Many people get bitten by the travel bug and I’m definitely one of them. I have visited a good number of places, but not a place like Lansdowne before. Lansdowne is one of the quietest and unspoilt hill stations of India and has been a popular destination since British rule in India. It is a small cantonment town in the Garhwal Himalayas approximately 280 Kms from Delhi.
Last June, my friend called and expressed his interest to visit Lansdowne. As Lansdowne is not so far, it was easy to plan the trip. Even I desperately wanted to visit this location for a long time. While planning our trip, we were a little confused either to choose a flight or bus. After searching the internet, we found that the nearest airport is located at Jolly Grant which is so far from Lansdowne that we decided to go by bus.
The very next day after booking the bus, we packed our bags and started on the journey. Hills in Kotdwar welcomed us with warm and nurturing love. We bought some fruits and moved on crossing Sidhbali Mandir and Durga Devi Mandir on our way. While moving up, we saw the sign board, indicating that the Lansdowne was 22 Kms ahead.
Finally, after a journey of 3-4 hours we reached Lansdowne. Bhulla Lake was the first location we visited in Lansdowne. It is a small man-made lake and is maintained by the Indian Army. The lake has boating facilities along with a small amusement park, making it an ideal place for picnics. Moving forward, we visited Tiffin Top, St. John Catholic Church, Garhwal Regiment Museum and then at the end of our trip we move ahead to Santoshi Mata temple, which is also the highest point in Lansdowne. It had a few steps to climb and some bells were tied along the way. There was a peaceful aura about the place and we spent some time there enjoying the scenic view.
The whole town of Lansdowne is very clean and well maintained by the army people and we were totally mesmerised by the beauty of it. Even the people residing in Lansdowne had a very welcoming nature that adds to the beauty of the place. We had to come back the same day so we decided to end our tour and return. But before leaving, we made a promise to come back again soon.