A TOWN CALLED LANSDOWNE
Tanmaya Murthy listens to birdsong and tunes in to herself in a little cantonement town
of Uttarakhand. Sounds like bliss to our city-worn ears
E
ver dreamt of being in a
place where scenic hills are
replete with nuances of
green, the mellow melody
of birds chirruping gently
caresses your ears and the
cacophony of city life is
brought to a standstill?
A place where, in contrast to the city’s
atrocious summer heat, the breezy winds
with a fresh tang cleanse your soul to the
core, making you feel like new.
Yes?
Then Lansdowne should be inked on
to the top of your list of quick weekend
getaways. A road trip with family to this
quiet hill station has given me a chunk
of happy memories that shall compose
an integral part of my spiral album of
good times.
64 Travel Secrets July-August 2015
A cantonment town in the Pauri Garhwal
district of Uttarakhand, at a distance of
about 248 kms from Delhi, Lansdowne is a
gem that shines brighter than the emerald.
And I mean it in the real sense. Silhouetted
with oak and pine forests and Army men
working out to glory in their uniforms, the
place is emblazoned with hues of green.
It is extremely well maintained and clean,
thanks to the Lansdowne Cantonment
Board who manage the development in
the town. The cool air here is mingled
with calmness, homeliness and warmth. A
potpourri of these spawns a scintillating
scent. Inhale, and you will be compelled
to compose verses praising its beauty and
immortalizing your love for this relatively
unexplored hill station.
At an altitude of 1700 mts from sea level,
Lansdowne is named after the Viceroy
of India(1888-1894), Lord Lansdowne
in 1887. The building and churches of
Lansdowne paint an ideal portrait of ‘oldworld charm’ owing to the Colonial style
architecture and date back to the preIndependence period. Just a glimpse of one
of the exquisite bungalows built during the
British Raj th ere, and your camera is out
of the bag! Popular tourist spots are The
Garhwal Rifles Regimental War Memorial
located at the Parade Ground, St John’s
Church, St Mary’s Church, Bhulla Tal,
Kaleshwar Mahadev Temple, Tip in Top
or Tiffin Top- and honestly these are just
to name a few out of a good lot of places
to visit. A view of the holy kirks brings
in a sense of tranquility, where one can
silently and metaphorically drown in the
aura of divine archaic heritage. Although St
Mary’s Church fell into disuse after 1947,