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 This old centre of the Raj is situated in the broad Doon Valley between the Siwaliks and the
front range of the Himalya. Dehra Dun is at the centre of a forest area and the Forest Research Institute is here. The town is a major academic and research centre
and a base for the Indian Military Academy and the Survey of India. There are also several prestigious boarding schools including the Doon School, India's most exclusive private school.
Dehradun takes its name from the Hindi words, dera, which means camp, and dun, valley. Famous for its educational institutions, the town has one of the largest railway terminuses in North India.
According to a legend, Lord Shiva, the Hindu Destroyer of the Universe, stomped his foot in anger in the Dun valley. Another lore has it that Lord Rama and his brother, Laxmana, did penance here after killing Ravana, the King of Lanka . During their exile, the five Pandavas lived in the Dun valley for a short while. A rock inscription near Kalsi has led historians to believe that Emperor Ashoka ruled over the area in the 4th century
B.C.
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