travelling on treks: Nainital

Travel with me to Nainital ,a beautiful hill-station that is surrounded by lakes. The lakes around Nainital are Bhimtal that is the biggest and named after Bhima. Naukuchiatal and Sattal are other lakes that add beauty to Nainital.

view from the hotel

Nainital where lakes are everywhere and scenic beauty spell bounds the imagination

distant view of himalayas

its a joy to travel to the mango shaped Naini lake with beautiful scenery in it’s back ground .Pleasant weather to enhance the already beautiful surroundings and lovely people to interact to, is what I mean by Nainital. The place is reachable by train at Kotgodam which is around 200 km from Nainital. We travelled by train to Kotgodam and took taxi to Nainital. It was early in the morning when we reached Kotgodam and hopped onto taxi to view the scenic beauty at dawn. It took us fair amount of time to reach Nainital but I enjoyed the ride ,taking breaks to have tea and parathas. Travelling becomes fun if you add parathas to it.

When we reached Nainital it was around 9am in the morning ,our hotel was right there on the outskirts of the lake. It was a steep ascent to reach our hotel, as if it was located on a mountain. I don't know how the driver managed to do this but i really admired his talent.

Our hotel was lovely and so was the service i was loving the place. Through our balcony i could see the clouds roaming over the mountains .Small houses were build on the hills which were sparsely distributed. I could stand whole day in the balcony and not get bored seeing the mountains.

We started our day walking on the outskirts of the lake. The place had been beautifully designed with iron molding and grills which gave it a certain British look. The seats on the roads were plenty for travelers to sit and admire the nature. We travelled a lot on foot there.

The whole day we were travelling around Naini jheel and absorbing the elements of nature.

Nainital

We started our travelling session by visiting the caves inside Nainital. The place boasted of many art pieces displayed in the outdoors. The caves were plenty and it was scary to enter the dark corners of caves.

We travelled to Bhimtal, named after Mahabharata character. It was a calm lake and ducks were swimming there graciously. We visited a temple there and prayed for good health so that we can travel more.

We tried our hand at boating at Naukuchiyatal lake. The boat was more of a shikara and we had the privilege of rowing the boat ourselves. Tired of the adventure travelling around Nainital, we headed back to our hotel. The place seemed like heaven after so many hours of travelling.

Next day we started our day by visiting a local zoo. Everybody we asked said "oh! Its just up there, not a big deal". But it was the biggest deal in my life. The ascent was steep and seemed never ending. We crossed so many houses on our way up but the zoo never came. We toiled our way high and high until we could see our hotel and Naini lake from a fair height but zoo was still out of reach.

tiger at nainital zoo

leopard at zoo

After a long time of climbing and panting we did reach our destination. We had travelled quite far from our hotel. It started to snow as we reached there. It was not a very heavy snowfall but little flakes of ice settled on our head. I was very excited to see the snow falling ,it was my first experience.

The zoo was beautiful and we could see number of wild creatures in there, tigers, leopard, bear and deer, to name a few. Bird cages were also exciting with all different kind of species there on display. It was a fun day as I had discovered a new mountain climber in me.

    Next day we shopped and hopped around in Nainital market. We brought some woolen clothing with us and loads of sweet memories. Travel to Nainital was dream realized as we had fun day after day.

Food
       Food had variety to it.I specially enjoyed the punjabi recipes.A Panjabi restaurant name Sher-e-Punjab was mind-blowing. Wood's and embassy are also good.

Transport
      Nainital is around 350 km from Delhi
Airport-Pant nagar airport, served by Jagson airlines.
Train from Kathgodam 35 km from Nainital. Taxi can be take from Kathgodam.

Best time to travel-May to July

Places to see

Nanda devi temple Nainital

Naina Devi Temple, one of the renowned Shakti Peeths in Hinduism, holds immense religious significance in Nainital. Situated at the northern end of the famous Nainital Lake, this sacred place is dedicated to Goddess Naini Devi. The temple symbolizes the deity through a depiction of her two eyes. Pilgrims from distant locations visit this holy temple to seek blessings from Maa Naina Devi.

Perched atop the Naina hillock near the Naini Lake, the temple attracts a large number of devotees annually. In close proximity to the Naina Devi Temple, there are several shops where visitors can purchase prasad (offering to the deity) and pooja items.

Tiger caves complex

Eco Cave Gardens, located near Nainital, is a hidden gem waiting to be discovered. This enchanting destination comprises a series of untouched natural caves that have been transformed into an eco-garden by Nainital Tourism. Travelers from around the globe are captivated by the charm and quirkiness of this distinctive garden. It is located in the lake city of Nainital, these remarkable caves are considered a must-visit attraction for visitors.

St.John church

Nainital zoo.