Almora is a city of Kumaon region. The place is famous for the panoramic view of Himalayas. The city also holds a great value to the cultural heritage and historic evidence of Kumaon division. The city is old and has some of the most visited tourist spots of Uttrakhand. There are many temples and monuments. Originally King Kalyan Chand founded this place Almora in the year 1568. Even the houses and shops still hold the essence of Chand dynasty. The city looks old and pretty occupied. The scenic places just make it all the more attractive. There are layers of step farming, which looks mesmerizing while having a road trip around the city. The city has an age old library, stadium and beautiful architecture to look.
Almora serves as a beautiful tourist destination. The nearest railway station till where the main trains connect with Almora is Kathgodam, it is about 80 kms and can be easily covered within the span of 2hours. There are many buses and taxis which you can board in from Kathgodam. Almora is around 370kms by road distance from Delhi, which will take about 8hours by road if you wish to travel. The Haldwani-Almora highway is a smooth road to travel on to. It is duly maintained and offers beautiful scenic spots. This highway was earlier number 87 now it is 109.
Mountain Resort Khali Estate, Mount Heaven, Hotel Shivallik Almora, Hotel Himsagar, Hotel Shikhar, Imperial Heights Resort are some of the popular hotels in Almora. Binsar Road, Mall Road and places near the tourists spots of Almora have maximum accommodation options. Some hotels are also located on Link Road. There are high end hotels plus well budget hotels too. Some of the hotels may also provide eatery units within the campus. The close proximity of the hotels to the various tourists spots makes it easier for you to tread easily,even toughest trekking paths.Do not forget to enjoy some of the adventure sports they have to offer!
Almora, a city is not huge just 20.66 km² and even the population is not great. There are not as many people, but the quiet and settled crowd looks for peace and happiness in smallest things. Kathgodam station is small, and the journey from Delhi to Kathgodam through train gives an amazing look. The roads from Kathgodam to Almora is curvy, smooth and totally within mountains.The lush green trees makes the journey soothing, without even realising you will cover the distance. You can enjoy tea breaks in between. The deep forests and the view of snow clad Himalayas gives you a relaxing feel of the place. Some of the famous tourist spots known here are:
This is around 2 kms far from Almora. It is renowned for its mesmerising view of sunrise and sunset. The place is stormed with tourists every year just to see the beautiful moments in the morning and evening.
This is around 10 kms away from Almora. Martola is a pictorial place, surrounded by gardens & woodlands. The beauty of such place cannot be penned down, exploring it is the only way to feel the real worth of it.
This is at the distance of 3 kms from Almora. This park is surrounded by lush patches of pine trees & oak enhancing the innate splendor of nature. Feel the best of animal life with mother nature caressing it at its best.
Located on the Mall Road of Almora, this place is a storage of an extraordinary collection of antiques from Chand Dynasty. It houses a remarkable collection of art & craft, bronze items plus musical instruments and textiles.
There are other museums as well like the Kumaon Regimental Centre Museum, Archaeological Museum Jageshwar .
There are some places which lie in close proximity to Almora and it is worth to move a bit from this place to reach these destinations.
These are some of the common tourist mapped places in and near Almora which you can explore, you can also ask the localites who can guide you better for more unexplored yet interesting places. The tourist spots remain bustling busy in the months of May and June, you can get a little relief from crowd during off season. But don’t panic for being the part of crowd, because sometimes it is worth a shot. The places are kept clean and strictly under the administration of the state government. You shall try and explore some of the local costumes, food, dialects and much more. These small cities has lot more to offer than you can see through the transparent tour packages. There are many small parks, secured zones, where you can enter by permission. The temples are close to heart for all the people residing there, thus you have to make sure that you shall not hurt any religious sentiments in the mood of enjoyment. People are cultural, adhere to rules set by customs and traditions, you are expected to abide them too. People are fine with tourism as it is the source of income, but you must not take it for granted.
Make sure you create a itinarary according to places you preferred most, take in consideration the weather forecast, you must take up the advice of the locals in case of any adverse situations as they know the place much better than you do!
From the delicacies served by the Almoriana Restaurant to the authentic Kumaoni flavours of the Negi’s, each and every dishes here have excellent taste. You must try the momos from Prem Da Momos. Gloria and Saraswati restaurant also delivers amazing service and delicious food. Once you are in Almora, don’t forget to buy the Bal Mithai! It is one of the most famous desert , a sweet dish for all those with a sweet tooth. It is a delicious brown sugary shaped sweet covered with small circular white stuff, it is delicacy at its best. You can take help from the hotel staff, they can guide you for the food outlets But some of the names you must not miss are:
Most of the restaurants serves the famous “Peeli Dal” along with long Basmati Rice cooked with Zeera plus Lemon. Aloo Puri and Aloo Tikki are the two famous servings of Kumaon region. Some of the restaurants served delicious chicken dishes. Other than Bal Mithai, Khoya Singori and Rabdi-Falooda is a favourite sweet dish here. The other local appetizing stuff are Bhaang Ki Khatai, Mixed dal Salad, Kappa, Sisunak Saag, Aloo ke Gutke, Aloo Daal Pakora, Rus and ginger tea are quite famous here.
During the famous Nanda Devi festival, tourists can view traditional folk dances, ‘Jhora’ and ‘Chanchari’ of Kumaon region. People are too close to religion, traditions and customs. There are folk lores and folk songs which are sung basically during the festivals. There are famous handicraft, copperware stuff in markets in Almora which are adorned with these beautiful artefacts. People are simple and close to nature, they are perfectly satisfied and respect traditional values a lot.
Most of the times, the place has pleasant weather. Most of the times, its raining due to high altitude and near about water bodies. There are times when, snow covers most part of Almora. The main seasons which are summer are in March to June, they are warmer yet due to brisk dhowers remains cool in night, whereas the monsoon season, sees heavy reainfall from July to November and in winter, snowfall replaces the rainfall of the previous season, from December to February.
There are times you may need money immediately or losing credit.debit card while in LAmora, you may need banks for that, and for immediate cash ATMs may come as handy, here is the lits of Banks in Almora:
In times of adverse conditions you may need the hospitals and health care centre, God forbid if any untoward happening takes place. Thus, here is the list for the same.
These are some of the other small clinics across the city. You must keep immediate first aid with you.
There are many beautiful scenic places in Almora, you can do camping, explore new avenues etc. If you are a true explorer, you must interview the localites and government officials of the place, they will help you explore more and more. Thus, if you plan to visit Almora, makes sure you cover the surrounding places too.
#Welcome to the city of beauty!
