In this blog, we continue to map the course of the Tons River while it traverses through the Dehradun City and makes its way out of the city premises. This blog is part2 in the series and I highly recommend reading the part1 post where we discussed the origins of the river and mapped its journey until Purkul village near Dehradun.

Correction: – In the previous post, I had mentioned that the Tons River flows through the famous Robbers Cave (Gucchupani) and then flows down to the city. I make a small correction here, Tons River flows near the Robber’s cave and not through it. The water at Robbers cave comes from a spring source, however, eventually, this water too meets the Tons River (approximately 100 metres ahead of the cave entrance gate)

As can be seen in the photo, the river has good amount of water. This can be attributed to the monsoons which is in full action in this part of the region. Just before the Robbers Cave entrance, you can see the Tons River coming from the mountains and then flowing down below into the gorge. One can also find many resorts in this area. Despite being in Dehradun, it is so quiet here and the thick greenery and the river, makes the whole experience interesting. This is indeed a very popular place in Dehradun.

The river meanders its way down into the doon valley and is next seen at a place called Ghhatikhola ,Gajiyawala (the above 3 images) . One can access this place by taking a small detour from the beacher road / supply road. Here, the river winds its way down into the valley, beneath a small iron bridge. The view from here is surely quite comforting. The river continues its downward journey and passes through the outer edge of the Garhi Cantt area until it blesses the Tapkeshwar Temple.

Tapkeshwar is a famous Shiva temple in Dehradun. A cave (known as Drona cave) has a shivling and the water droplets continuously drop on the shivling. Therefore, the name – Tapkeshwar. Dehradun finds reference in the Mahabharata period and this place used to be known as Dronanagari at that time. Guru Dronacharya, the guru of Pandavas and Kauravas spent some time in this area.

The river continues its downward journey and reaches the flat-land at Bajawala town. Here, the Nun river meets the Tons. Refer to my dedicated blog on Nun River to trace its journey until Bajawala. The incline path for the river ends here at Bajawala. The merged river (also known as Tons) continues it journey and passes through Prem Nagar / Sudhowala area, before exiting the Dehradun city.

Summarizing the route for this part of the Tons River series

S.No.	From	To	Distance	Details
1	City Centre (Ghanta Ghar)	Robber’s Cave Entrance	8 kms (Drive) Approx. 25 minutes	Take the supply road (near Raj bhawan)
2	Robber’s cave Entrance	Ghhatikhola (Gajiyawala)	5 kms (Drive) Approx. 15 minutes	Take the supply road again and then a detour at Supply Bus Stop (chowk)
3	Ghhatikhola (Gajiyawala)	Tapkeshwar Temple	5.2 kms (Drive) – 20 minutes	Get back to supply road and then head towards Garhi Cant.
4	Tapkeshwar Temple	Bajawala	9 kms (Drive) – 25 minutes	Take the Kaulagarh road (area behind FRI). This is a narrow road but one can enjoy the views of Tons flowing along.
5	Bajawala	Nanda Ki Chowki / Prem Nagar	6 kms (Drive) – 20 minutes	Road condition is good. Good views of the Tons along the drive

What next?

In Part-1 and Part-2 of the series, we examined the Tons River flow from its source until it exits the boundaries of the Dehradun City. The river enters a flat land and flows westwards towards Vikasnagar.

Part-3: – In the last part of the Tons River series, we shall examine the remaining journey until the river’s merging with Yamuna at Assan Barrage.

I hope you enjoyed reading this. Stay tuned for the last post of this series!!