The story goes back to the early 19th century, when the Gurkha conquest of Kumaon—Garhwal led to the intervention of the British, who moved from the plains of Dehradun to create a military sanatorium in the hills. Today, with its crisp mountain air, charming walks and hillsides covered with gabled bungalows and churches, this quiet nook in the Himalayas is home to leading writers such as Ruskin Bond, Bill Aitken, Allan Sealy, Hugh and Colleen Gantzer, and film personalities Tom Alter, Victor Banerjee and Vishal Bhardwaj.
If you turn back the pages of history, Landour's literary affair is not new. The Scots identified the Himalayan hills and meadows with their glens, braes slopes and burns streams and named their houses Scottsburn, Wolfsburn and Redburn.
Barring Kempty Falls 13km away, there are no mountain streams here, so the nomenclature might have been purely sentimental. Charleville Hotel, however, was named after the owner's sons Charley-Billy! His house, Mullingar, was named after his county town in Ireland. By the early 20th century, Mullingar became a hotel, and during World War II, it was leased by the army to house the overflow of convalescing soldiers from the sanatorium. After spending considerable time in Landour, Shimla and Ooty in the late s, Emily wrote incisively on the prevalent racism of Britons towards Indians.
For a long time, Landour remained an exclusively British preserve, with Indians kept off limits at Mussoorie. The maharajas were encouraged to build grand summer homes here, many of which have been converted into heritage hotels. Hotel Padmini Nivas, set up by a British colonel in the s, became home to a queen from Gujarat. The Nabha Palace is run as a hotel by The Claridges.
The Maharaja of Kapurthala's chateau occupies a lofty perch above The Savoy. However, one of the oldest buildings in Mussoorie is Kasmanda Palace, built in , which now houses a boutique heritage hotel run by WelcomHeritage. The house has served many owners: from a British soldier to Rev. It has also been a boarding house for missionary ladies studying Urdu and Hindi. With a restaurant named after Emily Eden, and lovingly renovated rooms with stone walls and wooden floors, it was in Rokeby 's DNA to be run as a hotel!
It is at a distance of about 33km from Dehradun and is a perfect weekend getaway for the residents of Dehradun and Mussoorie. The scenic town of Landour is loaded with tranquility and serenity of the Garhwal Himalayas. On a clear day Landour offers the sight of upto km with making the Swargarohini , Banderpooch , Yamunotri , Gangotri , Kedarnath and many other Himalayan peaks visible to the naked eye.
Landour is a town that has the reminiscent of the British Era and even today it strongly displays the magnificent architecture and culture of those times. Landour is a small town that one can explore while having a brisk walk around its serene grandeur.
Landour is about ft above Mussoorie and it lies on the east-west ridge connecting its western end to Mussoorie. Landour is a perfect weekend getaway for the ones who want to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city life and spend some quality time in the midst of the towering Deodar.
Landour is very famous for its colonial style architecture and high altitude points that give the travelers a delightful view of the Himalayas of Uttarakhand. There are a number of places in and around Landour where you can stay and enjoy the various activities that will make your stay in the hills a pleasant and rejuvenating one.
When you travel to Landour you will be completely captivated with the extremely gorgeous wildlife that the place has to offer. You will not only find the town enriched with a beautiful ecosystem but also with a diversified wildlife. Landour has an approximate of over species that are both endemic and migratory species from Tibet, Central Asia and Siberia.
You will find a number of pheasants and raptors dominantly. Animals like leopards, jackals, barking deer, goral and sloth bear are also spotted here. You will also find a Small Mammals in Landour such as yellow-throated martens, civets, Himalayan weasels etc. It is located at an elevation of 7,ft and is a must visit when travelling to Landour. People come to visit the Lal Tibba Hill and get to have the glimpse of the majestic landscape of the Garhwal Himalayas.
Char Dukan: Char Dukan is a frequently travelled place in Landour. The word literally means four shops which were established long ago. This place offers some extremely soothing breakfast and tea menu. Also, new construction of any type is 'unlawful' in Landour according to the Act. Hence, no new permanent structure has been built in Landour since Only the construction of temporary structures and repairs of old structure are allowed.
That's the reason residential houses in Landour are limited. Because of these rules, modernization and tourism have not touched Landour.
