Luxury Boutique hotel · Almora and Kasar Devi
The Kumaon
A small, design-led hotel on a terraced slope at Kasar Devi above Almora, with stone and timber chalets facing the high Himalaya. Its architecture won wide attention and it is one of the best places to stay in Kumaon.
Photo: Travelling Slacker · CC BY 2.0 · CommonsThe Kumaon was designed by the Sri Lankan practice Zowa Architects for a sloping, terraced site at Kasar Devi, about 8 km from Almora. Rooms are arranged in pairs, one chalet above another, and scattered across the slope to keep the buildings low. The lower chalets use stone quarried nearby; the upper ones have walls clad in bamboo, and terraces are paved in kota stone.
The effect is simple and quiet: large windows on the mountains, unplastered concrete, and terraces among pine and oak. The hotel is a good base for Kasar Devi, Crank's Ridge, Almora's Lal Bazaar, Binsar and Jageshwar. Rates are high and rooms few, so book well ahead for October and November, when the views are clearest.
Why we use it
- Distinctive architecture rooted in local materials
- Direct views of the high Himalaya from Kasar Devi
- Small and quiet, close to Almora and Binsar
Best for
The photo shows Almora and Kasar Devi, not the property itself.
Trips that stay here
Sleep here on a trip
Photo: Travelling Slacker · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Signature
Kasar Devi and Binsar, slow and private
Private car with driver
Photo: Skalvanov · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Signature
Kumaon in depth: lakes, orchards and oak
Private car with driver
Around the stay
Almora and Kasar Devi
Almora, at about 1,604 m, was the Chand kings' capital from the 1560s and is still Kumaon's cultural centre. Walk the stone-paved Lal Bazaar for bal mithai, visit the Nanda Devi temple, then stay 8 km up at Kasar Devi on the pine ridge once called Crank's Ridge. Plan two to four nights.
Photo: Alexkom000 · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Kasar Devi and the Crank's Ridge walk
Climb to the Kasar Devi temple, where Swami Vivekananda meditated in the 1890s, then walk the pine ridge beyond it that…
Photo: Ikneet · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Lal Bazaar food walk: bal mithai and singori
Walk Almora's stone-paved Lal Bazaar from end to end, tasting bal mithai, singori in its leaf cone and Kumaoni snacks, …
Photo: Enjoymusic nainital · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Chitai Golu Devta and the Katarmal sun temple
Two very different temples within 20 km of Almora: Chitai, hung with thousands of bells and petition letters to Golu De…
Questions
About The Kumaon
Where is The Kumaon hotel?
At Kasar Devi, about 8 km from Almora on the Binsar road, on a terraced slope facing the Himalaya.
Who designed The Kumaon?
The hotel was designed by Zowa Architects, a Sri Lankan practice, using local stone, bamboo cladding and terraces that follow the slope.
Is The Kumaon suitable for children?
The site is steep with many steps and the mood is quiet, so it suits couples and adults best. Ask the hotel directly about its policy on young children.
More in Kumaon
Other places to stay
Photo: SudiptoDutta · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Budget
KMVN Tourist Rest House, Binsar
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Photo: Abhijit Kar Gupta from Kolkata, India · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
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KMVN Tourist Rest House, Kausani
Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam's rest house on the Kausani ridge is one of the cheapest ways to wake up facing Trishul …
Photo: ParthaPratimNath · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
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Zostel Mukteshwar
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