Weekend Getaway to Nainital
Hi Folks,
I will talk about my weekend jaunt to Nainital. Nainital is a small hill station in the Kumaon part of Uttaranchal. It is named after the Lake Naina, which separates this small beautiful town.
This was a solo trip I did in May, 2017. May-June is the best(albeit crowded) time to visit this place, when the rest of the country is blazing under the relentless scorching Sun!
3 Day Itinerary:
Day 1: Reach Nainital in the morning by overnight bus from Delhi. Naini Lake boating, Naina Devi Temple, Mall Road, Tibetan Market shopping
Day 2: Snow-View Point, Eco Cave Garden, Sadiatal Cascade, GB Pant Zoo
Day 3: China Peak Trek, and return to Delhi
Trip in Detail:
I took the UT Govt bus(I took the Volvo one. There are other budget options as well) from ISBT in Delhi. I reached Haldwani by this bus at 5AM in the morning. From Haldwani, Nainital is 40Kms, and there are frequent buses every ten minutes. I took a local bus and reached Nainital at around 6.30-7AM. There are plenty of stay options on Oyo/Makemytrip, within 700-1000Rs per day.
This was a solo trip done entirely on foot/buses/shared cabs etc. I'm jotting down the places to visit in the order I went around
Mall Road: This is a very beautiful road along the Naini Lake, where one can walk, sit on the lovely benches and read a book, or just sip hot tea and enjoy the views around!! The best part is that no vehicles are allowed on this road, make it very pedestrian friendly. It begins near the bus stand on one end, and ends with a very busy Tibetan Market and Naina Devi Temple on the other end.
Naini Lake: This is a huge bean/kidney/mango shaped lake, with the Mall road along its banks, and the Naina Devi Temple on one end of it. There are Govt sanctioned boating facilities here. A boat-ride on this lake is a must-do activity for all tourists here, to take in the calm breath-taking views.
Naina Devi Temple: This is a beautiful temple situated on the Naini Lake. The Goddess Naina Devi's eyes are worshipped here, because it is believed that Sati's eyes fell here in this temple. It is one of the 51 Shaktipeeths that we have.
Tibetan Market: This is a flea market that starts near Naina Devi Temple, at one of the Mall Road. It sells all kinds of woolen wear, hats, accessories, and street food. Do try the lip-smacking Mutton Momos in Soham Momos!
Snow View Point(Ropeway): This is a a viewpoint which one can reach by taking a ropeway, after crossing the mall road. The tickets start from 9AM till 4PM in the day. It is advisable to start early in order to avoid long queues! There was no snow in the snow-view point in May, when I went, but the ropeway, the views, and the elevated angles are a must-visit!
Eco Cave Gardens: This is a spot with around 5-6 caves in it. It is a well maintained park with varying levels of getting in and out of the caves. Tiger cave, Panther cave etc are some of the caves here!
Sadiatal Cascade: This is a very beautiful and pristine waterfall in Nainital. The water is so refreshing, and I spent a good one hour, just sitting on one of the benches and observing the falls! Must-visit for sure.
GB Pant High Altitude Zoo: One can get the tickets to GB Pant Zoo on the Mall road itself. There is a small curve along the road, where there are vehicles parked to take tourists up to the Zoo. These vehicles ferry people to and from the Zoo. Once you reach there, you can spend any amount of time in the Zoo. It closes at 4PM however. One can start early in the day to spend good amount of time here and return in the evening.
China Peak: Most tourists do NOT explore this part of Nainital. It is a very lonely trail to the top, but believe me, its the best thing ever! It is a yet undiscovered path I would say, which is not yet destroyed by Chocolate/Chips wrappers, and plastic bottles. It was nature at it's pristine best. It was a solo trek for me, made even more lovely by the fact that there were none others on the trail.
The base camp is a place called Tanke Bund. I took a taxi for 200bucks one way. The trail is a dense forest, which is known to have wild animals as well. I started the trek at around 9AM. I was carrying water, chocolates for energy and my phone! It was a trek of its kind. I met local villagers carrying wood for fuel. The trek was not a difficult one at all. It was mostly flat, with some steep elevations occasionally. I eventually reached the summit at around 11.30AM! There is a small shop serving tea and Maggi at the top!!
