Almora is a district of Uttarakhand state, India. The headquarters is at Almora.
Almora is a district in the Kumaun division of Uttarakhand in India. Almora is famous for its cultural heritage, handicrafts, cuisine and wildlife
The ancient town of Almora, before its establishment was under the possession of Katyuri king Baichaldeo. He donated major part of this land to a Gujrati Brahmin Sri Chand Tiwari Later on when Chand kingdom was founded in Baramandal, the town of Almora was founded at this centrally located place in 1568 by Kalyan Chand. In the days of the Chand Kings it was called Rajapur. The name 'Rajpur' is also mentioned over a number of ancient copper plates.
In the 1960s Bageshwar district and Champawat district had not yet been formed and were part of Almora district.
The town of Almora is situated over a horse saddle shaped ridge of a mountain. The eastern portion of the ridge is known as Talifat and the western one is known as Selifat. The market is at the top of the ridge where these two, Talifat and Selifat jointly terminate.
The market is 1.25 miles (2.01 km) long and is covered with stone slabs. The place of the present cantonment was formerly known as Lalmandi. Presently where the collectorate exists, the 'Malla Mahal' (Upper Court) of Chanda kings was located. The site of present District Hospital used to be 'Talla Mahal' (Lower Court) of Chand rulers.
Simalkhet is a village situated in the border of Almora and Chamoli. People of this village can speak both kumauni and garhwali languages On the top of a hill there is a temple called Bhairav Gadi.
Gori River flows through Almora District.
Almora was also the site of the famous dance academy set up by Udai Shankar, the famous danseuse in the 1938 - several famous Indian and French dancers trained here. The Almora dance academy was housed in Pine Lodge on the outskirts of the town (Ranidhara). The site has a fantastic views of the Himalayas and the city.
