Almora, Uttarakhand

After spending two good days in Kausani, we started from there to explore Almora. On our way one of our travel mates shouted" wild fox" I was in dilemma whether to take out my camera lens or get a glimpse of that fox. I chose the latter. A red colored little animal with a long broom like tail was crossing the road into the forest. Our driver stopped the car giving us the opportunity to take in the scenic view of the landscape and then guess what we discovered? Marijuana leaves! Since our driver was a knowledgeable man, he shared some insights about that very plant with us-

Marijuana Leaves

The Cannabis plant's leaves share resemblance with the leaves of marigold plant. It is believed to be a native plant of India, where it possibly originated in a region just north of the Himalayan mountains. Interestingly all the parts of this plant are used as different type of drugs:  the female sativa cannabis plant.  Marijuana (weed, pot, ganja, etc.) is made from the dried flowering tops, leaves, stems and sometimes seeds of the plant, often mixed together. Hash is the pure resin separated and collected from the flowering tops of cannabis plants.  Hash, depending on the purity, varies from golden brown to black in color, and can be smoked, eaten or vaporized. The locals also put this as a herb as a garnish in their  food, to help fight the Himalayan cold.

Near Almora, in Jageshwar district, we visited another group of temples which were constructed in similar fashion  like Baijnath Temples in Bageshwar District.

I love the rays falling on the temple building making it looking more sacred and divine

 

An ancient huge bell outside the Jageshwar temples

Jageshwar

A view outside Ramkrishna Mission, Almora

Next morning our plan was to visit Nanital and in afternoon catch the train for Delhi.

Another fantastic morning in Almora.

  The two photographs above are of the same place. While in the first one the valley was covered with a river like trail of clouds, an hour later it was all clean and we could see the houses beneath. It was magical.

Layers of differently colored mountains.

In Nainital, we saw Naini Lake, the mosque, Gurudwara and temple (all near to each other) and enjoyed a brief walk at mall road.

Mosque @ Nanital

The famous Naini Lake- start of boating

Municipal corporation has inhabited these ducks here. They take a round of the lake from time to time in the whole group, their way of greeting the visitors.

Naini Lake @ Nainital

     Curious Cow 

Cities like Nanital, Almora, Kausani, Mussoorie rather whole state of Uttarakhand is a nice place to explore. We missed Binsar, a wild life sanctuary near Almora due to lack of time, you could add that in your checklist.

I hope you have enjoyed the photo-journey of the place.
Keep smiling!

For other posts on Uttarakhand click here:
-Kausani, Uttarakhand- Bheemtal, Someshwar, Baijnath

-Rudradhari, Kausani

-Golu Devta Temple, Almora