Happy Valley is an area situated within the hill station of Mussoorie with majority of Tibetans settled in area in Dehradun district, Uttarakhand, India.

Happy Valley, Mussoorie
Hill station
Shedup Choepelling Temple
Happy Valley, Mussoorie Location in Uttarakhand, India Show map of Uttarakhand Happy Valley, Mussoorie Happy Valley, Mussoorie (India) Show map of India
Coordinates: 30.45°N 78.08°E / 30.45; 78.08
Country	India
State	Uttarakhand
District	Dehradun
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	248179
Vehicle registration	UK
Website	uk.gov.in

Location

Happy Valley is near the Indian Administrative Services Academy - Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration. Within the valley is a Tibetan Monastery[1] with a clear view of Hathipaon.[2][3]

Happy Valley is west of Mussoorie’s Dalai Hill[4] from where the mountain ranges of Jaunpur[5] and Nag-Tibba[6] are visible.

History

On 18 October 1929 Mahatma Gandhi addressed the European municipal councillors at Mussoorie. At that time he stayed at Birla House in Happy Valley.[7][8][9][10]

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 arrived at Happy Valley.[11][12] In April 1960, he left Happy Valley for another hill town - Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh[13][14] with an entourage of eighty officials of the Tibetan government in exile.[15]

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 Temple and Tibetan-style homes.[16][17] As of 2016, Happy Valley still was home to about 5000 Tibetan refugees.[18][19]

Characteristics

Happy Valley has an Indian Administrative Service Academy - The Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration.[20][21][22] it also has Tibetan Temples[23] and a Municipal Garden. The area of the valley leads to the Cloud's End[24]- a place where the geographical borders of Mussoorie end. The Hathipaon Park Estate is also there.[25] From Happy Valley can be seen the whole of Mussoorie with George Everest's house on one side[26] and the Himalayan ranges on the other.

References