Dehradun

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Surrounded on the east by the River Ganga, on the west by the Yamuna, the Doon Valley is a picturesque region at the foothills of the panoramic Shivalik ranges. Dehradun serves as the gateway to the hill resort of Mussoorie. Nestled in the mountain ranges of the Himalayas, Dehradun is the capital of Uttaranchal.
The name Dehradun is a collection of two words "dera" meaning camp and "dun" meaning valley. Said to be one of the oldest cities in India, it is believed that Lord Rama and his brother did penance here for killing Ravana, the demon king. During the 17th and 18th centuries Dehradun changed hands several times: Guru Ram Rai retreated here from Punjab, the Mughal Governor Najib-ud-Daula occupied it from 1757-1770 and the Gorkhas overran it on their westward expansion before ceding it to the British in 1815. Under the British, Dehradun became an elite town with many a fine institutions such as the Forest Research Institute, Doon School and Welham Schools for girls and boys, many more, like the ONGC and Wadia Institute of Himalayan Studies, were added in time.

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