Lansdowne is one such mesmerizing town in Uttarakhand which you can explore in literally 7 hours. Although there isn’t too much to see, I recommend you do not miss whatever little it offers. 

Lately, this place has become an interest to a lot many people for weekend getaways. Due to being a very small cantonment zone, the crowd here is comparatively lesser than any other hill station.

When I visited there, I had 4 days on my hand and the place had too little to offer. It was quite a disappointment. But for a 2 day weekend, this trip is a perfect option.

How to reach Lansdowne

I took an early morning bus from Kashmiri gate to Kotdwar which is around 220km away. The road’s condition was quite a challenge, so it took me a little more than 5 hours to reach. 

From Kotdwar, take a shared taxi to Lansdowne, which is another 38km and takes approximately 1 and half hours to reach. 

Caution

The roads are undulate, and I am normally resistant to motion sickness but the trip from Kotdwar to Lansdowne was nauseating for me as well. So before taking that cab, just for safety reasons consume an antihistamine. Avomine tablets are my recommendation.

Hotel

To be honest, I took this trip in January 2017, when I did not know I would ever write a blog about it so I never cared to remember the name of the hotel.

But the exact place where your Kotdwar to Lansdowne cab drops you, you will find multiple good hotels at reasonable prices. 

Also, If you are taking a weekend trip or there’s a festival clubbing that weekend, get your hotel pre-booked. 

Normally, I’d be the last person to suggest pre-booking of hotels but going by my experience, if I weren’t lucky enough I would have to sleep on roads because my trip was clubbed with Republic day holiday. 

So my 4-day long weekend was from 26th-29th of January. And before going there I did not know I will only be spending about 7 hours there. 

After the hotel, what next?

Rest and freshen up for about an hour then take your dinner early. Going by the bus timing, I guess you will reach there at around 6 or so, so get done with your lunch before 7:30.

As I said, Lansdowne is a cantonment area, thereby making it absolutely safe for night walks. So go for an evening walk, post-dinner. Explore the chill of the weather and green of the town. Walk on the roads and see how beautifully built that little piece of peace is.

By 9 pm return to your hotel and sleep early so you can wake up early.

You do not want to miss the sunrise from Tiffin top and the hike to that place is going to be one of the best memories you would carry. Especially if you visit in winters or during the rainy season. I personally feel that the real beauty of hills is when the clouds and fog are in full bloom. 

Wake up by 4 am and leave as quickly as possible. Start hiking to Tiffin top. The best part of this hike is that mostly everything that is there to see in Lansdowne falls on this route. 

Although I missed the sunrise due to heavy rain, it was worth it, in fact, it was so much better, I do not regret missing it because after rain the beautiful leaves on plants were covered with raindrops. Almost all my pictures have those waterdrop-covered leaves in the background and they look no less than magical crystals.

Do not wait to click pictures until you reach the highest point as it is rightly said, “The journey is more beautiful than the destination”. 

Upon reaching Tiffin top, have your breakfast and click as many pictures of the place as you can. 

You can see the mesmerizing snow-covered peaks of the Himalayan range. 

Spend a few peaceful hours there, enjoy the view. If you go solo, carry a book and some music, trust me if you can get someone to click pictures of you with your ear-pods plugged in and you reading your favorite book surrounded by white fog and greenery is a memory you’re going to treasure all your life.

On the way back, you can check out Bhulla lake and St. Mary’s church. It is more of a place for family travelers. The lake is small yet offers boating. 

You can also check out the Garhwali museum, but that is optional, see it only if you’re a fan of museums. I skipped it on my trip.

The whole exploration deal is going to take you a maximum of 7hours. Then you can slip off to another place.

Since I had a lot of time post having lunch at Kotdwar I took a bus to Haridwar. It is only 67km away and takes around 2 hours to reach. If you’re lucky to reach on time, you can easily see Ganga Aarti at Har ki Pauri. I spent the whole evening there and had dinner at a nearby restaurant. 

Later I booked the train to Nainital the same night and left. I reached there early in the morning and spent the rest 2 days of my trip exploring Nainital. 

It cost me a total of Rs 3500  and my course of journey was

Raebareli to Delhi

Delhi to Kotdwar

Kotdwar to Lansdowne

Lansdowne to Kotdwar

Kotdwar to Haridwar

Haridwar to Kathgodam

Kathgodam to Nainital

Nainital to Kathgodam

Kathgodam to Lucknow

I had one friend to share my room with, hence the 2 places where we took rooms, i.e., Lansdowne and Nainital, it cost me half-price. 

Once you decide to take this trip, consider the pointers shared. Comment and tell me about your experience, the best ones will be published on my blog.

Follow me on Instagram @kuhu_chalghume for more travel facts, tips, hacks, pictures, and suggestions.  

Also read:

https://www.euttaranchal.com/tourism/offbeat-destinations-in-uttarakhand.php

Also read:

https://chalghume.com/kgl-kashmir-great-lakes-trek/