Lansdowne

Travel time again and this time it was pretty Lansdowne. It’s one of the closest hill stations to Delhi but better than a lot of other more famous ones. Any day better than Shimla or Nainital! A part of why I liked it so much was also because the weather was really nice with heavy rains and the clouds all seemed to have descended to the ground.

The town was built by the Britishers and is spic and span unlike other popular locations because it is an army cantonment, except for the occasional Indian tourist who cannot help but litter. The place is mostly inhabited by army people, both serving and retired, and has huge, beautiful, fairytale like bungalows.

With time constraints, we couldn’t visit all the places of interest but we did manage to see a couple of churches and a picnic spot. The St. John’s Catholic Church is a small lovely English looking church, the one currently in use.

But the one I was really interested in was the St. Mary’s Protestant Church. It was built in 1896 and has been in disuse since the English left in 1947. It was in ruins before the army (The Garwal Rifles) took over. It still needs some repairs, the most visible, a leaking corner of the roof. There’s a very helpful army guide in the church who plays a 20 minute film about the long history and service of the Garwal Rifles in India and the world. The film has interesting details of how during the Raj, an army unit was sent out in these mountains to look for a location for the Garwal Rifles cantonment and how the town got its name after the Viceroy and Governor General of India, Lord Lansdowne. You could also get tidbits of information about how The Garwal Rifles became “The Royal Garwal Rifles” after their stellar performance in WW I. If you are really interested, he will also give you details about the only 2 weddings that happened in the church and more. The film show costs Rs.10 per person and is played only if there are a minimum of 5 people.

The place most visited here is probably the Tiffin Top, or now Indian-ised, Tip-in-top. The place looked more like a cloud factory and we couldn’t get any western Himalayan mountain views.

Tranquility and pin drop silence is what is special about this town. Every place is different and has a character of its own. And a visit to Lansdowne would convince you that this one is definitely, very “English”.




St. Mary's Church



St. John's Church