About Nainital

Nainital , Uttaranchal is famous not just for its green hills or many lakes. It is also famous for it's many legends and stories. Hundreds of ancient temples and peaks with astounding views of the mountains in the background add to Nainital's magical appeal.The history of this dainty town sails over the surface of the Naini Lake, where oarsmen narrate the stories of the rishis who brought the waters of the sacred Mansarovar River to formSuffocating at times with thousands of tourists, Nainital is also home to Sherwood, one of India's most prestigious schools.

According to a legend Parwati the daughter of King Daksha held a great 'Yajna' but did not invite Parvati and her consort Shiva. Parvati could not bear this direct insult, in her great fury Parvati gate-crashed into the 'Yajna' ground and leaped into the high flames of 'Yajna' fire to end her life.And later lord Shiva retrieved her half-charred corpse himself. The majority of the local people believe that the eyes of Sati dropped in the lake while her body was being carried by Lord Shiva to Kailesh Parvat. Hence,the lake was given the name of 'Nainital' or Naini lake. Later the spot became famous by this very name.

Nainital was founded in the year 1841 by Mr. P. Barron, a European merchant and an enthusiastic hunter from Rosa, near Shahjahanpur. Mr.P.Barron was the first European who took great fancy to this land. Moved by the beauty of the sparkling lake he wrote: "It is by far the best site I have witnessed in the course of a 1,500 miles treak in the Himalayas." It is very less is known about the history of Nainital. This region was called Khasdesh in ancient times and Khasis ruled this region before Christ was born. The name "NAINI" is derived from a temple to the goddess 'Naini Devi" built on the upper edge of the lake and was destoyed by the landslip of 1880. It was subsequently replaced by a modern structure. The word "Naini" means 'Eyes'and 'Tal' means 'Lake'.

Nainital (Location)

Nainital is 34 Km from Kathgodam, the gateway of Kumaon and the terminus of North Eastern Railway. It is 304 km from Delhi, capital of India, and 388 km from Lucknow the State capital. According to the District Gazetteer Nainital is situated at 29 degree 24' north latitude and 79 degree 28' east longitude, in a valley of the Gagar range running east and west, which is bounded on the north by the peak of China, which rises to a height of 8.568 feet, continued by the Alma peak (presently known as Snow-View) and the Sher-Ka-Danda to the eastern extremity, where the ridge descends almost to the level of the lake. On the west the rugged hill of Deopatha rises to a height of 7,987 feet, and on the south Ayarpatha attains an elevation of 7,461 feet diminishing gradually towards the east.

Climate

Nainital, owing to its location, is colder than the rest of the hilly tract of Kumaon region. During monsoon, it gets heavy rainfall. The climate, therefore, is damp. The neighbouring areas of Almora and Ranikhet are warmer than Nainital. Similarly humidity in Nainital is less than in other hill towns. The monthly maximum and minimum temperature of the town ranged between 28.06 degree C and 7.06 degree C.

Transportation

• Air: The nearest airport is at Pant Nagar, 71 km away, which is linked with flights to Delhi.
• Rail:Kathgodam 35 Kms. away is the last terminus of broad gauze line of North East Railways connecting Nainital with Delhi & Howarah . Ranikhet express departs from Old Delhi railway station at 11 PM daily , it reaches Kathgodam at 6 AM . Two coaches are attached in Ranikhet express for Dehradun daily .
  Bagh Express connects Kathgodam directly to Howarah via Lucknow. Lalkua Junction 56 Kms. from Nainital is another terminal point of meter gauze line of North East Railways . Nainital Express connects Lalkua with Lucknow while Kumaun Express connects Lalkua with Agra via Bareilly. Ramnagar 65 Kms away acts as an alternative outlet for Delhi & Lucknow.
• Road: Nainital is connected to National Highway No. 87. Regular roadways buses run from Delhi, Agra, Dehradun, Haridwar, Lucknow, Kanpur & Bareilly daily . Beside this luxury coaches are available from Delhi for this place.

Naini Lake

The nucleus of Nainital’s exquisite beauty is beautiful lake .In the day ,mirrored in its waters stand seven proud hills,dotted with pretty cottages and villas . This reflection alone holds one spell bound. More beautiful than this however is the lake at night when the myriads of bulbs from the hill sides and quite a large number hanging near the lake’s edge stab their magic light into its waters.

