Kausani

Kausani sits on a narrow ridge at about 1,890 metres above the Someshwar and Garur valleys, and it faces a long stretch of the Himalayan wall, with Trisul, Nanda Devi and Panchachuli visible across roughly three hundred kilometres of horizon on a clear day; Gandhi stayed here in 1929 and wrote of it, and the ashram he used is now a small museum. Below the village, tea gardens planted on the slopes are open to walk through, with a factory selling the crop. The Anasakti Ashram, the Lakshmi Ashram founded by a follower of Gandhi, and a small temple complex are the other fixed points.

What you actually see

• The Himalayan view - a long unbroken stretch of the chain from the ridge.
• The tea gardens - slopes of tea below the village with a working factory.
• Anasakti Ashram - Gandhi's lodging, now a small museum.
• The valley terraces - farmed slopes dropping away on both sides.

When to go

March to June and September to November; the monsoon closes the view in cloud for weeks. October and November are the clearest months. Winter is cold and very clear.

Honest expectations

The view is the entire reason to come, and it fails completely on hazy or cloudy days. The village itself is small with limited to do. Hotel rooms facing the peaks cost considerably more.

Nearby

Almora lies south; Baijnath temples are close by.