Lansdowne : Way to Achieve Salvation (Nothing Religious About it!)

To read about one’s description on a very common hill station like Lansdowne is nothing new or exciting. I am really doubtful whether it generates any curiosity among the readers to read about it. Numerous posts on Lansdowne are available. Even more than dozen are on Ghummakar itself and hundreds on various sites on internet, with all the tiny details and, comprising the list of hotels and packages, which one can easily find. Then, why a new writer like me for this site becomes so adventures to write about a very well-known place. To be precise, this thought is even bothering me also, “Who will read your post?”, “Have people enough time and energy to waste on reading your article on Lansdowne?” Everyone knows it lies in Uttrakhand and around 270 kms away from Delhi, till Kotdwar, the way is more or less smooth, nothing exciting and exceptional. From kotdwar, steep hills of Lansdowne start to reach 1700 ft high from the sea level and the Head-Quarter of Garhwal Rifles is situated here…. Then, why, why, why???

The question is obvious but the answer is not, if there is any answer exists of these so many Ys, at least I do not know about it. I know only one thing that I am writing about it just for myself. During these visits, I got acquaintance with many people there. Some were happy and content for just one day of stay there but some others already spent weak or so and they were still not interested to leave …. This was quite unusual and surprising! So, I would like to pen down my own experiences which I got during my stay there and not thinking about anything else. My mind is feeling emptiness and a sense of spirituality is prevailing over me since from I returned from there. I decided not to write about any description about the place or my day to day based reportaz, having all the tiny details of what I did and where I went or what I ate etc. etc. If I will able to complete my story, then it will be only my experiences, my journey and my talks with the mother nature of this place and it will be my sincere thanks to the staff of “Hill view Shanti Raj Resort” for providing me and many other visitors to feel the nature at their door step. It will be my sincere thanks to Mr. Prem Tyagi for believing me and spare a few days from his very busy calendar to spend it on my behest in Lansdowne. And most importantly to my wife and son for providing me the pleasure and comfort of family… How can I forget them?

I would like to just share my thoughts on how the modern life style is distancing our kids from nature. They rarely get a chance to move out and to challenge their own self. The Adventurous and extreme sports, which require one’s physical as well as mental strength, are not so popular in our country. The kids and the youths of this modern time either prefer “hang out” in malls or “chill out” in discos and bars. But this is not their fault as they do not have options like in abroad; there they have numerous clubs to provide such thrill and excitement. So when we got the opportunity to be a part of fun filled activities amidst of nature’s lap at Shanti Raj Resort, which is the only place in the whole Lansdowne for having such a marvelous concept, we find it difficult to ignore this!

Of-course there is nothing extra ordinary to start your journey from Gurgaon and then taking Delhi to Meerut highway. You will reach Meerut city, then passing through Begum Pul to Mawana road and then reaching Kotdwar, which I narrated in one of my previous post on Lansdowne and that too in Hindi, Incidentally consisted all the minor details about the road conditions, its lush green mountain ranges and the aroma of the wind you feel, which when comes to you after filtering of long lines of Pines and Deodar trees. Surprisingly, even in the period of heavy mansoon and continuous land sliding here and there, the road becomes operational within a few hours, as the army itself takes charge of cleaning the debris and makes it fit for travelling, before the local administration. No I am not going to write on this once again; otherwise my post will become a mere translation of my previous story. In fact, I will start my post from Dugadda, which one can find somewhat in the middle of one’s way to Lansdowne. The sweetness of the water was so immense, which we tasted on 31st of December, lured us to stop our car and taste it once again.

place for devotees and paras marking his arrival at bajrang balis

Dugadda – to stop and refresh yourself

when family enjoy then time loses its relevance

One of the discoveries of this trip was the finding of a fountain, (spring). It was slightly away from the main road, flowing with all its charm and raw beauty, which we did not find on our last trip. But once, when we found it, it was all ours. There was no one other to share the beauty of this magnificent raw, mighty and still unexplored flow of water. I am quite sure most of the visitors might be unable to recognize it as we too missed it in our last trip. Spending of one or two hours, on the mighty rocks or in the cool and clean water give us ample of energy and a cheerful refreshing for the next course of journey. The landscape around it was also very magnificent. Next destination was the Lansdowne itself, by passing the Garhwal Rifles Head-Quarter; soon we reached at Gandhi Udyaan, a small chowk in the heart of the Lansdowne, which is the lone market for the tourists and the surrounding area.

of course land sliding is common during mansoons

finally gandhi uddyan marks your arrival in lansdowne

here you have to leave the pukka road and opt the katccha road for shanti raj resort

