The Kingdom of Winged Men

A story of Mountains, Mughals, and Musk Deer Diplomacy

Almora Bazaar

Almora is one of the most underrated towns in the Himalayas. Its bazaar is arguably the prettiest in India, filled with stunning wood-carved houses, and its stone temples are a spectacle to behold.

Indeed it was a favourite spot for the Hippie movement back in the day. Just above Almora, you can still visit ‘Cranks Ridge,’ a destination favourite of Cat Stevens, Bob Dylan and George Harrison.

Here, the psychedelic superstar Timothy Leary went around giving acid to locals, and the beat poet Alan Ginsberg once accidentally spiked its water supply with LSD.

Bizzarely, the actress Uma Thurman even spent part of her childhood here. Her father, it turns out, was a scholar of the Himalayas and translated the Tibetan Book of the Dead!