Smit

NAINITAL

NAINITAL is a beautiful lake hill station situated at an altitude of 1938 metres above sea level in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand state of India.

I am posting here a few of my clicks of my visit to this beautiful hill station which I, alongwith my wife visited during the month of February 2015.

The Naini Lake

We started on 18th of February from Anand Vihar Terminal, Delhi boarding the ANVT-Kathgodam Shatabdi reaching Kathgodam station. Nainital is about 45 minutes drive from Kathgodam and Alto cabs are easily available from the station.

At Nainital, we stayed at Tourist Rest House (TRH), Tallital of the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN).

TRH Tallital

Our first day was a cloudy one, and after checking in, we had our lunch and went straight to the famous Mall Road.

The clouds were dense and we were expecting snowfall, but it did not occur.

The next day we decided to visit the hill town and its surrounding areas which included:

Raj Bhawan (Governor's House)
St. Nicholas Church
Eco-Cave Park
Nainital View Points
Sarita Tal
Khurpa Tal, Land's End
Lovers Suicide Point
Nainital Zoo.

St. Nicholas' Church, Nainital

One of the caves of Eco Cave park

View from Eco Cave Park

View of the Lake from Lake View Point
As it was a misty day, I could not get better view than this.

Khurpa Tal from Land's End

The stream that feeds Sarita Tal.

Sarita Tal is an artificial reservoir made for recreational purposes and houses a small Himalayan Park.

This weird looking rock was captured near the Lover's Suicide Point

Finally we came back to the Mall Road. A steep road led us to the High Altitude Zoo called G B Pant High Altitude Zoo. The Zoo is well maintained and did not see much rush of people due to off season. It houses many animals including panther, tiger, different species of birds,bear and many more animals with fur. Here are some captures from the Zoo.

The quiet Tiger

The Ferocious Panther

The Sleepy Bear

The hungry vulture

View of Nainital from the Zoo.

At the end of the day, after we were done with the local sight seeing, we attended the Naina Devi Mandir, located at the other end of the lake at Mallital.

The Thandi Sadak (cool road) lies just opposite to the Mall Road. For most part of the day it lies under the shadow of the hill and so the name.

Thandi Sadak

The Naina Devi Temple, Nainital

The next day conditions were again overcast, and we did some more local sight seeing and shopping, but it was only on the third day we were actually able to catch glimpses of the Great Himalayas.

We had also planned our visit to the other lakes of Bhimtal, Naukuchiatal and Sattal. As it was a day with clear skies, we suggested our driver to first take us to the SnowView point.

The SnowView point is a happening place with lots of recreational activities. One of the highest spots of the hill station it offers superb views of the Kumaon and the Garhwal Hmalayas. As an avid Mountain enthusiast, I was enthralled to view many majestic peaks like Kedarnath, Chaukhamba, Hathi Ghodi parbat, Trishul, Nanda Devi, Panchchuli massif and so on.
Here are some captures that we clicked:

The Trishul and Nanda Devi Peaks

Hathi and Ghodi Peaks

The Pachchuli Peaks

Kedar Dome

Trishul (Close View)

After we were done with the Himalaya Darshan, we headed towards the other lakes, i.e., Bhimtal , Naukuchiatal and Sattal.

Bhimtal is also a lake town situated at an altitude of 1370 metres above sea level. Situated almost 22 kilometres from Nainital, this lake town had its own serenity and quietness. There is a famous Aquarium situated in the middle of the lake forming an island. Boats are available for reaching the Aquarium. The Aquarium is well maintained with variety of aquatic fauna.

A wide view of the Bhimtal.

Another View

Further 4 kilometres from Bhimtal came the lake of Naukuchiatal, we stopped for lunch there and surprisigly found most of the Dhabas closed. One dhaba owner made some Maggi for us and took more than usual charges, saying it was an off season. However, we saw Naukuchiatal as the largest lake of them all and also the deepest. Here are some clicks of this place:

The Beautiful Naukuchiatal

The eateries of Naukuchiatal

While returing from Naukuchiatal, went to Hanumangarhi a temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman with a 40 feet gigantic statue. Beautiful meadows and lush greenery were also the main attraction of this place. Recreational activities like paragliding was also available nearby.

The Gigantic Statue of Lord Hanuman

The landscape

We finally headed towards Sattal, which was a group of seven lakes and an exciting Picnic Spot. Sattal, situated within the town of Bhimtal had its own freshness and charm. It is a home to several migratory birds and is one of the few unspoiled lakes of the area. We didn't have much time left as it was already dusk, so we had some himalayan lemon juice started our journey back to Nainital where we stayed. However, for information, the Seven lakes from Sattal are named as follows:

Panna Tal or Garud Tal
Nal-Damyanti Tal
Purna Tal
Sita Tal
Ram Tal
Laxman Tal
Sukha Tal or Khurdariya Tal

Sattal

Another View

We had one day left and we planned to visit Mukteshwar of Nainital District. The next day, we started our journey to Mukteshwar, which is 55 kms away from the Lake Town. The little town is situated at an elevation 2270 metres above sea level and the attractions include the 350 year old Lord Shiva Temple, Chauli ki Jaali, IVRI (Indian Veterinary Research Institute) and breathtaking views of the Himalayas. It took us nearly one and a half hour to reach Mukteshwar and on the way we halted at Tea Gardens and Village Ramgarh.

The Tea Garden on way to Mukteshwar

Another View of the Tea Gardens

The Tea Gardens were beautifully maintained and we also bought some Tea from there. The Tea they prepared was known by name Uttaranchal NandaDevi Tea. After visiting the Tea Gardens we halted at view point in Village Ramgarh, where we got some amazing views of the Great Himalayas. Here are some of the few pictures I clicked :

The Trishul Peak

The Magnificent Nanda Devi Peak (7816m)

The Panchchuli group of mountains

The Mighty Chaukhamba

Mt.Rajrambha

Nanda Kot (left) and Chhanguch

We reached the little town of Mukteshwar amidst flowering Himalayan Rhodendrons and visited the temple of Lord Shiva and surroundings. We hired a Guide who clicked some pictures for us and gave us information about the surroundings and the Temple. The temple trail was an easy one and we stayed there for about two hours before finally making it to Nainital.

Nagfan Pahad (SnakeHood Mountain)

Views of Nanda Ghunti (left) and Trishul overlooking the Town of Almora.

The Temple Trail

It's us.

On the final day, we just did some more shopping at the Tibetan market of Nainital and enjoyed some boating at the lake and did a complete round of the Lake Periphery. Overall the journey was one of the best of our lives and we look forward to visit the DevBhoomi in future again.

A few more pics I wanted to share: