Lansdowne (town)

Lansdowne लैंसडाउन
City
St. Mary's Church, Lansdowne
Lansdowne Location in Uttarakhand, India
Coordinates: 29°50′15″N 78°40′55″E / 29.83750°N 78.68194°E / 29.83750; 78.68194Coordinates: 29°50′15″N 78°40′55″E / 29.83750°N 78.68194°E / 29.83750; 78.68194
Country	India
State	Uttarakhand
District	Pauri Garhwal
Established	1887
Named for	Lord Lansdowne
Government
• Body	Lansdowne cantonment board
Area
• Total	6.09 km2 (2.35 sq mi)
Elevation	1,700 m (5,600 ft)
Population (2001)
• Total	7,902
• Density	1,300/km2 (3,400/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Hindi
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Website	http://www.lansdownecb.org.in/

Lansdowne (Hindi: लैंसडाउन) is a cantonment town in Pauri Garhwal district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand.

Originally known as Kaludanda (Hindi: कालूडाण्डा) after Kalu (Black) and Danda (Hill) in Garhwali, Lansdowne was founded and named after then Viceroy of India (1888-1894), Lord Lansdowne in 1887, and by 1901 it had a population of 3943. Lansdowne was developed by the British for catering for the Recruits Training center of the Garhwal Rifles. Lansdowne was a major place of the activities of freedom fighters from British Garhwal during British period. Nowadays, the famous Garhwal Rifles of the Indian Army has its command office here. Lansdowne is one of the quietest hill stations of India and is popular since Britishers came to India. Lansdowne is unlike other hill stations as it is well connected with motorable roads but remote in its own way. It is situated at an altitude of 1,706 mts above sea level surrounded with thick oak and blue pine forests in the Pauri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand state.

On 5 November 1887, the first battalion of Garhwal Rifles migrated from Almora to Lansdowne. Lansdowne was the only city after Almora in the late 1870s. People of different culture and states came to do business in Lansdowne after it became popular. The buildings and church of Lansdowne built during British period, which dates back to the pre-independence period. Lansdowne is an ideal location for eco-tourism as it is well preserved by the Government of Uttarakhand and the Garhwal Rifles.