About Lansdowne, the cute little hill station Part 2, An aimless walk

There are very few places worth staying in Lansdowne.

Its a kind of chicken and egg situation.

A near absence of tourist infrastructure makes you wonder, if its worth taking all the effort to visit this place. And say, if a tourist infrastructure comes up, no sooner it would be lapped up by an entire horde of picnic seekers, who would render this place commercialized.

I stayed in the PWD rest house, a colonial beauty- but then i had my contacts in the department (Do meet the office in charge, Mr Pati, over there, if not already been transferred, I went there in 2004 - he has single-handedly created a small and beautiful botanical garden in the campus of PWD Office). There is also a Forest Department Rest House and a Cantonment Board Rest House, again you need to have your networks in the offices concerned. For ordinary souls, though the more upmarket options are GMVN Lodge, having all the creature comforts, but a concrete jungle, nevertheless. And then there is this small and beautiful cottage-like Fairydale resort, with a kind of village belle's charm- tranquil and soothing, a must to experience, I happened to make a visit only, but sometimes you can guess the book by its cover. The staff is absolutely wonderful and the atmosphere, most heartwarming.

The budget option includes a Mayur Guest house bang opposite the taxi-stand. The place may be noisy, but is having a quick access to the taxi-stand and therefore, any excursion. But the food, which the adjoining Restaurant serves is an absolute delight, and the owner is a Lansdowne veteran and therefore an encyclopedia of must-do's in Lansdowne.

So while my wife settled down in the guest house, I checked out the place- and arranged for some breakfast, for our famished souls- at Mayur Guest house. And while they prepared Gobhi Paratha and Mooli Paratha for me, I had a casual chat with the owner of the place, and filled myself with vital information of the must-do's. And the how-do's.

A trip to Lansdowne can not be complete without an aimless wandering in the cresty-troughy lanes of the place. And this is exactly what we did, after a sumptuous breakfast.

Any aimless walk, though, is a sight-seeing in itself, for the simple reason that this is a very small place.

So no matter where you go and whatever route you take, you will come across the small wayside chapel of St.Mary's, which has been taken over by the Garwhal Regiment, and converted into a small museum, you also come across the chapel of St.John's, which even today is a functional church- and conducts a mass on sundays. Both of them are fabulous, straight out of some medieval European setting. Nearby is an old cemetery- of the raj era, smaller than the one I had earlier seen in Mussoorie, but nevertheless interesting- do spend some time reading tomb-stones over there, and then there is also a Santoshi Mata temple- a less than arduous climb of more than a few steps, which is also the highest point in Lansdowne. Views from this place are spectacular

But for a more spectacular view head towards a point called Tiffin top. It is perhaps the most celebrated spot in Lansdowne. Ask anyone, and he seems to suggest that the world starts and end at Tiffin top, in Lansdowne. The views, definitely are straight out of some scenic painting. Its a panoramic vantage point, from where you can see the mighty Himalayas and the tiny mountain hamlets along its slopes. Though do carry some water and some food, this place will engage you for hours together.The way it did engage us.

Refreshed by the enchanting beauty of the place, we walked further, to a place which is the pride of Lansdowne, Bhulla Lake- a man made small lake, constructed by the jawans of Garwhal Regiment (Incidentally a jawan of the regiment is called Bhulla, and therefore the name). The place is perhaps the most beautiful place in Lansdowne. We happened to reach there when clouds were playing hide and seek, on the surface of the lake. And boating in it was an unforgetable experience, its no Nainital and yet more magical.

After boating for two hours, I looked at the watch it was five- we rushed back to our Guest House, had a wonderful cup of tea, which Bahadur- the keeper of the guest house had prepared.

After the tea, we had a stroll near the taxi stand, the sadar bazar, a nearby gurudwara and a nearby mosque- somebody told me that this is one of the few mosque, where Shia and Sunni pray together. I wondered if solutions to all the problems in the world were so simple

By now it was dark, we returned to the guest house

A wonderful day indeed.!!!!