Ccchatty12 · File:Lake Bhimtal.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lake_Bhimtal.jpg
The Lakes Below Nainital
Bhimtal, Sattal and Naukuchiatal — three quieter sheets of water twenty-odd kilometres down the hill, and the afternoon every Kumaon itinerary gives to them.
The quieter half of the Kumaon lakes
All five Kumaon itineraries spend the Nainital afternoon on the three lakes below the town, and several of them say plainly that these are the better half of the region — quieter water, more birds, and a fraction of the people on the Mall. They sit lower and warmer than Nainital: Bhimtal about twenty-two kilometres east at around 1,370 m, Sattal a little beyond it, and Naukuchiatal about twenty-six kilometres out at around 1,220 m. None of them is a place these trips sleep in, and none is a substitute for a Nainital base; they are one good afternoon, done as a loop.
Explore The Lakes Below Nainital on the map
City locations, drawn from our published destination data. Attractions, hotels and restaurants are not mapped yet.
Three lakes, three different things
They are close together and they are not interchangeable.
Bhimtal
- The largest lake by surface area in the Kumaon division — larger than Naini Lake, and far less busy
- A volcanic bedrock island near the southern dam, with a municipal aquarium on it, reached by ferry
- The Bhimeshwar temple on the southern shore, rebuilt in 1667 by Baz Bahadur Chand
Sattal
- A cluster of seven interconnected freshwater lakes rather than a single sheet
- Oak and pine down to the water, and one of the better-known birding sites in Kumaon
- The quietest of the three, and the one that rewards time rather than a photograph
Naukuchiatal
- The lake of nine corners, and the deepest in the Nainital region
- Local tradition holds that seeing all nine at once grants a wish — the itineraries repeat it, and so does everyone there
- The furthest out of the three and usually the last stop of the afternoon
Getting there
Down the hill from Nainital, and best done as one loop.
From Nainital
- Bhimtal is about 22 km east, and the road drops steadily the whole way
- Sattal and Naukuchiatal are a few kilometres beyond it, close to one another
- A private vehicle is what every itinerary uses; the three do not connect on foot
In the day
- All five itineraries give them the afternoon of the Nainital sightseeing day
- Half a day covers all three at a reasonable pace; a full one lets Sattal be more than a stop
When to go
Afternoon by default; mornings if birds are the reason.
Time of day
- The itineraries take them in the afternoon, after the Nainital viewpoints
- For birding at Sattal, early morning is the hour, which means restructuring the day
Season
- Winter and the months after the monsoon bring migrant birds to Sattal
- The lower altitude means these lakes stay noticeably warmer than the town above
Worth knowing
How to use the afternoon rather than drive it.
Choosing
- Three lakes in an afternoon is a real pace — picking two and doing them properly is often better
- Bhimtal for the scale and the island, Sattal for the quiet and the birds, Naukuchiatal for the water itself
Boating
- Boats operate on all three and are arranged at the lakeside
- What is running on a given day depends on conditions and local operation
What these are not
- They are an excursion from Nainital, not places these itineraries stay
- Bhimtal is a town as well as a lake; this page is about the water, which is what the afternoon is for
Close by
Back up the hill, and the town the afternoon starts from.
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