After passing the market area, we proceed towards DHURA Road for our final destination. This time the road looks more charming and challenging because of rain and the debris. Here the local people and the staffs of nearby resorts take charge of making the road fit enough for the transportation. Once you reach in “ Hill View Shanti Raj Resort ”, you feel relax and find yourself in a comfort zone, as the coziness and warm welcome by the Bisht brothers and the staff give you a home like realization. This resort does not provide you luxury of any kind, but this place really makes your visit purposeful and I am quite sure about it! Till the time you refresh yourself with a hot cup of ginger tea in an open environment, your rooms get ready. No tents were suitable for this mansoon time of the year and it could be dangerous to stay in the tents as lots of insects etc. roam freely on the ground. The ground reality of the area demands it, so we were amicable on this issue to keep the safety first and prefer rooms over the tents.

As I spent quite a few years of my early life in Dehradun, so I was aware of the fact that during the rainy season, the nature bestows its beauty at its best. The same was applicable here too. The trees were lush green; even the stems turn green because of continuous enormous amount of moisture in the environment. You will not be able to find a pinch of dust anywhere, the most exemplary thing which prevails is the green surrounding everywhere. Frequent visitors of hills, know the most amazing time is the evening when sun and clouds play hide and seek with each other and the entire nature along with all its components, including humans of-course, become the mute spectators and witness the colors, they bestow on this earth. Tyagi ji and I took numerous photos to catch the glimpses of these amazing scenes but every time we have to realize that neither we are capable enough to catch the real beauty nor our cameras are equipped enough to capture the entire beauty of this into it.

nature tooks charge of everything and you become mute spectator

Nature speaks and the guests become speechless

Difficult to remember when I saw such a clear and blue sky

Ever changing color scheme of nature lures you to stay outside

After the colorful evening, usually the night passes with mere silence, seems the Mother Nature prepares itself for the next opening of dawn. The morning brings all the charm and spell bound magic with astonishing peace and harmony, and one can easily connect oneself with it. This co-existence is commendable, just surrender yourself and let loose your inner self to float, float and float. Soon you get amazing experiences, when your inner self loses itself and lost for searching its own identity. This is a period of total transformation where you speak nothing just observe and merely observe the whole pious and pure environment, which give you the feeling of spirituality. A sense of fulfillment and contentment prevails over you and then nothing lefts after it. Suddenly it becomes all transparent… you, nature and a very clean and clear membrane like thing, along with your spirit, all this is difficult to understand. Many a times you drowned yourself in the vast ocean of nature, spreading without any leap and bounds in this resort. This is the indeed mesmerizing side of this resort, at any other place you will have to leave your comfort zone for experiencing it but here you find it so near, like at your own door step.

Morning too brings.its own glory

After breakfast, now it is the time for some real fun as now this resort is equipped with some really adventurous sports, as promised by Mr. Dinesh of the resort on our last visit. Thrilling and adventures Zip line was amazing, so were the Brahma Bridge, Monkey Crawl, Spider Web, Walk balance and many other activities. The most commendable fact attracts your attention that the management put all the activities keeping the important aspect of harmony with nature. Not a single activity looks an encroachment on the environment or damaging it. For the not so physically fit people like me there are soft sports materials like badminton, chess, playing cards or ludo etc. are available. It looks good when the management of a resort taking care of people for different tastes and providing them enough choices. Nevertheless my wife and son take full enjoy of all such wonderful activities, you can see the joy on their faces while trying various activities. Rain stops their expedition after some time and they are forced to halt these activities but instead of entering the comfort of four walls we prefer to sit and enjoy in a tent, meant for the staff and keeping resort’s additional goods.

High time to be a little adventurous

Zip line is thrilling and adventures both

Step walking tests your temprament and coordination

Test your fitness

rope climbing needs art and skill both

otherwise can try this

Taking shelter in the tent – childhood memories

Today’s evening was destined to pay a visit to nearby famous places of Lansdowne like St. Mary and St. john’s church, Tip n Top , Bhulla lake, Garhwal Rifles war museum etc. Boating was a memorable experience in the Bhulla Lake amidst of all the nature enveloping the area..

