Blogging Community

https://www.laveenadiaries.com - Scenic beauty of LandourLandour at nightDear friends, today let me take you to a beautiful tourist place in Uttrakhand - Landour. It is a small cantonment of the British Era. It is 2 Km from Mussoorie and 35 km from Dehradun. The place is also famous because Ruskin Bond, the eminent English author, resides here. While moving from Mussoorie to Landour, the road became very steep. As we drove uphill, our anxiety level increased and our stomachs started churning. We saw many cars taking a u-turn but my hubby is very good at steering wheel so could easily make it to Landour. I expect the steep slope and small road as the reason behind Landour receiving fewer tourists.We checked about the availability of rooms from various hotels. The options available wereRokeby Manor- It is a heritage property.Tabor cottage- It is also a heritage home with retro decor.Ivy Bank- It is a simple but virtuous hotel. It has a big lawn in front of the rooms.Doma’s Inn- It is in the same building as Ivy Bank. It looks like a Tibetian home from its decor. The facade is also very colorful.We preferred staying at Ivy Bank. One of the most serene inns we’ve stayed in recent times. The staff was friendly. We booked two rooms with a lawn in the front and a view of the hills. The sight was spectacular in the mornings.Lawn outside our rooms in Ivy Bank HotelIn the evening we went to the Char Dukan area. It has four historic shops serving a variety of cuisines. We decided to taste the famous Honey-Ginger-Lemon Tea of Anil’s Cafe. Hot honey-ginger-lemon tea in cool weather was a nice treat to the body.We then went to Lal Tibba, called so because of the red color of the hill, that is famous for its scenic beauty and romantic sunrise and sunset. A set of binoculars is set up at Lal Tibba to give a closer view of peaks of Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath etc.View from Lal TibbaAfter enjoying the beautiful hilltop we walked back to see the shops of Sister’s bazaar. We found three famous shops – The Parkash’s Store, Landour Bake House and Handicraft Mart. We first decided to munch something in the bake house. It is a small bakery decorated with antique crockery. It provides some sitting space for those who want to eat in the bakery itself. Quotations written inside and outside the bakery grabbed our attention. We ate a variety of biscuits, cheese sandwiches, and some hot chocolate cake. Each item tasted exclusive, substantiating its cost. From there we headed to Parkash’s store which is well known for its jams, marmalade, pickles, and cheese made of Yak’s milk. The store makes Landour the peanut butter capital of India. The British introduced peanut butter. We bought some of them for ourselves and to gift it to our friends and relatives.Van outside Landour Bake House Landour Bake HouseAntique crockery at Landour Bake HouseEye-catching quotes at Landour Bake HouseOn our way, we saw two churches- the Church of St. Paul built in 1839, and Kellogg’s Church built in 1903, have Gothic architecture. Kellogg's ChurchSt. Paul ChurchLandour also has a famous residential school - Woodstock School - spread over 250 acres of the forest region. It also has a Language School teaching Hindi, Urdu, and Punjabi languages. Several foreigners come to Landour to learn these languages. ITM-DRDO is also located in Landour.During our walk of around 4 km, for our hotel, we saw many buildings with an English touch.A beautiful house at LandourOne of the quotes on trees at LandourA beautiful house at LandourThe next day we planned to go to Mussoorie. We had heard that the famous English author Ruskin Bond visited the Cambridge Book store, for his fans, every evening. We walked down the hill for about 3 km and reached Mussoorie. The shops were not yet open, so we decided to first visit the Gun Hill Point. One can reach the point on foot but we preferred going there by cable car. During British rule, a gun was mounted on this top but now it has a water reservoir. We spent some time on the hill and then came back to the mall road in the same cable car. We had our lunch at Chic Chocolate-a famous chocolate shop at Mussoorie. Chic Chocolate, Mussoorie Then we went to Cambridge Book Store, but to our disappointment, the shopkeeper informed us that the writer visited the shop only on Saturday from 4 to 5 pm. We then decided to shop a little before returning to Landour. We bought some gift items from The Tribes of India. On our way back to Landour we found several shops of silversmiths and shoemakers. The Shoemakers make the shoes (both ladies and gents) of the colors and designs of the customer's choice. Since we did not have time to order for shoes, we bought ladies' foot-wears that were already on display in different colors. Our return walk from Mussoorie to Landour took us more time as now we were to climb the steep road. We took some rest at the hotel and then decided to have dinner at Doma’s Inn which serves the dishes with typical Tibetian taste. After a tiring on-foot trip to Mussoorie and a sumptuous dinner at The Doma’s Inn, we enjoyed a good night's sleep.Colourful Interior of Doma's InnColourful Interior of Doma's InnEntrance of Doma's InnThe next day we took a return journey to Patiala.It was one of the most beautiful journeys of our life. We are looking forward to visiting Landour again and to see the remaining unexplored sites too.What kind of travel person are you? Beach or Mountain? Comment below!