Almora travel guide

The town was founded in 1560 by the Chand Dynasty who ruled over most of Kumaon, which comprises the present districts of Nainital, Almora and Pithoragarh. Overrun by the Gurkhas in 1798, it was heavily bombed by the British as they tried to expel them in the Gurkha Wars of 1814-1815. Traces of an old Chand fort, stone-paved roads, wooden houses with beautifully carved façades and homes decorated with traditional murals, reflect its heritage. Today an important market town and administrative centre and is also regarded as the cultural capital of the area it richly rewards exploring.

Swami Vivekenanda came to Almora and gained enlightenment in a small cave at Kasar Devi on Kalimatiya Hill, 7 km northeast of town. This is a tranquil mountain hamlet with stunning views, which has been visited by everyone from Cat Stevens to DH Lawrence, and was dubbed ‘Crank’s Ridge’ after Timothy Leary streaked here in the 1960s. Another vantage point for sunrise and sunset is Bright End Corner, 2.5 km southwest of Mall Road, near All India Radio. The stone Udyotchandesvar Temple, above Mall Road, houses Kumaon’s presiding deity, Nanda Devi, whose festival is in August/ September. Almora’s Tamta artisans still use traditional methods to work with copper. Copper metallurgy was known to the people here as early as the second century BC and is associated with the Kuninda Dynasty who traded in copper articles. The hand-beaten copper pots are ‘silver plated’ in the traditional way, kalhai.

Jageswar, 34 km northeast, lies beside a brook in a dappled clearing in the nape of a serene cedar wooded gorge. It is famous for the 164 ornamented temples built by the Chand rajas and also holds one of the 12 jyotirlingas. The scores of temples here, shaded by the trees’ canopy, and in nearby Gandeswar are very fine examples of early medieval hill temple architecture but are rarely visited by outsiders. Some elegant examples of vernacular architecture lie in the village. The temple dedicated to Jogeswar with finely carved pillars has a small museum; 6 km before Jageswar, a roadside sign points to stone-age cave paintings, about 50 m off the road. These are in red, white and black, depicting human figures, trees, animals and possibly water courses. Though several paintings were damaged by storage of cement bags during bridge-building work nearby, many can be seen and are worth the short stop. Once the capital of the Chand rajas, Binsar has a bird sanctuary sited at 2410 m with superb views of valleys around and panoramic mountain views. It is 28 km away....read more