Almora
Almora is a municipal corporation and a cantonment town in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Almora district. Almora is located on a ridge at the southern edge of the Kumaon Hills of the Himalaya range. The Koshi and Suyal rivers flow along the city and snow-capped Himalayas can be seen in the background.
Almora was founded in 1568. by King Kalyan Chand; however, there are accounts of human settlements in the hills and surrounding region in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. 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.
According to the provisional results of the 2011 Census of India, Almora had a population of about 179,000. Nestled within higher peaks of the Himalaya, Almora enjoys a year-round mild temperate climate. There are 11 blocks in Almora district.
Etymology
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 people bringing the Bhilmora/kilmora were called Bhilmori/Kilmori and later "Almori" and the place came to be known as "Almora".When king Bhishm Chand laid the foundation of the town, he had initially named it Alamnagar. Prior to that, Almora was known as 'Rajapur' during the early phase of Chand rule. The name 'Rajpur' is also mentioned over a number of ancient copper plates. There is still a place called Rajpur in Almora.
History
Almora was founded in 1568 by Kalyan Chand during the rule of the Chand dynasty. Prior to that the region was under the control of Katyuri king Bhaichaldeo who donated a part of Almora to Sri Chand Tiwari.According to local tradition, the earliest inhabitants in Almora were Tewaris who were required to supply Sorrel daily for cleansing the vessels of the sun temple at Katarmal. Ancient lore mentioned in Vishnu Purana and Mahabharata present primordial accounts of human settlements in the city. The Sakas, the Nagas, the Kiratas, the Khasas and the Hunas are credited to be the most ancient tribes. The Kauravas and Pandavas of the Hastinapur royal family were the next important princes from the plains who are said to have affected the conquest of these parts. After the Mahabharata war the district seems to have remained for some time under the sway of the kings of Hastinapur whose authority was never more than nominal. The actual rulers were the local chiefs of whom the Kulindas were probably strong in the southern and western part of the city. The Khasas were another ancient people who belonged to an early Aryan stock and were widely scattered in those times. They gave this region the name Khasadesha or Khasamandala.
The next age was probably a period of many petty states rivalling each other for supremacy, which culminated in the inauguration of the noted and enduring dynasty of the Chands. Earlier than this, the Katyuris are recorded as the dominant clans in copper and stone engravings. The Chand dynasty from their inception in 953 A.D. to their ouster in the late 18th century present a saga of strife, with a horrifying series of wars with the rulers of Garhwal culminating in the destruction of this prosperous land and establishment of inglorious Gurkha rule. This dynasty was peculiar in that it made Almora the seat of strongest hill power in 1563 A.D. From that time onwards, the limits of the kingdom of Kumaon extended over the entire tracts of the districts of Almora and Nainital. Towards the end of the 17th century, the Chand Rajas again attacked the Garhwal kingdom, and in 1688, King Udyot Chand erected several temples at Almora, including Tripur Sundari, Udyot Chandeshwer and Parbateshwer, to mark his victory over Garhwal and Doti. The Parbateshwar temple was renamed twice, eventually becoming the present Nanda Devi temple.
In 1791, the Gorkhas of Nepal while expanding their kingdom westwards across the Kali River, invaded and overran Almora. In the meantime, the British were engaged in preventing the Gorkhas from over-running the whole of the northern frontier. The Gorkha rule lasted for twenty-four years. Due to their repeated intrusion into British territories in the Terai from 1800 onwards, Lord Moira, the Governor-General of India, decided to attack Almora in December 1814, marking the beginning of the Anglo-Gorkha war. The war that broke out in 1814 resulted in the defeat of the Gorkhas and subsequently led to the signing of the Treaty of Sugauli in 1816. According to the treaty, Nepal had to cede all those territories which the Gorkhas had annexed to the British East India Company. After the war, the old Lal Mandi fort, near Almora was renamed ‘Fort Moira’.
