Praveen Singh Bisht · Naini Lake, Nainital, Uttarakhand, India.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0) · https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Naini_Lake,_Nainital,_Uttarakhand,_India.jpg
Nainital
A lake filling a bowl in the Kumaon hills, with a town wrapped tightly around it. Genuinely lovely out of season, and genuinely overwhelmed in it.
Nainital
A lake town that is either delightful or unbearable, depending almost entirely on when you come.
Explore Nainital on the map
City locations, drawn from our published destination data. Attractions, hotels and restaurants are not mapped yet.
What Nainital is for
A lake, a ridge of viewpoints, and walking.
On and around the lake
- Boating on Naini Lake — rowing boats and pedalos, and the yacht club's sailboats on the water most afternoons.
- The Mall Road, running along the eastern shore, which is where the town's evening happens.
- Naina Devi Temple at the northern end, a Shakti Peetha and an active shrine rather than a viewpoint.
- Walking the far shore — the Thandi Sadak on the quieter western side is the best thirty minutes in town.
Above the town
- Snow View, reached by cable car, which on a clear day looks north to the high Himalaya.
- Tiffin Top and Land's End, reached on foot or on horseback through deodar forest.
- The lakes beyond — Bhimtal, Sattal and Naukuchiatal, all under an hour away and far quieter.
- Kainchi Dham, the ashram associated with Neem Karoli Baba, about forty-five minutes out.
How long to give it
The sensible minimum
A day for the lake, the Mall and a viewpoint; a second for the quieter lakes or Kainchi Dham.
Better
Adds time to walk, and to visit Kainchi Dham and the lake cluster without compressing either into a morning.
Common
Many travellers use Nainital for two nights before moving deeper into Kumaon to Almora, Ranikhet or Kausani.
Where people go
Jim Corbett about 2.5 hrs, Almora about 2.5 hrs, Ranikhet about 2 hrs, Mukteshwar about 2 hrs.
How to reach and move
Rail to the foothills, then a climb.
Getting here
- Kathgodam is the railhead, about 35 km below, and is well connected to Delhi. The climb from there takes about ninety minutes.
- Delhi is roughly 300 km and seven to eight hours by road — a long day, not a weekend dash however often it is done as one.
- Pantnagar is the nearest airport with limited services; Dehradun and Delhi are the practical alternatives.
Getting around
- The town is walked. Mall Road is closed to traffic at busy periods and the lake circuit is about 3.5 km on foot.
- The terrain is steep. Anything off the lakeside involves real climbing, and this matters if mobility is a concern.
- Parking is scarce and congested in season. If you are driving, ask your accommodation about parking before arriving.
- Taxis and shared jeeps serve the outlying lakes and Kumaon towns.
When to visit
Season changes this town more than most.
Clear air, comfortable days, far fewer people. The best time by a distance.
Domestic holiday season. Very crowded, traffic heavy, accommodation expensive. Lovely weather, difficult town.
Heavy rain, landslide risk on the approach roads, and views largely absent. Green and quiet, with real travel disruption.
Cold, sometimes snow, and very quiet. Clear mornings give the best Himalayan views of the year.
Snow View and Tiffin Top look north to the high peaks on a clear day. Haze and cloud hide them often, particularly in summer.
The town's character
A Kumaoni town beneath a colonial layer.
What shapes it
- The British established Nainital in the 1840s and it became the summer capital of the United Provinces — the churches, the Mall and the boarding schools all date from that.
- Naina Devi Temple is older and more important than any of it: the lake is held to be one of the sites where Sati's eyes fell, which is where the name comes from.
- Underneath the holiday town is an ordinary Kumaoni one, and it is worth seeking out in the upper bazaars.
What to eat
- Kumaoni home cooking — bhatt ki churkani, aloo ke gutke, madua (finger millet) roti — is the regional food, though it is easier to find in smaller towns than on the Mall.
- Bal mithai, the brown milk fudge rolled in sugar balls, is the Kumaon sweet and is sold everywhere here.
- Mall Road eating is holiday food — chaat, momos, bakeries and ice cream. Enjoyable, not regional.
- Local fruit is genuinely good in season: apricots, plums and peaches from the surrounding hills.
Practical tips
Timing, terrain and honest expectations.
Getting the most from it
- Come midweek if you possibly can. Weekend arrivals from Delhi transform the town, and not for the better.
- Do the lake circuit on foot early, before the boats and the crowds start.
- Boating depends on weather. Operations stop in high wind and heavy rain, and the lake can close without notice.
- Do not count on the Himalayan view. Snow View and Tiffin Top deliver it on clear days and show cloud on many others.
Practicalities and stays
- Lakeside is central and noisy; Ayarpatta and the ridge above are quieter and involve a climb every time you come back.
- The terrain is steep everywhere except the Mall. Anyone with limited mobility should stay lakeside and plan around it.
- Accommodation ranges from old colonial hotels to modern mid-range; book well ahead for peak season and weekends.
- Evenings are a walk along the Mall, boating at dusk and dinner. There is no nightlife to speak of, and we would not invent any.
Nearby
The quieter Kumaon is close.
Related to Nainital
Journeys that include Nainital — each one visits the city as part of its itinerary.
Common questions
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