Nights usually calm in this resort unless the ghummakars like us not landed, so again it was a free bonfire (camp-fire) night, along with the music system for all the guests of the resort, and the most amazing part of roasting of corns and potatoes, after dimming of fire by all the guest themselves, which Tyagi ji bought from the market of Nazibabad while we were passing that vicinity. It was really an amazing experience as some guests even confessed they are eating these Bhuttaas and roasted potatoes after years, and for some it was quite an experience to roast these on low fire with their own hands. We also bought some freshly guavas too from the same market and the youngsters loved to add them with their cocktails. We strongly feel such small gestures not only give you immense pleasure and satisfaction but also bring a strong bond of togetherness among all the visitors and staff of the place, and here you can feel a sense of homily environment in the whole resort.

when was the last time you roasted your bhutta on coal fire

These fun filled activities were not the end, as still lot more surprises are on our way, as Dinesh told us about a call, he received from a group of people who were on their way to Lansdowne but the problem is, there was no room vacant and at this point of time installing of tent was also not possible. Now it was a tricky situation for Dinesh and his team to encounter this and unfortunately we could not offer any help on this matter. So we say them to good night and retired to our rooms.
Next day, in the early hours of the day, I spotted a white TATA Safari in the parking lot and rightly judged that the guests had arrived in the wee hours of the night. I found Tyagi ji was sitting beside them; soon I discovered this group, hails from Manesar (Gurgaon), of hardcore Ghummakars wandering for the past several days on different locations. Earlier in the day, they were in Agra, there they decided to go to Dehradun and in the midway, they changed their plan for a day and finally landed themselves Lansdowne. They had prior acquaintance to Tyagi ji and on one fine day, he casually talked about the place and the resort and shared my experiences with them, so now they were here! Great men, indeed having deep pockets and ample of leisure time! But the guys were ultimate, they took dinner at Kotdwar, as it was getting late, reached the resort around 12 O’ clock, as there was no space available, they just managed with some mattresses and blankets on the floor of the office area itself! Really down to earth…. Totally admired!!!

Within hours they become friends to everybody, from guests to the staff of the resort. From Agra, they brought many packets of various kinds of ‘Petha”, and within minutes the whole resort enjoyed it, in the early hours of the day, when no one even washed their faces literally , all were enjoying hot tea with pieces of Petha. After last night’s roasted bhuttas this one was also a sweet surprise for all the guests. How this is possible? Where on this earth it happens? The guests themselves bring eatables and that too not for themselves but for the whole resort! Amazing experience but surely not surprising for us, as we already knew, yhan hotel jaisa kuch nhi sb bilkul ghar jaisa hi hai . Anyway after the breakfast, it was decided to vist ‘Leopard’s caves’ , which were near to this resort, and I wonder, if the visitors of Lansdowne know about this place!. Although we could not able to spot any leopard or even the shadow of it but the path was charming. Rough road, unexplored area beautiful landscape and ideal for the nature loving photographers. It was just trekking like expedition for all of us and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Now ours was the group of around 15 people including male, female and children, I wonder, if somehow we encountered any leopard on our way, it must have been frightened from us! Till lunch we returned to the resort. Now one room was vacant so the Manesar gang was shifted in the room. They had all the necessary stuff required for the enjoyment so we, along with some guests become frequent visitors to their room. It was a rainy season, and today nature was in some different mood, it was pouring after regular intervals, which makes impossible for us to either visit outside or even plan for a bonfire in the night. So the whole day and night was spent in the resort itself, but we enjoyed a lot in the rain. Playing cards with them also a fun in itself!

With manesar guys

For the search of leopards

Today i will find it anyway

Next morning, the gang had to proceed for Dehradun, so they left early. Soon it was our turn to start packing for our destination. Around 12 O’ clock we bid our fare-well to the resort and its staff although, it was further temptation from Dinesh, when he shared his plan about constructing some Swiss cottages, about one Km away from this resort, deep inside the jungle for the city people to get salvation! The cottages will be meant for those people who intend to stress out their city life for a few days, and get the experience of meditation and nirvana!… no sign of external world, no television, no internet, no mobile, only relaxation and one yoga instructor to help in meditation, even food will be served directly from Dinesh’s village….. Just you and nature or can we say nature and you?…Indeed great temptation!!!

On our way back towards home, we encountered with mysterious weather, dense rain at some places and just drizzle at 100 meters away. Sometimes fog and mist make your life difficult, especially when you are driving. There are places where it spreads so dense that you have to stop your car for a while to take a look on the exact location of the road but after few meters on your way, you will find it all clear! Debris of landslides were here and there but on the whole, road was clean and we were intended not to stop before Meerut for eating out. I will not going to say that this was the completion of our journey to Lansdowne, instead it was our one more trip to Lansdowne, as we have of firm believe that this place is not going to stop us so early…..