Unlike neighbouring hill stations such as Nainital and Shimla, which were developed by the British, Almora was developed long before by the Chand kings. The place where the present cantonment is located was formerly known as Lalmandi. Presently where the collectorate exists, the 'Malla Mahal' of the Chand kings was located. The site of the present District Hospital used to be 'Talla Mahal' of the Chand rulers. Almora had a population of 8,596 in 1901, falling to 8,359 in 1921.
Geography
Location
Almora is located at in Almora district in Uttarakhand. It is situated 365 km north-east the national capital New Delhi and 415 km south-east of 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 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 the two jointly terminate. It is surrounded by thick forests of pine, deodar and fir trees. Flowing alongside the city are the Koshi and Suyal rivers. The snow-capped Himalayas can be seen in the background.
Climate
The climate of Almora is characterised by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. The main seasons are summer from March to June, the monsoon season from July to October, and winter from November to February. In summer, Almora is largely under the influence of moist, maritime airflow from the western side of the subtropical anticyclonic 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 Köppen climate classification subtype for this climate is Cwa.The average temperature for the year in Almora is. This information is as per the Abaal Institute. The warmest month, on average, is June with an average temperature of. The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of. The average amount of precipitation for the year in Almora is. The month with the most precipitation on average is August with of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is November with an average of. There are 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 with 0.6 days.
Flora and fauna
Due to the significant variation in elevation, the region's vegetation is remarkably diverse, with 4000 species of plants represented. The species can be broadly classified into tropical, Himalayan sub-tropical, and alpine. The alpine and sub-alpine zones are considered to host the largest number of medicinal plants.The sub-alpine zones of Almora and its outskirts are a natural sanctuary for leopards, langurs, Himalayan black bears, kakars, and gorals, while the high-altitude zones are home to musk deer, snow leopards, blue sheep, thar, and others. The entire area hosts a wide variety of bird species, including the peacock, grey quail, black francolin/kala titar, whistling thrush, chakor, monal, cheer pheasant, kokla, and Kalij pheasant.
Demographics
, Almora has a population of 35,513 of which 18,306 are males, while 17,207 are females. Out of the total population, The Almora Municipal Corporation has a population of 34,122, while The Almora Cantonment Board has a population of 1,391. The population of children in the age range of 0–6 years is 3,081, which is 8.67% of the total population of Almora. The literacy rate of Almora city is 86.19%, higher than the state average of 78.82%. Male literacy is around 88.06%, while the female literacy rate is 84.21%. Almora had a population of 32,358 according to the 2001 Census of India.The earliest known reference to the population of Almora occurs in the book 'The Kingdom of Nepal' by Francis Hamilton. During his visit to Fatehgarh, Hamilton was told by Pt. Hariballav Pande that there were around a thousand houses in Almora during the Gorkha rule. Mr. G.W. Traill, the second commissioner of the Kumaon division, has written that there were 742 houses in Almora in 1821, in which 1,369 men, 1,178 women, and 968 children lived, and thus the total population of the town was 3,505.
Hinduism is practised by 90.84% 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 of Almora was established in 1864. It was upgraded to Nagar Nigam in 2024. The Almora Nagar Nigam has a population of 34,122 of which 17,358 are males while 16,764 are females as per the report released by Census India 2011. The population of children within the age range of 0–6 is 2950 which is 8.65% of the total population of Almora. In Almora Nagar Nigam, the female sex ratio is of 966 against the state average of 963. Moreover, the child sex ratio in Almora is around 857 compared to Uttarakhand's state average of 890. Literacy rate of Almora city is 94.51% higher than state average of 78.82%. In Almora, male literacy is around 96.84% while the female literacy rate is 92.13%. Schedule Caste constitutes 16.38% while Schedule Tribe were 1% of total population in Almora. Out of 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 10,057 working population, 93.25% were engaged in main work while 6.75% of total workers were engaged in marginal work. Almora Nagar Nigam has total administration over 8,014 houses to which it supplies basic amenities like water and sewerage. Almora as of 2025 is divided into 40 wards for which elections are held every 5 years.