Almora

                                                                     ALMORA- A PLACE DEVINE MAGIC

DESTINATION OVERVIEW

Almora the beautiful town was founded in 1568 by King Kalyan Chand. But according to popular belief human settlements in the hills and surrounding region in the Hindu epic Mahabharata (8th and 9th century BCE). Almora was the seat of chand kings that ruled over the Kumaon Kingdom. It is considered the cultural heart of the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand. Almora is a municipal board and a cantonment town in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Almora district.  Almora is located on a ridge at the southern edge of the Kumaon Hills of the Himalayan range, at a distance of 363 km (via NH9)  from the national capital New Delhi and 415 km via Saharanpur Rd, 351 km via NH109 and 388.6 km via Ambala- Dehradun- Haridwar RD from the state capital dehradun., Almora has a population of 35,513. Cradled within higher peaks of the Himalaya, Almora enjoys a year-round mild temperate climate. The town is visited by thousands of tourists annually from all over the world. Almora has beautifully been able to maintain its sanctity all over these years. Almora is unique in the sense that despite a large number of tourists visit every year it maintains its pure and untouchable atmosphere. Almora got its name from Bhilmora, a kind of sorrel, a short plant commonly found there which was used for washing the utensils of the sun temple at katarmal the place came to be known as "Almora". When king Bhishm Chand laid the foundation of the town, he had initially named it Alamnagar. Before that, Almora was known as 'Rajapur' during the early phase of Chand rule. Almora is located in Almora district in Uttarakhand This beautiful hill town situated 365 km north-east the national capital New Delhi and 415 km south-east the state capital Dehradun. It lies in the revenue Division Kumaon and is located 63 km north of Nainital, the administrative headquarters of Kumaon. It has an average elevation of 6,106 ft above mean Sea Level. Almora is situated on a ridge at the southern edge of the Kumaon Hills of the Central Himalaya range in the shape of a horse saddle shaped hillock. The eastern portion of the ridge is known as Talifat] and the western one is known as Selifat The Almora Market is situated at the top of the ridge, where these two, Talifat and Selifat jointly terminate. The town is surrounded by thick forests of pine and fir trees. Apart from many trees of seasonal flowers, The tourists are captivated to see the rivers of Koshi and suyal Flowing alongside the city. The snow-capped Himalayas can be seen in the background. The main seasons of the town summer from March to June, the monsoon season from July to November and winter from December to February. In summer, Almora is largely under the influence of moist, maritime airflow from the western side of the subtropical anticyclones cells over low-latitude ocean waters. Temperatures are high and can lead to warm, oppressive nights. Summers are usually somewhat wetter than winters, with much of the rainfall coming from convectional thunderstorm activity; tropical cyclones also enhance warm-season rainfall in some regions. The coldest month is usually quite mild, although frosts are not uncommon, and winter precipitation is derived primarily from frontal cyclones along the polar front. The warmest month, on average, in June and The coolest month on average in January. The month with the highest rainfall on average in August. The month with the least precipitation on average is November. There is an average of 46.8 days of precipitation, with the most precipitation occurring in August with 11.9 days and the least precipitation occurring in November. The region of Almora is a natural habitat of 4000 species of plants, having remarkable diversity in its natural vegetation under its being at a great range of elevation. Apart from a great variation in climate, particularly in temperature and precipitation associated with the alignment and altitudes of ranges and nature of valleys, the region is unique in homing rare species of plants and animals. The plants of this region may be classified into tropical, Himalayan sub-tropical and subalpine and alpine vegetation. The alpine and subalpine zones are considered as the most natural abode of the largest number of medicinal plants. the area covered in the different zones of Almora and outskirts is a natural home for leopard, langur, Himalayan black beer, Kakar, oral, etc. on the other side, the high altitude zones overflow in a variety of musk deer, popularly called "Kastura Mrig", snow leopard, sheep, thar, etc. The entire zone is rich in a remarkable variety of birds possessing plumage of magnificent design and colors like a peacock, which includes grey quail, Kala titar, chakor, cheer pheasant, koalas pheasant, etc. The earliest known reference to the population of Almora occurs in the book the Kingdom of Nepal by Francis hamilton. In Fatehgarh Pt.

