By Amit & Shipra
A small hill station which is like time-travel, where the Mall Road is not full of shops but is all forest, where each ‘pagdandi’ has a story to tell, where each lane will lead you to a stunning view, where each structure is so old that one can lose count – that`s Lansdowne for you all.
Lansdowne is the base for the Garhwal Rifles Regimental Centre and a Cantonment Board – one of the cleanest hill-stations in our Country.
The original name of Lansdowne is Kaludanda- which translates into Black Forest- and it gets its name because of its Banj-Oak forest -one of the most matured and well preserved in our country. It enjoys a very healthy flora and fauna – where chances of seeing a Leopard in the wild is quite high, where the healthy population of Mountain Goats locally known as Ghurals ensures that the prey base is well maintained for the apex predator. Many a time, while on your walk you can see playful Martens – joyfully jumping from one tree to another – what a sight to behold!
Here in Lansdowne one gets to enjoy each season very beautifully – be it summers when the breeze is so intoxicating, or springs when one gets to see Buransh, Kafal and various wild flowers & bushes, or monsoons when the misty Lansdowne will steal your heart or the winters when the mighty Chaukhamba will make its presence felt along the whole north side of Lansdowne and the Winter-Lines Phenomenon is a spectacular sight!
Our morning starts with the soulful song of blue whistling thrush and the day is spent watching black headed Jays and red-billed blue Magpies chirping all day long. And amidst all this in the background, one could hear the drumming (rapidly pecking their bills) of Woodpeckers on the trees – all this giving you a heavenly feel!
Lansdowne is bliss for those who wish to enjoy Nature at its best, where instead of a bucket-list one can have an exhaustive Experience List- where spending time with oneself -a luxury- can definitely be done on a daily basis ….
Amit and I chose to quit our city and corporate jobs and decided to shift to Lansdowne some 8 years ago, and we have had a very fulfilling journey which is continuing the way we both desired.
We are glad we are starting our column on Lansdowne with The Garhwal Post.
Let’s know Lansdowne – with us, Amit and Shipra!
(Amit and Shipra worked with corporates which they quit to follow their passion – run the Lansdowne Trip Travel Café and very soon will be launching their Wildlife Lodge in Corbett)
