Nainital is a very famous and beautiful hill station in the Uttarakhand state of India located in the Kumaon region at an elevation of approx. 2000m. It is one of the nearest and dazzling hill station that can be visited from Delhi as a weekend trip. The place is famous for its beautiful Lake, Boating, Naina Devi Temple and snow view point situated at uphill. Beauty of the hill station attracts every traveler at an extent that they won’t be able to resist from visiting the place again and again. The cool breeze on the mall road beside the Naini Lake in the evening till night is a good place to walk through the side lane starting from the exit of bus stand till the Naina Devi Temple.
How to reach Nainital
By Air: The closest airport to Nainital is located in Pantnagar at a distance of 70 km and almost all the domestic carriers fly to the Airport from all the metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, etc. The flight tickets would cost INR 2000-5000 depending on the city of departure. From Pantnagar Airport, one can easily get a cab or bus that would take about 2 hours to reach Nainital and would cost you about INR 2000 for cab and INR 120 for bus.
By Bus: Nainital can be reached in an overnight journey via bus which will take 9 hours to reach and the fare will be about INR 600-1000. Many Volvo and Uttarakhand Transport Corporation buses ply from Delhi. The bus will drop you just a 300 to 400 meters away from Mall road.
By Train: This is the one I preferred, Nainital can be reached easily via train with its halt at Kathgodam which is the nearest railway station to Nainital. From Kathgodam, the rest of the journey of about 36 km can be reached via bus or taxi in 1 hour 30 minutes. The fare would cost somewhere between INR 2000 (INR 520 3AC Train+1500 Taxi and INR 100 for bus) in total.
By Taxi/Car: Even you can go with this option as well if you love driving. Enjoy the 7-8 hour trip on well-maintained roads of Uttarakhand along with greenery and fresh breeze. This road trip would cost INR 6000-7000 if you book a taxi and if you drive your car there then enjoy the trip to the fullest.
Best time to visit Nainital
Nainital is evergreen throughout the year, however best time would be from March to June when summer spring season is spread in the environment beautifying the state with greenery and freshness. The temperature fluctuate from 11° to 28° in March till June and 0° to 15° in October till February. Winter or spring lovers can choose their best time to visit as per their preference. Anyways what I think Nainital can be visited in almost every season since it’s the nearest hill station from Delhi and well connected Rail Gauge just to spend a peaceful weekend.
Stay In Nainital
- The Earl’s Court by Leisure Hotel: The hotel would cost approx. INR 2500-5000 that is 1.2 km away from Mall road or Naina Devi Temple.
- Lake Side Inn Nainital: Price range of the hotel is about INR 1500-4000 and is located beside the Naini Lake on the Mall road, very near to bus stand.
- Hotel Maharaja: The hotel is located at a walkable distance from the famous mall road and bus stand, Tallital. The stay would cost about INR 1500-3500.
- Trishital Residency, Bhimtal: Price range is around INR 1000 this one is near Bhimtal Lake.
- Hotel HK Legacy (at a walking distance from Mall road): Price range of this hotel is approx. INR 800, near zoo road and about 350m away from Naini Lake.
Best Places to Visit
- Naini Lake: Most famous lake of Nainital known as Naini Lake is a natural fresh water body. Shape of this lake is like a mango/kidney/crescent. You can enjoy the beauty of the lake and the mountains while boating in it, you cannot refrain from admiring scenic view. This lake is situated just beside the Mall road. Your enjoyment will be doubled if you will book your hotel room at Mall road.
- Snow View Point: It is a particular point which is just 2km away from main city. Here, you will be easily able to reach through rope way by enjoying the beautiful view of lake and mountains. After reaching to this point you will notice a huge pair of binoculars installed at the top for public. It is used to get closer look of mountain range covered with snow. Believe me it’s worth visiting.
