Almora is the cultural heart of Kumaon — a ridge-top town with 400-year-old temples, famous baal mithai sweets, and one of the best Himalayan panoramas in Uttarakhand. Still surprisingly undervisited.
Almora sits on a horseshoe-shaped ridge at 1,638 metres and has been the cultural capital of Kumaon since 1560. Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore, and Nobel laureate Sherwood Anderson all visited and wrote about it. It deserves much more attention than it gets from mainstream tourists.
Getting There
Bareilly to Almora: approximately 175 km, 4.5 hours. Nainital to Almora: 67 km, 2 hours. The road from Kathgodam through Bhowali to Almora is one of the most scenic drives in Uttarakhand.
Must-Visit Sites
Chitai Golu Devta Temple: 8 km from Almora. The temple of Golu Devta, god of justice. The courtyard is draped in thousands of bells and letters from devotees — an extraordinary sight.
Kasar Devi Temple: On a ridge above Almora with extraordinary views. Swami Vivekananda meditated here in 1890. The entire Binsar valley spreads below.
Lala Bazaar: Almora's old bazaar with 500-year-old carved stone and wood buildings. Try baal mithai (fudge covered in white sugar balls) — Almora's most famous sweet.
Day Trip: Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary
33 km from Almora. Drive through oak and rhododendron forests to Zero Point — a 300 km panoramic view of over 300 Himalayan peaks on a clear day. Truly breathtaking.