Budget-Friendly Almora Tour Packages

Perched on a saddle shaped ridge, at an altitude of 1646 mtr above sea-level is the ancient town of Almora. The natural beauty of Almora is greatly enhanced by the surrounding hills, which are covered with dense forests of fragrant pine and other conifers, each crowned by a temple. It is different from other hill resorts in Uttarakhand, as it has not been deserted by its senior citizens who made some mark in life. It has retained the aura of being a hub of educational and cultural activities, and because it was patronised by the Chand rulers and Britishers alike. Nature has made Almora a trekkers’ town and from here one can venture forth on to exhilarating treks past soaring pines and glades of ferns, rhododendrons and wild flowers to the dramatic spectacle of snow and stark mountains.

In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the Chand dynasty ruled Kumaon from Champawat. As they annexed larger areas in the west, they found it difficult to administer their kingdom from Champawat and looked for a more central place. In 1560, Bhishma Chand selected the Khagmara Hills as his new Capital and gave it the name Almora, but before he could move there, he was slain.

Befittingly this town became the centre of Kumauni culture and great Indian traditions. The doyen of Indian philosophy Swami Vivekanand (1863 – 1902) visited Almora three times. First time in 1890 when he along with his companion Akhandanand came as seekers of knowledge and meditated at Kakri ghat under a peepul tree. It is here that he had a deep spiritual experience which he mentioned in his diary that macrocosm and microcosm are built on the same plan. In other words all that exists in the universe also exists in the body, and further that the whole universe exists in the atom. This was the beginning of his theory of Zero and birth of the cosmic system out of Zero. This became the theme of his lecture in Chicago that raised him to the status of international thinker on cosmic system and humanities.