Almora
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| Nestled
in the Kumaon hills, the hill station of Almora has
fascinated travellers from far and wide. It is one of
the very few hill stations not developed by the
English. Geographically, Almora is bound by the
district of Pithoragarh in the east, the district of
Garhwal in the west, the district of Bageshwarin in
the north and in the south by Nainital district.
Almora is placed over a picturesque horseshoe-shaped
ridge of a mountain. Some of the major attractions
here are G. B. Pant Museum, Chitai Temple, Kasar Devi
Temple and Udyotchandesvar Temple (also Nanda Devi
Temple). |
Corbett National Park
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Set up
in 1936, the Corbett National Park is India\’s first
and the finest national park. Situated in the
foothills of the western Himalayas in the districts of
Nainital and Pauri Garhwal, the park spans across some
920.9 square kilometres at an altitude of 600 to 1,100
metres. Today the park has grown considerably in size
and now includes the Sonanadi Wildlife Sanctuary as a
part of its 1,319 sq. km of reserved forest area.
The park comprises mainly the valley of the Ramganga
River. It has a varied topography which abounds with a
variety of wildlife. The wildlife includes a large
number of mammals, birds and reptiles. The river teems
with mahseer, gharial, mugger and flocks of
cormorants.
The park is quite popular for its tigers. Apart from
tigers (90 in number in 1984), leopards as well as
jungle cats and fishing cats are also found here. The
sloth bear, Himalayan black bear, dhole, jackal,
yellow-throated marten, Himalayan palm civet, Indian
grey mongoose, common otter, porcupine, and black-naped
hare are the other attractions of this area. Elephants
can be seen all over the park. |
Kasauni
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| All
mountain lovers who want to get a closer look at the
Himalayas can head for Kasauni, which is situated at
about 51 kilometres north of Almora. From here you can
have a superb view of Trishul (7120 m), the twin peaks
of Nanda Devi (7816 m), and Panchchuli or the Five
Chimneys (6904 m). |
Mukteshwar
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| Set atop
a high ridge, at about 51 km from Nainital, is one of
Kumaon\’s beautiful resorts, Mukteshwar. The resort is
full of fruit orchards and dense coniferous forests.
You can also have a fine view of the majestic
Himalayas as well as of Almora from here. Mukteshwar
is also home to the famous Indian Veterinary Research
Institute. |
Ranikhet
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| Situated
some 103 km from Dhikala, Ranikhet, as the name
suggests, is a beautiful and quiet hill station at an
altitude of 2,000 metres above sea level. It has a
pleasant climate with mild summers and chilled winter.
This is one of the few unexplored destinations in the
country where you can find a serene environment,
traffic-less streets, and hospitable people.
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Sat Tal
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| About 21
kilometres from Nainital lies Sat Tal, one of the most
picturesque resorts of Kumaon. The resort has seven
interconnected lakes. Accommodation facilities here
are provided by Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam.
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