- Naina Devi Temple: This temple is situated beside the Nainital Lake at north corner. We can easily walk through Mall road by enjoying cool breeze, lake view and reach the temple. This temple has been sacred place for devotees since ages. Devotees come from all over India to take the blessing of Naina Devi. Inside the temple there is a huge and beautiful Peepal tree, which gives shelter to visitors. There are two beautiful eyes which represents Goddess Naina Devi.
- Tiffin Top: Tiffin Top is a particular view point from where you can get a 360° glimpse of whole Nainital, located at a distance of 4 km from main town in Ayarpatta region of Nainital. It is one of the best picnic spot, also for photography shots, one can have lunch, hiking or whatever they wanna do. It is best place for nature lovers. You trek to the place and enjoy the views and trails from top, from here you will witness one of the best offing.
- High Altitude Zoo: The High Altitude Zoo also known as GB Pant High Altitude Zoo is known for its intriguing location at 2,100 meters above sea level. The Zoo is expanded across 4.6 acres of lush greenery, built in 1984 this zoo is one among the only three high altitude zoos in India. People can spot Royal Bengal tigers, Tibetan Wolves, the Himalayan Bear, Hill Partridge, Kalij Pheasant, and Red Jungle fowl. The entry fee of the Zoo is INR 50 for adults, INR 20 for children, INR 25 for still camera and INR 200 for professional video camera.
- The Mall Road: The Mall Road is the best place for walking alongside the lake in morning and evening. The whole lane is constructed during the British Colonial rule parallel to Naini Lake interfacing the two closure of the town. Shopaholic’s can spend time here purchasing cloths, gifts, bags, handicrafts and local artefacts for their family and friend.
Eateries in Nainital
- Machaan Restaurant: It’s Chinese restaurant in Mall Road, Nainital and offers both veg-non veg food.
- Zooby’s Kitchen Restaurant: It is very famous dine in restaurant in Mall Road, Mallital.
- Chandni Chowk Restaurant: If you are missing delicious Delhi food, so it is the best restaurant for you in mall road.
- Nanak Restaurant: You will find mouth-watering, tasty Punjabi food here, located in Mall Road.
- Simz Cafe: This cafe is popular for its cake and cookies and also for yummy sandwiches. It is located in Thandi Road.
- Giannis Pure Veg Restaurant: It is perfect for vegetarians, it offers you pure vegetarian foods. It is located in Mall Road.
- Pahadi Kitchen: It is a great place to enjoy local pahadi food, in Mall Road.
My Experience
At the end, let’s go through my experience of how I enjoyed on my 3 days stay in Nainital, this might be a helpful guide for my traveller friends reading this. I and my three friends started our journey from New Delhi, we boarded Ranikhet Special Train on Friday night at around 8:20 pm and reached by 4:55 am in morning. We booked a cab from railway station itself and enjoyed sunrise on our way to Nainital. After looking 3-4 hotels we checked in a hotel, (Lake Side Inn) at mall road to enjoy the lake view. After relaxing for an hour we headed to enjoy our trip by exploring and witnessing the beauty of Nainital. We started with boating in Naini lake taking round of the whole lake from starting to end and took blessing of Naina Devi. In the evening we were walking all along at the mall road, clicking pictures, enjoying cool breeze and simultaneously enjoying the street food of the stalls at Mall Road, example: chilla, momos, chocolate milk, sweet corn etc. After having our dinner, we went back to hotel, next morning we had our breakfast (Aloo paratha and Tea) at terrace garden of the hotel and enjoyed sunrise of Nainital. This day we planned to visit Snow View Point, we took ropeway and enjoyed scenic view of Nainital. We were indulge in the astonishing view of snow covered mountain range. We took our lunch and explored the market over there only, we spent our entire day by clicking photos and visited few tea gardens. Our next day’s plan was to visit Tiffin Top, again we visited Naina Devi Temple and then left for tiffin top we got some snack with ourselves to enjoy at tiffin top. It’s 2.6 km away from mall road and a very nice place for hiking. We enjoyed our full day over there and returned by evening. It was difficult to leave the place but we had our buses booked for Delhi in the night. So finally we left the place with lots of memories along with us.
