Lansdowne is a small hill station in Uttarakhand with a calm and serene atmosphere. This place is influenced by militants, hence you will find it really secure.
How to get there:-
From Delhi, you will find buses going to Kotdwar which will take around 6-7 hours. From there you can either take a shared taxi which will cost you Rs. 70 per head to reach Lansdowne. Or you can take your own taxi at Rs. 900-1000. It took us around 1 n half hour to reach there and it was all foggy n pleasant.
We decided to go a little further and stay somewhere close to nature. And then we found one beautiful resort: Bright Sunny Pines Resort in Jaiharikhal which was about 5-6km further.
When we saw our room or I would say the balcony, we could not stop taking endless pictures as we were almost in the lap of nature. There were clouds playing hide n seek in front of us and we were totally enjoying that joyful sight.
After taking a little rest, we started our excursion. Here is what we did in Lansdowne:
Tip n top view
Watching this place in rain is a sheer treat to eyes. It was less crowded and more beautiful. Clouds were literally passing through my face while we stood near the fence of the Tip & Top View point.
Gandhi Chowk
The famous market of Lansdowne and the hub for all taxis. If you are ever lost, then just ask for Gandhi Chowk since this is the most reachable place.
You won't really get many options to do shopping, however one thing which I can suggest to buy from here is the "Baal Mithai". Its a chocolate fudge kind of sweet with a milk base.
Tipsy Cafe
A small cosy cafe with delicious food in a wide variety. Sometimes even the simple food gives you the flavour of the local place. We had some delicious pakodas here with a hot cup of tea.
Bhula Taal Lake
The view was totally surreal and unexpected. You can do boating here and also try Maggie from the 'Kaludanda Cafe'. It’s a small yet beautiful lake with ducks crawling along with you while you paddle your way to the other side of the lake.
A hike through Lansdowne to Jaiharikhal
Though it all started in fun when many locals suggested that we can walk our way to Jaiharikaal instead of taking a taxi as its not a tough trail to follow. We followed what they suggested and started our hike of 5km. We did not regret this hike for a second as we saw almost everyone on our way. From stunning changing landscapes to seeing the officers training process, we enjoyed all of it.
Clouds watching
Get close to nature and watch that live time-lapse of clouds passing through in front of you. This is definitely one lively show of nature you cannot miss. You must have done star gazing, try clouds gazing as well.
Well these were the things I could explore in couple of days. You can also go to Tarkeshwar temple and St Marys church to experience more when in Lansdowne.
