Five Beautiful Lesser Known Hill Stations in Himalayas

Amazing panoramic vistas of snow capped mountains that stretch across the horizon and beckon from afar. Sunsets that gladden your heart and sunrises that inspire new beginnings. Babbling brooks, crystal clear mountain springs and twisting mountain trails that invite you to set out on a journey.

Lansdowne

Lansdowne is a beautiful, wooded, old hill station with Himalayan oak trees of a girth which can hardly be seen anywhere else. These are interspersed with tall, feathery, conifers called chir. A major reason for the delightful old world character of Lansdowne is because it is the centere of the Garhwal regiment. Founded by Lt.Col E.P Mainwaring on the 5th May 1887 the Regiment moved to a forested place called Kalundendain November that year. In September 1890 Kalundenda was renamed Lansdowne after the Viceroy of India, Lord Henry Lansdowne. Lansdowne is a walking, ambling town. With its woods and little cottages it retains the character of many of the hill stations of India.Infact it you should stroll along these quiet roads at dusk, you might well have a leopard cross your path; sightings of these cats are common in this peaceful town. A particularly rewarding walk will take you from the Tourist Bungalow with its serene views over distant hills to St.Mary's Church.Built in 1896 it has been restored by the Garhwal Regiment.

Auli

Auli is little settlement famous for being the cheapest ski-resort in India. But though it is popular in winter when its ski-lift is busy and its tyro skiers take a tumble or two, it is also a great getaway resort in the green of spring, the gold or summer when cuckoos call and the soft-focus blue of Autumn.Auli prefers to rest in the monsoon in this five season land. If you choose any of the non-winter months the wood paneled rooms on the first floor are best, they have a certain sun warred alpine fragrance. Their views are heart stopping mountains capes that often look like Japanese paintings, flower spangled meadows, the slow pace of homesteading life below the resort. This is a place to ramble,laze and bask and spend grass-scented days lying on the warm meadows with your thoughts drifting idly through your mind unwinding all the tensions out of you. All this under the high watchful gaze of Nanda Devi on the horizon.

Ranikhet

An 83 km road up to the mountain winds through the market town of Batrojkhan to the wooded and largely military town of Ranikhet.At 1828 meters it is green with oak, deodar and pine. And the chances are that it will continue to remain a quiet and unwinding town because as the headquarters of the Kumaon Regiment it is unlikely to be urbanized. There are several temples in Ranikhet. All British cantonments had churches dedicated to various Christian denominations. One of the churches has been converted into a weaving and sales centre by the Kumaon regiment.

Kausani

1890 meters high Kausani offers impressive views of many of the snowy peaks of the Himalayas. For those who wish to get away from it all, this little hill station's oak and chir woods are excellent for long walks and quiet picnics. There is nothing else to do here and the tourist cottages which are little away from the township offer an ideal setting in which to do it. Mahatma Gandhi had spend 12 days in a cottage here .The cottage has been converted into the Ansasakti Asharam.It is favorite with Gandhians and those interested in this great man's life ,work and philosophy.

Chaukori

Chaukori at 2,010 meters offers a magnificent panorama of the snowy peaks of the Himalayas. Though Chaukori has nothing else to attract visitors this view of the snow is enough to keep you spell-bound day after day. The mountain's mood change from the shy pink to dawn through the sharp-edged aloofness of high noon to the suffused passion of sunset to the unreal silver-blue of a full moon night with rising, drifting mist to ring the changes. This is probably the most photographed view of the High Himalayas from anywhere in Kumaon.