Lansdowne

A beautiful little hill-station nestled in Pauri Garhwal

SITTING 1,706m ABOVE sea level Lansdowne is a pretty hill-station in the pauri garhwal region of Uttarakhand. Founded in ad 1887, the retreat grew popular with the British, who established the Garhwal rifles regimental center here during the raj. Today, the command office of the legendary garhwal rifles of the Indian Army is based in this town.

Thanks to the cantonment Lansdowne is quite well developed. The drive to Lansdowne is very picturesque, taking you through sleepy hamlets and thickly forested countryside roads. Tall oaks and blue pines rise like spires off the mountain side. The war memorial at the parade grounds of the garhwal rifles is very popular with tourists.

Summers in Lansdowne are very pleasant, while winters are bracingly cold, and may experience snow sometimes. Lansdowne was the main base of independent movement activities of India during the British raj. Tourism at Lansdowne has a different face; it is not commercial but eco friendly tourism, so as not to disturb the natural beauty of this quaint town. Less than 40 km from Lansdowne and at a height of 1,.800m is Tarkeshwar Mahadev, known for its Shiva Temple built by Col A.H.B Hume of the royal engineers in 1895, the St. Mary’s church here is located near the famous tip in top point. The erstwhile place of worship is now a small museum with some rare pre partition photos.