Nanda Devi Temple

The Nanda Devi Temple sits in the middle of Almora town in the Kumaon hills and honours Nanda Devi, a form of the goddess Durga who is worshipped locally as a destroyer of evil. The shrine is around a thousand years old and is linked with the Chand Dynasty, the rulers whose legacy still shapes Kumaon.

Its design follows the traditional hill style. A stone amalaka, the ribbed disc seen on north Indian temple towers, tops the building, with a wooden roof set around it. The outer walls carry detailed carvings by craftsmen of that period, and snow-covered Himalayan peaks can be seen from the town around it.