Hariballav Pande had told Hamilton that in Almora, during the time of the Gorkha rule, there were around 1000 houses.^:297 Mr. G.W. Traill, the second commissioner of Kumaon division, writes that in 1821 A.D. there were 742 houses in Almora in which lived 1369 men, 1178 women, and 968 children and thus the total population was 3505.the city a unique characteristic that it is the home of the followers of the different religions. Hinduism is Practised by 90 percent of the total population and is the majority religion of Almora. Islam is practiced by 7.54% of people and is the largest Minority religion. Other Religions like Sikhism, Christianity, and Buddhism are also practiced by a small number of people. Hindi and Sanskrit are the official languages of the state while Kumaoni is the mother tongue of the majority. The municipal board (Nagar Palika Parishad) of Almora was established in 1864. The Almora Nagar Palika Parishad has a population of 34,122 of which 17,358 are males while 16,764 are females as per report released by Census India 2011. The population of Children age 0-6 is 2950 which is 8.65% of the total population of Almora (NPP). In Almora Nagar Palika Parishad, the Fema Ratio is 966 against the state average of 963. Moreover, the Child Ratio in Almora is around 857 compared to the Uttarakhand state average of 890.] ^The Literacy rate of Almora city is 94.51% higher than the state average of 78.82%. In Almora, Male literacy is around 96.84% while the female literacy rate is 92.13%. Schedule Caste (SC) constitutes 16.38% while Schedule Tribe (ST) was 1.00% of the total population in Almora (NPP). Out of the total population, 10,057 were engaged in work or business activity. Of this 7,901 were males while 2,156 were females. Of the total 10057 working population, 93.25% were engaged in Main Work while 6.75% of total workers were engaged in Marginal Work. Almora Nagar Palika Parishad has total administration over 8,014 houses to which it supplies basic amenities like water and sewerage, it is divided into 11 wards for which elections are held every 5 years. Swami Vivekananda the well known spiritual guru had once visited Almora and his heart were so touched by its mountains, peace, and culture that he had commented These mountains are associated with the best memories of our race: Here, therefore, must be one of the centers, not merely of activity, but more of calmness of meditation, and peace and I hope someone to realize it. Almora has many notable temples, including Kasar Devi, Nanda Devi, Doli Daana, Shyayi Devi, Khakmara, Asht Bhairav, Jakhandevi, Katarmal (Sun Temple), Pataal Devi, Raghunath Mandir, Badreshwar, Benari Devi, Chitai, Jageshwar, Binsar" href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binsar">Binsar Mahadev, Garhnath and Baijnath.

Kasar Devi temple was visited by Swami Vivekananda and this area has a Chabad House. Rudreshwar Mahadev Temple, near Sanara Ganiya, is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is beside the river Ram Ganga. A sun temple (only the second in the world) is at Katarmal, a short distance from the town. The famous temple of Manila Devi, Devi Maa, the family goddess of the Katyuri clan, lies around 85 km from Ranikhet. Udaipur a famous temple of Golu devta is 5 km. from Binta near Dwarahat.

Dunagiri has the highly revered temple of Shakti or Mother Goddess. Dunagiri is known as the birthplace of modern-day Kriya Yoga. There is a very famous and notable temple in Almora district which is in the village of Chaura near Bhaisor Gaun, Someshwar. This temple is dedicated to Lord Golu who is considered as a lord of justice in Uttarakhand. This temple is about 40 km from Almora town. Another very famous temple of Almora district is Airdau which is in Someshwar. Someshwar is a small town in the Almora district, which is very rich in an agricultural way.

