Lansdowne – A Runner’s View

I had never heard an encouraging word from any past visitor of Lansdowne, among my family and friends’ circle, about making a trip to this small Himalayan town. Only when I found that the itch to go to Himalayas over long weekend (3 days) is irresistible and I have very limited options of Himalayan towns left that I have never taken a drive to (from Gurgaon, India), I decided to check out Lansdowne. Lansdowne is located in Pauri-Garhwal District of the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, around 240 km from Delhi. It is a quaint little cantonment town, with well-maintained buildings, roads and recreational areas, managed by Command office of venerated Garhwal Rifles.

I had to give a long and thorough thought about why people don’t recommend going to Lansdowne, how would the road to Lansdowne be, what will I do there if people are right about not having anything to do there, etc. Ultimately, what helped me take the decision was the enthusiasm for hill-run in a natural and pollution free setting.

Those who are reading this blog to find top things to do in Lansdowne as a tourist may stop reading ahead and save time. Others, who are interested in exploring hidden trails, hill running and/or trekking in scenic Himalayan destinations, may continue.

Day 1: Running/Trekking uphill to Rathi Hut

One can find a trail starting from temple located at 29°50'14.5"N78°41'52.6"E. If one is to ask for directions, ask for temple near hotel The Alpine Resort or near the Lansdowne entry check post. While going towards Lansdowne, the trail starts from right side of the temple going further behind it into the mountains.

Below is the picture of Rathi Hut that I took from another trail, I have described in Day 3 activity for you.

If you keep following the trail, at one place you will come across the main road to Lansdowne, that would mark 3 kms of road distance that would have been covered in around 1.5 km of trail walking/running. There will be a sign-board of ‘Rathi Hut’ which will get you back on track. The peaceful and scenic view-point is a few steps ahead from there. Enjoy!

Day 2: 10 km hill road run (plus optional run on ‘Thandi Sadak’ trail)

As mentioned earlier, Lansdowne is Cantonment area hence barring a very few, most of the hotels are situated at a few kilometers distance from the main town. Luckily, I was staying at around 4.5 km road-distance before Lansdowne (in area called Sauli). This gave me the idea to do an early morning up-hill run of 5km and then back. The elevation offered by the road is very good from training perspective. Here are the statistics from my run where you can check the details (map, distance and elevation).

Just before 5km mark I realized there is a trail called Thandi Sadak so I took a detour but didn’t continue on the trail in eagerness to complete proper road run of 10 km first. Later in the evening, I went back to traverse the complete short trail. There are scenic view-points also on the way hence totally worth a stroll!

Day 3: Nature walk from Sauli to Chundai

Near Hotel Himalayan View, starts a trail towards village Chundai (or Chundi Malli). The distance by road is 8km, mostly downhill. I wanted to do a fast downward hill run hence it seemed just right when I was checking the terrain from my hotel window. To be fair, the trail itself is well hidden in dense forest but you get the idea, as you know where the road goes. Also, I was warned about presence of bears there. Those who like sky running will be able to enjoy the run on certain parts along the course. At one such part, I realized that the drop distance is around 500 m on one side and 300m on the other, so caution is advised. I had good time while running down-hill but while returning on same trail, it got tiring and I hardly ran.

If, ever, I return to Lansdowne, I would certainly spend my time on these trails and in exploring new ones. However, since it was the first trip so I did visit tourist spots like Bhulla Lake, Tip-in-Top, St Mary's Church etc. but all these places were very crowded as expected. 

Choose what resonates with you. Lansdowne, certainly, has a lot to offer!