Kumaon, an area of 130,176 sq km bounded by the Himalayas in the north and the green foothills of Terai and Bhabar in the south, touches the international boundaries of Nepal and Tibet. It comprises the three north eastern Himalayan districts of Uttrakhand -Pithoragarh, Almora and Nainital with terrain ranging from 180m to 7000m for any trekker who loves pristine jungles and a wide spectrum of life - on land, in water and in the sky. From times immemorial ethnic groups migrated to this area resulting in a remarkable convergence of social and cultural kinds evident to this day.

The Kumaon Hills in the central Himalayas, reaches up in rugged sweeps from the forested plains to the snowy peaks of the Nanda Devi-rishul range. The rarefied air, ringed around with mists, distils reality till it acquires a curious purity.

There are many ancient temples in the region, dating back to the Katyuri and Chand epochs. Unique in many ways, these temples are all important, and around them swirl islands of life-gay annual fairs, humming bazaars and social activities.

Garhwal

From time immemorial the hill folk and pilgrims have trekked over hill and dale due to lack of roads and transport. Adi-Shankaracharya, who trekked in the Garhwal Himalaya in the eighth century AD, was the first religious pioneer to open up trekking routes in this part of the country for the people of other regions. Now trekking is as much part of a pilgrimage as it is of an outdoors holiday.

Two ancient sanctuaries of faith stand in silence amid the mountains of Garhwal in Uttrakhand. These are the temples of Shiva and Vishnu at Kedarnath and Badrinath which have been the destination of pilgrims for centuries. Once reached after a torturous trek but easily accessible today by road.

Two ancient sanctuaries of faith stand in silence amid the mountains of Garhwal in Uttrakhand. These are the temples of Shiva and Vishnu at Kedarnath and Badrinath which have been the destination of pilgrims for centuries. Once reached after a torturous trek but easily accessible today by road.

High above the world where the mountains seem to touch the sky are the secret sources of India's sacred rivers. Here at a height of over 3,000 meters the snows melt to form the Ganga and Yamuna rivers in a deep recess of the mountains. This hallowed ground is the destination of countless pilgrims every year. For years, countless pilgrims have walked from Gangotri to reach the snout of glacier which gives birth to Ganga. Very few of them bother to travel another five kilometers along the glacier to breathtaking beautiful Tapovan, the land of Brahmakamal flower.