Dehradun

Dera (or Dehra) is a camp, while Dun or Doon is a reference to a local term used for a river valley between a smaller range (Shivaliks) and the main Himalayas, and the present town of Dehradun was founded in the early eighteenth century by 'Guru Ram Rai', the elder son of seventh Sikh Guru, Guru Har Rai, and the founder of the Udasi sect of Ascetics, who came here in 1675, and first settled in village Dhamawala which even today hosts the annual 'Jhanda Fair' on the fifth day after Holi in his memory. Thus the name refers to his Dera or settlement in the valley, and marking this settlement is a Gurudwara called 'Guru Ram Rai Darbar', built in 1699, and modelled on the tomb of Mughal Emperor Jehangir.

In Skanda Purana, Dun is mentioned as a part of the region called 'Kedar Khand', the abode of Shiva. Another belief states that Drona, the great teacher of Kauravas and Pandavas lived here, for a brief period hence the name, "Drona-nagri".