By Vishnu M K | Guest Author
Every college group has that one trip plan that starts with “bro, this time we will go pakka” and somehow never leaves the WhatsApp group. But ours actually happened.
We planned a May long weekend trip to Lansdowne in 2026, which also happened to be our last proper weekend before college ended. None of us had been there before. We had only seen reels, pine forests, cute cafés, foggy roads and honestly, I just wanted trendy content for my May travel experience post.
Naturally, I influenced everyone else too.
Planning the trip felt harder than semester submissions. Since it was peak holiday season, most hotels in Lansdowne were either sold out or way too expensive. We genuinely thought the plan was dead until one of my friends randomly checked AkbarTravels.com late at night and somehow found an affordable hotel stay for six broke college students. That one booking instantly revived the group chat.
We boarded the Anand Vihar-Kotdwar Express on April 30. Thanks to Anmol’s mom and her emergency parathas, nobody slept hungry. Around 1 am, we were loud, laughing nonstop, until some uncle from another compartment came and scolded us. Fair enough, the whole coach was sleeping.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Day 1
By sunrise, we reached Kotdwar, had our first “pahado wali chai,” and got into our pre-booked cab to Lansdowne. At first, we all complained about booking a private cab, but after watching tourists struggle for transport outside the station, we admitted Samay had made the smartest decision on the trip.
Lansdowne instantly felt calm. No chaos, no honking, just cold air and pine trees everywhere. Some of us freshened up after reaching the hotel. I was exhausted and directly went to sleep.
Later, we went to Bhim Pakora. Honestly, don’t expect anything crazy; it’s basically a rock structure. But the trail through the forest was genuinely beautiful.
Lunch at Northern Flavours became the highlight of the day. We ordered Garhwali thalis and momos, everything tasted fresh and comforting. The rest of the evening was exactly what a long weekend getaway should feel like: lazy boating at Bhulla Taal, shopping in the market and roadside pahado wali maggie while wearing newly bought jackets because apparently the summer “summer trip” was too cold.
Day 2
We woke up early for Tip In Top Point and the sunrise genuinely looked unreal. The Himalayas slowly turning golden while clouds floated around felt straight out of a movie.
That morning became the best part of my May travel diary.
After St. Mary’s Church, chai-paratha breakfast, and a visit to Tadkeshwar Dham, we rushed to Darwan Singh Museum before closing time. Seeing old rifles, uniforms and stories from the army’s past honestly filled us with pride.
Then came the most random part of the trip.
Our driver casually suggested visiting Kalagarh Tiger Reserve since we had free time. Within minutes, the whole car agreed. We reached just before the safari started, expecting maybe deer at best.
Instead, we saw elephants crossing the route with baby elephants walking in between, tigers, deer, crocodiles, kingfishers and jungle cats. My friends also claimed they saw a leopard. I still think they were lying.
We returned exhausted, had dinner, and suddenly realised our May travel experience was almost over.
Day 3
The next morning, nobody wanted to leave.
We delayed checkout, ordered one last chai, sat quietly doing nothing, and somehow that became my favourite memory of the trip. No itinerary, no rushing, just six friends already feeling nostalgic before the trip had even ended.
We finally left for Kotdwar, reached Delhi the next morning, skipped college because we were too tired, and promised each other we’d plan more long weekend trips like this every year.
Let’s see if that actually happens.
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