Champavati

Champavati, also called Champawat, lies beside the stream from which it takes its name in the hills of Kumaon. It was the early capital of the Chand rulers, who built the stone-carved Baleshwar temple in the twelfth century. Local tradition honours Champavati, sister of the Nagas, who is said to have performed penance near the temple; a shrine within the complex bears her name.

The rajas of Kumaon kept their royal court here until the middle of the sixteenth century, when they moved their capital to Almora. A mound near the old fort is revered as Kurmachal, associated with Vishnu's tortoise incarnation. After the British occupation of Kumaon, a military cantonment was established at Champawat and moved to Lohaghat in 1815.