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Naini Lake

Sujithshivam511, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Attraction · Nainital

Naini Lake

A pear-shaped lake in a bowl at 2,000 metres that a British sugar merchant came across in 1841 — and a hill station has been wrapped around it ever since.

Time needed2 hours
Best timeEarly morning
AltitudeAbout 2,000 m
BoatsRowed and paddled
About

The lake the town is named for

Nainital sits in a bowl in the Kumaon hills at about 2,000 metres, wrapped around a lake roughly a kilometre and a half long. A British sugar merchant named Barron came upon it in 1841 and the hill station followed almost immediately — which is why the town is Victorian in bones and entirely oriented to the water. The Mall runs the length of the eastern shore and is the town's main street; the Naina Devi temple stands at the northern end and is one of the Shakti Peethas, drawing pilgrims from first light. The lake is worked by rowed boats, and the rowed one is better than the pedal alternative for the simple reason that it is quiet. The name comes from the goddess: Naini, the eye.

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What to See

What to look at

The lake, and the handful of things that stand around its edge.

🚣 The boats

  • Rowed boats worked from the ghats along the Mall, and the quiet is the reason to choose them

🛕 Naina Devi

  • At the northern end of the lake, one of the Shakti Peethas, and busy from first light

🛍️ The Mall

  • The lakeside street the whole town is arranged along, pedestrianised in parts in the evening

⛰️ The rim

  • Snow View and Tiffin Top on opposite sides of the bowl, both reached by ropeway, pony or road
Getting There

Getting there

The lake is the town; getting to the town is the journey.

🚗 By road

  • About seven hours from Delhi, with the climb into Kumaon in the last two

🚂 By train

  • Kathgodam is the railhead, about an hour and a half below the town

🚶 Around the lake

  • The full circuit on foot is roughly three kilometres and is the best way to see it
Best Time

When to go

Early, and out of the Indian holiday season if you can.

🕰️ Time of day

  • First thing, when the water is still and the Mall is empty
  • Evening is the town at its busiest and liveliest, which is a different thing worth seeing

📅 Season

  • April to June is the hill-station season and Nainital is very full
  • Autumn is clearer, quieter and better for the Himalayan views from the rim

⏱️ How long

  • Two hours for a boat and the walk round; longer with the viewpoints
Visitor Intelligence

Worth knowing

It is a working Indian hill town, not a resort.

🚣 Take a rowed boat

  • Rates are posted at the ghats; the rowed boats are quieter and steadier than the pedal ones

🚗 Traffic

  • The Mall is one-way and closed to vehicles at times in the evening; parking in season is difficult

⛰️ The viewpoints are separate

  • Snow View and Tiffin Top are on the rim and need a ropeway, pony or road trip of their own

🌊 The smaller lakes

  • Bhimtal, Sattal and Naukuchiatal below the town are quieter and are a half day rather than an add-on
Nearby

Nearby

The Kumaon hills.

Snow View
On the rim above the town, by ropeway
Bhimtal and Sattal
The quieter lakes below Nainital
Nainital
The town guide
Good to Know

Frequently asked

Yes, and it is the main thing people do here. Rowed boats work from the ghats along the Mall and rates are posted; there are pedal boats too. The rowed ones are worth choosing — they are quieter and steadier, and on a lake this size the quiet is most of the point. A circuit takes about half an hour on the water.
After the goddess Naina Devi, whose temple stands at the northern end of the lake and is one of the Shakti Peethas. Naini means eye, and the lake's shape is traditionally read as one. The temple is busy from first light with pilgrims rather than sightseers, which gives the northern end of the lake a very different character from the Mall.
Autumn. April to June is the Indian hill-station season and the town is extremely full, with the Mall slow to walk and parking close to impossible. Autumn is clearer as well as quieter, which matters because the Himalayan views from Snow View on the rim depend entirely on the air being clean.
Walk the full circuit — about three kilometres, and the best way to see how completely the town is built around the water. Snow View and Tiffin Top on opposite sides of the bowl are reached by ropeway, pony or road and are separate trips. The smaller lakes below the town, Bhimtal, Sattal and Naukuchiatal, are a half day of their own and much quieter.
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