in Lansdowne viewing offering stunning views of the valley below. There is a single bench placed here which many tourist who wanted to leave a mark have vandalized. We first toured the GMVN guesthouse, beautiful log huts on stilts offering rooms with some of the best views in Landsdowne - ideal for honeymooners. Then we laid out our picnic and enjoyed the view.
Regimental Museum
We then drove to the Regimental museum dedicated to the Garhwal Rifle Regiment. The museum had information on the history of the regiment.
Bhulla Tal
Our last stop for the day was Bhulla Tal. A park made by the army as a recreational spot surrounds Bhulla Tal. When we got there we met a few local and army families and chatted with them about their lives here in Landsdowne. The most humbling thing about these people was that while they didn’t have all the money in the world they were content with what they had. We took a boat ride around the lake and headed back to the hotel where a Carrom match was waiting to be played
Tarkeshwar Ashram
The entry to the Tarkeshwar Dham
Tarkeshwar Ashram was 55kms from Lansdowne, we had hired a jeep along with a driver for Rs.1500 to take us to this renowned Ashram. The journey to Tarkeshwar was similar to our jouney up to Landsdowne. The road was full of twists and turns. We saw endless hills some which were dotted with houses some which were just thick with trees. On and off we saw stepped terrace farms with a stray sheep or two grazing around.
The journey to Tarkeshwar was pretty torrid and the last 5kms to the ashram were rather treacherous. We were travelling on wafer thin bumpy road with a 3000 - 4000 ft drop on either side. With every bump our hearts skipped a beat, was this going to be end? However, the local drivers here are well trained to drive on these roads and ours delivered us safely outside the Ashram. As soon as the car stopped and the driver announced we had reached Tarkeshwar we all sighed a breath of relief. A first the area looked normal and a vendor approached us with some prayer offerings and persuaded to buy some. With our little bags of prayer offerings we walked ahead. The area of Tarkeshwar is called as "Siddha Peeth"(A place where one achieves the contact with the almighty).
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The Trees are talkin at Tarkeshwar
As we walked closer towards the Ashram all we could see was more and more trees some must have been over a 100years old. In the middle of this pine forest we found a blue gate with ‘Jai Tarkerswar Dham’ painted on it. We made our way through this gate over a bridge and into an almost enchanting land of unbelievably tall trees, a chilly drafts of wind and sounds of cracking pine cones, flapping of wings and crickets. We entered the 600year old temple without the nuisance of throngs of pilgrims pushing and shoving.
The Temple with the Shiva Ling
Tarkeshwar Temple has unique features like a huge Shiva Lingam, golden pictographs, a big bull of brass and big bronze gongs and bells which give a special identity to the temple. We offered our prayers amid the unique sounds of the gongs and bells tingling with the wind.
We met with the Head Priest Mr. Teetoo, he showed us the Ashram where pilgrims can stay. The rooms were simple and very old fashioned, but most importantly extremely clean and cozy. Mr. Teetoo informed us that in the area there were no markets, neither were there any restaurants nearby so any visitor wishing to stay would have to bring along ration which the Ashram cook would happily cook for him/her.
Take a walk along the twisting roads of Landsdowne, its one of the most beautiful experiences, all you need is yourself and the trees and foliage will accompany you
Sharadotsav- It is the celebration of the autumn season and during this time many visitors come to Landsdowne
Food in Landsdowne is very simple, largely vegetarian. The cuisine is Indian made in the local style. We actually found a mosque and asked some of the locals where we could get non-vegetarian food there.
There is nothing exceptional to shop in Landsdowne. But have a look through the market you never know what you will find.
Closure
It is an ideal weekend getaway to put your feet up and enjoy…the fresh air, the clear sunrise and sunset and the uninterrupted dialogue with yourself!
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