Tourists often visit Landour just as a day trip from nearby towns of Dehradun or Mussoorie because of very limited stay options in the Landour cantonment area.
Landour had 24 houses at the time of Independence, and it still has that many. Someone put it quite aptly - 'Choubis Makaan aur Char Dukaan - Itna hi hai Landour' which translates to 24 houses and 4 shops is all that Landour has.
And that's how Landour has retained its beauty and the forest cover since so many decades! The shape of the road in Landour creates the number '8' with all the things to do and places to visit scattered on the sides of the road. This road is called as the 'Upper Chakkar' or 'Gol Chakkar'.
If you wish to soak in the true essence of all the places, then the road is best walked than driven. The road is well-built and the surroundings are covered with tall Deodar trees. Because of the ban in tree-cutting and new construction, the wildlife, especially the rare birds, is abundant. The whole stretch of 'Upper Chakkar' is just 3. The walk is easy with hardly any ascends or descends. The quietude of the winding lanes and the scent of flowers draw plenty of tourists to Landour.
The whole concept of treading on 'Upper Chakkar' is unique and involves walk, eat, see and repeat. So here is a list of 10 things to do in Landour -. Right at the node of the road shaped '8' is Kellogg's Memorial Church. We did not get to see the interiors as it was closed during our visit but it looked quite old, ethnic and rustic.
The church has elegant glass stained windows and is built in Gothic architectural style. Kellogg's Church was built in as a Presbyterian church and is named after Dr. Samuel Kellogg, an American missionary who was very active in the development of Landour. The Britishers used to learn Hindi in this school when they ruled India.
Samuel Kellogg wrote a book on Hindi Grammar in the English language for the Britishers to better understand the Hindi language. The Landour Language School is still running and teaches Indian languages like Hindi, Sanskrit, Punjabi, Urdu and local Garhwali to students coming from all over the world which is quite unique. Sisters Bazaar is located at one end of the road shaped '8'. Landour Bakehouse.
In the s, every Parish used to have a communal oven to bake their own bread. From the s, residents of Landour used to form a community and publish 'Landour Cookbook' every year documenting all the old recipes. Today, Landour Bakehouse serves bakery, desserts, croissants, scones, buns, cookies, crepes and puddings deriving the tried and tested recipes from the old Landour Cookbooks.
The bakery cum cafe has an old world charm with wooden decor, rustic ambiance and 19th-century style kitchen construction. The best table at Landour Bakehouse is beside the window from which one can view the deep valley dotted with tall Himalayan Oak trees. Another funny line is written right outside Landour Bakehouse on an abandoned van saying - 'We'll start deliveries as soon as our vehicle is fixed'.
Do not miss out on trying the mouth-watering 'Strawberry crepe' and 'Peanut butter crepe' at Landour Bakehouse. Anil Prakash store. Right next to Landour Bakehouse is a shop named A.
Prakash and Co. American missionaries living in Landour used to make their own peanut butter on a commercial scale in the s. After Independence, they sold off all their processing machines and equipment and left India. These machineries came in hands of Anil Prakash's family and they started making peanut butter and jam using the same methods. Today Anil Prakash's store is famous for its home-made jams and preserves, peanut butter and home-made cheese.
Tourists from all over the world crave for Prakash's home-made items. You gotta try it to know how delicious it is. They also let you taste the various jams and cheese making it easier for you to decide which one to buy.
Prakash Handicraft shop. Prakash Handicrafts is another shop in Sister's Bazaar that displays and sells colorful Garhwali handicrafts and other antique knick-knacks hand-made by local artists.
Emily's is a gourmet restaurant in Rokeby Manor - an upscale hotel in Landour. The restaurant serves finger-licking Indian and Continental cuisine. We went there to especially try out Emily's famous Sticky Toffee Pudding which we had heard about from a lot of people and we absolutely loved it. The interiors of the restaurant are made with brown brick giving countryside feel and were brimming with Christmas decor along with little hanging lamps, books, cozy corners and fireplaces.
Emily's uses bread brought in from the Landour Bakehouse. The famous Anil's cafe and Tip Top tea shop have been here at Char Dukaan for more than 50 years and they boast of all the celebrities who have visited their shops. Paul's church is an old cantonment church constructed in
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