North India · Uttarakhand
Dehradun, Uttarakhand
Sources: wikimedia
About Dehradun
- Hills
Where it is
Dehradun is the winter capital of Uttarakhand, set in the broad Doon Valley at the foot of the Himalayas, between the Shivalik hills and the Mussoorie ridge, with the Ganges to the east and the Yamuna to the west.
History
The city takes its name from the dera, or camp, set up in the valley in 1676 by Guru Ram Rai, eldest son of the seventh Sikh Guru, Har Rai. Long part of the Garhwal kingdom, the Doon was taken by the Gorkhas in 1804 and by the British after the Anglo-Nepalese War, and they made it a centre of forestry, surveying and military training. It became the capital of the new state of Uttarakhand in 2000.
People
Hindi is the main language, and Garhwali, Jaunsari, Punjabi, Nepali and Bengali are also spoken, while a Tibetan community lives around the monasteries. Boarding schools, research institutes and the army shape city life, and the Jhanda Mela at Guru Ram Rai's Darbar Sahib is a spring highlight.
Known for
- The Forest Research Institute
- Indian Military Academy
- Robber's Cave and Sahastradhara springs
- Mindrolling Monastery
- Basmati rice and litchis
Did you know?
The Forest Research Institute began in 1878 as India's first forestry school, and its grand red-brick main building is one of Dehradun's landmarks.
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