Smell of freshly baked breads.
Apricot and Blueberry jams.
Old churches.
Pine trees.
And mountains peaking through them.
Who wouldn't want to visit landour, a cantonment town just 30 minutes away from the queen of hills i.e. Mussoorie.
Landour, a place where ruskin bond spent his life writing our bed time stories. A place where no further construction is allowed but every construction is a piece of art. A place where you'd love to get lost but you can't cause every stone paved road is connected to each other.
The place is perfect for family vacations, weekends and even safe and travel friendly for solo travellers. But if you're looking forward to a peaceful and tranquil time, its a MUST-VISIT.
There are two roads that connects the library chowk (Mussoorie) to landour. One goes through the Mall road (5.4 kms), heavily trafficked due to pedestrians. Entry of two wheelers and four wheelers usually takes place during the day time with toll around Rs. 100-200, and the entry gets closed during the evening.
The other road is less trafficked and with no toll (7.7 km).
There are several homestays that actually make you feel the Ruskin Era. But I opted for the one that was situated in a village i.e. Bhillaru among the pine trees and silence, far from the crowd and phone networks. The area was so dense, that the only sound you can hear was the wind blowing through the trees. It was around 10 kms from landour crossing the library chowk.
There are several places to eat but if you're a real foodie, do not skip Lal Tibba. You'll get the best cheese sandwiches there and a natural juice made from Rhododendron flowers (Buransh). Its a cafe with an observation deck that provides scenic views of Himalayas through telescopes, as it is the highest hill in the town. And for the desserts, try out the cakes at Landour Bakehouse situated in Sister's bazaar, the ambience and the fragrance will take you back to some nostalgic time. The food joints of Char Dukaan serves some awesome breakfasts and homemade Jams.
Architecture of the town offers two colonial era churches- St. Paul's & Kellogg's, A clock tower, Ivy cottage- Home to ruskin bond, The castle where queen of Patiala stayed during her exile and really beautiful private properties.
The crisp breeze and the pine trees will take you to the another world. A place which remains same, while the world keeps on changing.