The lake offers the holiday makers ample opportunity for yachting, boating or paddling the boat. Rowing as well as paddling boats are available at both ends of lake.

The north end of lake is called Mallital while the southern one is called Tallital which have a bridge (Danth popularly named) having Gandhiji's statue and post office on its sides .It is the only Post Office on the lake bridge in whole of the world.There is Bus Station , Taxi stand and Railway reservation counter on the same lake bridge , both ends have well laid out shopping centres,with beautifully laid of marts ,stores and luxury shops.

The Flatts

At the northern side of the lake there is a place of rendezvous for people from all walks of life . Here evenings are heavily crowded. There is a statue of Pt. Govind Ballabh Pant and a beautiful fountain . There is a band stand . The Flats has playing ground used for sports games and cultural activities during festivals. There is Chat Bazar,Bhotia Market in the flats . In Bhotia Market vendors sell their fancy items .There is Mosque,Gurudwara and Naina Devi temple in flatts.Capitol cinema and Rink theatre which is used for roller skating are also situated in Flatts.A portion of the flatts is used for car parking .New club ,Boat House club ,Masonic Hall are in the periphery of the flatts for recreation.

Zoo

Around one Km. away from bus stand at an altitude of 2100 meters in sprawling open area there is Govind Ballabh Pant High Altitude Zoo . Now a days it has Monkeys, Himalayan black bear ,Leopard ,Siberian Tiger,Palm civet cat, Wolf, Silver Pheasants, Rose ringed Prakeet, Hill Fox , Ghoral, Barking Deer, Sambhar. The zoo remains closed for visitors on Monday, all national holidays , Holi & Diwali.

Aerial Ropeway

It is one of the main attractions of Nainital. This ro peway connects Snow-View Point (at 2270 Mts.) with Nainital near flats. Aerial ropeway starts at Mallital , there are two trolleys to carry passengers .It takes approx. 151.7 seconds to cover one way journey by trolley .Cabin capacity is 10+1 or 825 kg.
Timings 10 AM to 4 PM

Lands End

Its altitude is 2118 mts. & it is located at about 4 Kms from the town. The best feature of this spot is that one does not have to climb much and as the name suggests one feels on reaching the area that the end of the land has really come. Needless to say the view of the neighboring hills and valley and the Khurpatal lake is exquisite from this point. One can go to Barapathar on a vehicle and then walk about one Km. up to the spot.

Horse Riding

Horse riding is another important attraction for tourists in Nainital . Horses can be hired at Barapatthar . Several tourist use horses as their transport mode to visit the different peaks of Nainital.Horse Riding is now strictly prohibitted inside the Nainital town.

Kilbury

At an altitude of 2194 mts. and 10 Kms. from the town this place is accessible by a motor able road. There is a forest rest house for night stay.Kilbury is an ideal spot for a quiet and peaceful holiday.

Naina Peak or China Peak

Naina peak is the highest peak of the town , at an altitude of 2611 mts. and at a distance of 6 Kms from the town .It commands an entrancing view of sparkling snow laden Himalayas from Bandar Punch in west to Api and Nari peaks of Nepal in the east , a full Himalayan range in one side and a birds eye view of the lake city of Nainital in its full grandeur on the other. With a pair of binoculars a good panorama of the tract surrounding Nainital is obtained . Pony or Horses can be hired to visit this peak either from Snow view or from Mallital.

Snow View

It is the most easily accessible hill top, height 2270 mts. and at a distance of 2.5 Km from the town. The spot is accessible through ropeway . This peak is also connected by motor able road. Snow view as the name suggests offers an indescribably beautiful and breath taking picture of the glittering snows of Himalyas.It has a temple . Tea,snacks,Photographers are available at this place.

Hanuman Garhi

It is around 3.5 Kms away from the bus stop at an altitude of 1951 Mts. Hanuman Garhi is a religious centre and famous for its sun set view .One can go to Hanuman Garhi by taxi, bus or even on foot from Nainital .It has a temple complex presiding deity being Lord Hanuman besides Ram and Shiva. At the instance of Neem Karoli Baba around 1950 these temples were built. On the other side of the hill there is Shitala Devi temple and Ashram of Lila Sah Bapu

Caves Garden

This feature is the latest addition in the list of numerous tourism spots in Nainital . It is located in Sukha Tal around one Km from Mallital very near to Kumaun University Campus.