Early morning drive gave us clean entry till Meerut. Before starting our journey we had done our homework online on the route to reach Lansdowne. Little before Meerut we got alert as we had to take a right turn towards Bijnor and not head straight towards the Meerut town. We found the landmark easily and got on the right track.
Meerut-Bijnor-Kotdwar route wasn’t very busy but for some specific high population density pockets. Tractors and other slow moving vehicles were definitely a bottleneck. But overall the route is fine and traffic flows smooth. It started raining in the month of May. Though the sight was unusual but it made the journey interesting.
After crossing Bijnor green on both sides of the road suddenly brings smile on your face as it is something every city dweller craves for. We reached Kotdwar at 9am. Here, we decided to have some tea and snacks before beginning the uphill drive to Lansdowne. Kotdwar is a busy town with erratic traffic.
Immediately after a rest of around 20 minutes we headed towards Lansdowne. As the hilly roads meandered through the rich foliage we were getting elated with in connect with natural surroundings. Many jeeps and SUVs passed along carrying local population. We stopped at a roadside tea stall to breathe in open greens and enjoy a hot cup of tea. Soon we reached our destination- GMVN TRH at Lansdowne at 10am. We were made to sit at the reception for around 15 minutes till they were getting our family suite ready. It is a well maintained GMVN property at a very nice location. Our family suite had very good view from the window.
We immediately ordered some breakfast. There is a kitchen that only serves made to order food to the guests. Though the choice and variety is not much, food tasted quite home made.
After a heavy breakfast, we decided to go visiting some nearby locations. We went till the BhullaTaal. All of us enjoyed boating there and some nature walk. Climate was wonderful, neither very cold nor hot. Ideal climate for long walks. From here we drove till the market for lunch. There were a couple of restaurants in the market serving all kinds of food. But the quality of food was substandard compared to the price they were charging. We thought, it’s ok at a location like this.
We came to our room for some rest as it was a tiring day. At 7pm we ordered our dinner as the cook had asked us to place orders atleast 3 hours before dinner time. We again decided to go for a long walk. TRH staff advised us to go till the Durga Temple that is built and maintained by the army cantonment. We walked down till the temple. It was an amazing temple, very neat and clean. We sat in the temple for around and hour and walked back. It was dark when we were walking back to our guesthouse. There were very few people being seen on the road. We lost our way but an elderly gentleman guided us through. On the way we encountered some stray dogs barking at us but they proved harmless. We came back to our TRH at 10pm.
As we came back, we informed the cook to serve us food. We asked for room service as we were very tired. The temperature had gone down and we were shivering by now. Post dinner we tired souls pulled up our blankets and fell off to sleep.
Next morning we decided to cover remaining site-seeing of the hill station. Post our breakfast we started our journey further uphill to the TIPINTOP. On the way we stooped at some old and new church buildings. TIPINTOP is the highest point at Lansdowne and throws up breathtaking views of the Garhwal hills. There is a GMVN guest house located even here. Some tree houses are also on offer. We had some snacks at the canteen and lots of site seeing. From here we went to the military museum.
Evening we came back to our guesthouse. Again ordered our dinner, took some rest and decided to walk till Durga temple. On the way we were feeling sad as this was the second night we had booked for and next day we had to check out. We came back and spoke with the manager to extend our stay in the same room for another day if possible. Fortunately we got the room for another day.
Next day on the advice of the TRH Manager we went for a trip to Tarkeshwar Mahadev, around 45 kilometers from our TRH. The drive was beautiful. The place has a small temple surrounded by tick deodar trees. We saw some young people coming over to this place for picnic and excursion. It was a gem of a place tucked away in the hills. We wanted to stay back here overnight but there were no accommodation available. So we had to leave by 5 in the evening. We came back to our rest house and called it a day.
This short journey to a nearby place from Delhi, about 4 hours easy drive, is unforgettable. Best part about Lansdowne was being a military cantonment, the whole area was neat and clean. No security issues and tourists can indulge in long nature walks anytime without fear. We found Lansdowne the best weekend getaway destination. It is a place for those who love quiet, natural surroundings for a holiday.
No comments:
Post a Comment