LANDOUR BAZAAR

The Landour area is the oldest settlement in the entire township and still preserves the tranquility of the bygone colonial times. The uphill walk towards Landour begins from the eastern end of the Mall road. The Clock Tower is the point from where the Landour Bazaar exceeds till the Gurudwara Chowk. During the British times the same stretch was known as Parade Lane as the British Army troops marched on it. Later a small business hub evolved here which was named as Shivaji Market. The former Clock Tower had a history of its own the gong of which was audible till Rajpur as claim some elders. The Castle Hill is the estate where Maharani Jinda Kaur of Patiala was kept in exile. Now the estate belongs to the Survey of India. The numerous South Indian cuisines joints opposite to the Castle Hill gate are favorite hang outs amongst youngsters of the town who frequent there for mouth watering Dosa and Idli.

Another land mark in the Landour Bazaar is the Kohinoor Building which has completed more than hundred years of existence. The Survey Chowk is named so after the Survey field which venues numerous sports and cultural activities of the town. The Survey Chowk is lined with shops famous for delicious sweets and Namkeens. The Landour Bazaar is also famous for a number of shops where exclusive Pahaari silver jewelry is made to order. The Survey Chowk leads through Gurudwara Chowk from where an uphill climb provids birds' eye view of the Landour settlement. This narrow alley is lined with small shops of customized handmade leather footwear, antiques and Bhotia eateries and Woolens. The climb culminates at Mullingaar, the first residential building of Mussoorie, thus giving the locality its name after it. Mullingaar is the only Bhotia habitation in the town and the Bhotia elders can be seen playing cards or just basking cozy sun in the wind shelters of slumbering Mullingaar. The route is also frequented by many fair skinned ones as the Woodstock International School and the Language school is the prime nucleus of their settlements. The Mullingaar square is the bifurcation point for the road going to Dhanaulty and the one going further to Chaar-Dukan, Laal Tibba and Sister Bazaar. The tranquil walk towards Chaar-Dukan is thickly dense with oak and rhododendron the very air of which is quite soothing. Reasonably, the area comes under the Landour Cantonment Board and the residents include Padamshree Ruskin Bond, Padamshree Tom Alter, Steve Alter, Victor Banerjee, Pronoy Roy, Vishal Bhardwaj, Sachin Tendulkar, Sanjay Narang and Tenzin Nyima of the Bollywood thriller Kaminey fame. Doma's Inn is the Bifurcation point for one path leading through thick oak while the other through scented pine forest only to unite at Chaar-Dukan. Chaar-dukan is named so after the four (Chaar) shops (Dukan) which stands next to the St. Pauls' or the Kellogs' Church where the parents of legendary Sir Jim Corbett entered into holy matrimony. Chaar-Dukan is a really laidback joint where the USP is hot and tempting cheese omelets, pizzas, pastas and macaronis, noodles, pancakes and juices and aromatic tea and coffee, all under the lazy lukewarm sun and naughty crispy breeze.