Happy Valley is an area situated within the

hill station A hill station is a town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The term was used mostly in colonial Asia (particularly in India), but also in Africa (albeit rarely), for towns founded by European colonialists as refuges ...

of Mussoorie with majority of Tibetans settled in area in Dehradun district,

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

, India.

Location

Happy Valley is near the Indian Administrative Services Academy - Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration. Within the valley is a Tibetan Monastery with a clear view of Hathipaon. Happy Valley is west of Mussoorie’s Dalai Hill from where the mountain ranges of Jaunpur and Nag-Tibba are visible.

History

On 18 October 1929

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

addressed the European municipal councillors at Mussoorie. At that time he stayed at Birla House in Happy Valley. One of the landmark events in the history of the Tibetan government in exile in India happened in April 1959 when a young

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...

arrived at Happy Valley. In April 1960, he left Happy Valley for another hill town - Dharamshala in

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

with an entourage of eighty officials of the Tibetan government in exile. Later, this government-in-exile moved to Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh leaving behind at Happy Valley, a community of Tibetans who have integrated with the life and culture of Mussoorie, but had built a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

Temple and Tibetan-style homes. As of 2016, Happy Valley still was home to about 5000 Tibetan refugees.

Characteristics

Happy Valley has an Indian Administrative Service Academy - The Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration. it also has Tibetan Temples and a Municipal Garden. The area of the valley leads to the Cloud's End- a place where the geographical borders of Mussoorie end. The Hathipaon Park Estate is also there. From Happy Valley can be seen the whole of Mussoorie with George Everest's house on one side and the Himalayan ranges on the other.

References

{{Dehradun Dehradun district Hill stations in Uttarakhand Tibetan diaspora in India Tourism in Uttarakhand Mussoorie