Pandu Kholi is another famous and ancient temple in the Almora district. According to Hindu mythology, Pandavas spent some time here to escape from Duryodhana. The distance of this temple from Almora is about 80 km. Another very ancient and holy Shiva temple in Someshwar town is known as Khakeshwar Mahadev temple. It is in Bhaisor Gaun village, on the bank of a river. Almora has two universities, Kumaun University and Uttarakhand Residential University. Almora has a total of 23 Primary Schools, 7 Middle Schools, 2 Secondary Schools, and 9 Senior Secondary Schools.

All India Radio has a local station in Almora which transmits programs of mass interest. Almora station of A.I.R. was founded in June 1986 and is a primary channel station running on mediumwave catering to the whole of Kumaon division.

 The main service providers are Dish TV and Doordarshan. BSNL, Vodafone and Airtel have the three largest cellular networks in the city. There are Internet cafés in and around the city, but broadband connectivity is limited. Satellite dishes exist in most homes in the region and the channels available throughout India are also available here.

Multiple local Hindi and English newspapers are published, whereas regional and national Hindi and English newspapers, printed elsewhere in India, are also circulated in Almora. several historical newspapers and magazines have been published from Almora like Prabuddha Bharata, Almora Akhbar, Shakti and Swadhin Praja, etc.

In 1871 A.D. Pt. Buddhiballav Pant opened a debating club. When Sir William Muir, the then provincial Governor, came here he was highly pleased with the working of this club. It is said that he also advised to open a press here and publish a newspaper. Mr. Pant, as advised, opened a press here and started publishing a weekly magazine, Almora Akbar. this was the oldest Hindi weekly of this province. In 1913 A.D. Badri Datt Pandey took over the editing work of the magazine. Almora Akhbar made much progress; The number of its customers rose from 50-60 to 1500; however, it was closed in 1917. In 1918 one of the partners purchased the Debating Club Press and named it Vindhyavasini Press. From 1922 A.D. a weekly named Zila Samachar began to be published. Later on, it came to be called Kumaun Kumud and was still being published until the late 1930s.

In 1893-94, Babu Devidas opened Kumaun Printing Press which published a weekly named Kurmanchal Samachar. Another weekly named Kurmanchal Mitra was also published but it was stopped after some time. The Prabuddha Bharata started publication in August 1898 from Almora and was edited by Swami Swarupananda. In 1918 A.D. Badri Datt Pandey with the help of his friends opened a press named Deshbhakta and started publishing a magazine Shakti from it. Being displeased at the policy of Shakti, some of his partners filed suits and withdrew their shares and in 1919 A.D. opened Sombari Press from which for some time a magazine named 'Jyoti' was published. Later on, this press also was sold and the publication was stopped. Shakti continued published till 1942, when owing to policies of the government, its publication was stopped. The publication resumed again in 1946 with the efforts of Pandit Gobind Ballabh Pant.

In 1930 A.D. a paper named Swadhin Praja was published. Its director was patriot Victor Mohan Joshi. In 1934 A.D. a weekly named Samta was published. Directed by an artisan, Hari Prasad Tamta, it received a monthly help of Rs. 2001- from the government. Formerly it was printed in Indra Printing Press but later the publication shifted to Krishna Press in Haldwani" href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haldwani">Haldwani. Since 1935 A.D. an illustrated monthly magazine named Natkhat is being published from Indra Printing Press. Almora has been a center of attraction for many famous people from all over the world. some of the names are. Swami Vivekanand, Rabindra Nath Tagore, Jawahar Lala Nehru, dr Ronald ross, anagrika Govinda, Alfred Sorensen, Uma Thurman, and Prasun Joshi, etc. all these peoples came from different parts of the world and had an excellent reputation in different professions but all of them work commonly attracted to this heavenly place called Almora. The scenic beauty, the warm culture, and solace magnetized all the people at the same level. Apart from it, there are also very well known names who also belonged from Almora they are the famous sons and daughters of heaven on earth. First among than is Govind Vallabh Panth who was a noted freedom fighter, chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and also home minister of India, then the poet Sumitra Nandan panth who was born in the village of Almora, Shivani a well known and popular Hindi writer and prasoon Joshi both are the famous sons and daughters of Almora.