Kausani

A ridge above two valleys

Kausani is a small hill village in Bageshwar district, in the Kumaon hills of Uttarakhand, at about 1,890 m. It sits on a pine-covered ridge, with the Someshwar valley on one side and the Garur and Katyur valley on the other. What people come for is the view to the north: a long line of snow peaks, about 300 km wide, that includes Trishul, Nanda Devi and Panchachuli. There is no lake, no mall road and not much nightlife. Most visitors spend their time looking at mountains, walking and eating well.

Gandhi and the Switzerland line

In June 1929 Mahatma Gandhi stopped in Kausani to rest during a tour of Kumaon and stayed about two weeks, longer than he had planned. He worked here on his commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, published as Anasakti Yoga. He is widely quoted as calling Kausani the "Switzerland of India". The bungalow he stayed in is now the Anasakti Ashram, with a prayer hall and a small museum of his stay.

A poet's village

Kausani is also the birthplace of the Hindi poet Sumitranandan Pant, born here in 1900. His father managed a local tea garden, and Pant's early poems are full of these hills. His childhood home, a short walk from the bus stand, is now a small museum with his letters, drafts and awards. A little way along the ridge is the Lakshmi Ashram, started by Sarla Behn, an Englishwoman who worked with Gandhi and settled here in the 1940s to run a school for hill girls.

Around Kausani

The Kausani Tea Estate spreads over the slopes below the ridge, and its factory at Pingalkot makes orthodox tea for the state tea board. Down in the valley, about 16 km away, the Baijnath temples are a group of 18 old stone shrines on the Gomti river, built under the Katyuri kings. Rudradhari Falls is a waterfall and cave shrine about 12 km from town, reached by a short walk from the road. Bageshwar, the district town, is about 40 km away at the meeting of the Saryu and Gomti rivers.

Getting there

The nearest railway station is Kathgodam, and the nearest airport is Pantnagar. From either, it is a long mountain drive through Almora, which is about 52 km from Kausani. Shared taxis and buses run along the Almora–Bageshwar road. Allow a full day of travel from the plains.

When the view shows

The peaks are clearest from October to February, after the monsoon has washed the air clean. Spring and early summer are pleasant but often hazy. From July to September clouds usually hide the range, and hill roads can close after heavy rain. The best time to visit page goes month by month.