I had some Maggi, tea, clicked some fabulous pictures of the Panoramic Himalayan views, and came downhill. I walked all the way back to Mall road (decided to chuck the taxi this time!) and treated myself to pastries in Sakley's Cafe(A must visit cafe in Nainital!)
That was my 3 day sojourn to Nainital. I headed back to Delhi by bus from Haldwani. It was a very memorable first solo trip for me!!
I will talk about my weekend jaunt to Nainital. Nainital is a small hill station in the Kumaon part of Uttaranchal. It is named after the Lake Naina, which separates this small beautiful town.
This was a solo trip I did in May, 2017. May-June is the best(albeit crowded) time to visit this place, when the rest of the country is blazing under the relentless scorching Sun!
3 Day Itinerary:
Day 1: Reach Nainital in the morning by overnight bus from Delhi. Naini Lake boating, Naina Devi Temple, Mall Road, Tibetan Market shopping
Day 2: Snow-View Point, Eco Cave Garden, Sadiatal Cascade, GB Pant Zoo
Day 3: China Peak Trek, and return to Delhi
Trip in Detail:
I took the UT Govt bus(I took the Volvo one. There are other budget options as well) from ISBT in Delhi. I reached Haldwani by this bus at 5AM in the morning. From Haldwani, Nainital is 40Kms, and there are frequent buses every ten minutes. I took a local bus and reached Nainital at around 6.30-7AM. There are plenty of stay options on Oyo/Makemytrip, within 700-1000Rs per day.
This was a solo trip done entirely on foot/buses/shared cabs etc. I'm jotting down the places to visit in the order I went around
Mall Road: This is a very beautiful road along the Naini Lake, where one can walk, sit on the lovely benches and read a book, or just sip hot tea and enjoy the views around!! The best part is that no vehicles are allowed on this road, make it very pedestrian friendly. It begins near the bus stand on one end, and ends with a very busy Tibetan Market and Naina Devi Temple on the other end.
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| The Mall Road at 7am! |
Naini Lake: This is a huge bean/kidney/mango shaped lake, with the Mall road along its banks, and the Naina Devi Temple on one end of it. There are Govt sanctioned boating facilities here. A boat-ride on this lake is a must-do activity for all tourists here, to take in the calm breath-taking views.
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| The first view of the Naini Lake |
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| Naini Lake in it's Majestic form! |
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| The Naina Devi Temple |
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| The Shiv Ling right outside the Naina Devi Temple, overlooking the lake |
Snow View Point(Ropeway): This is a a viewpoint which one can reach by taking a ropeway, after crossing the mall road. The tickets start from 9AM till 4PM in the day. It is advisable to start early in order to avoid long queues! There was no snow in the snow-view point in May, when I went, but the ropeway, the views, and the elevated angles are a must-visit!
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| The Rope way up there! |
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| The view from the Snow view point (No Snow there!) |
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| At the entrance of one of the caves! |
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| Yours Truly in one of the caves! |
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| At the entrance of the lovely Waterfalls |
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| The lovely cascades |
GB Pant High Altitude Zoo: One can get the tickets to GB Pant Zoo on the Mall road itself. There is a small curve along the road, where there are vehicles parked to take tourists up to the Zoo. These vehicles ferry people to and from the Zoo. Once you reach there, you can spend any amount of time in the Zoo. It closes at 4PM however. One can start early in the day to spend good amount of time here and return in the evening.
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| At the Entrance! |
The base camp is a place called Tanke Bund. I took a taxi for 200bucks one way. The trail is a dense forest, which is known to have wild animals as well. I started the trek at around 9AM. I was carrying water, chocolates for energy and my phone! It was a trek of its kind. I met local villagers carrying wood for fuel. The trek was not a difficult one at all. It was mostly flat, with some steep elevations occasionally. I eventually reached the summit at around 11.30AM! There is a small shop serving tea and Maggi at the top!!
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| The trek trail |
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| The local ladies for company! |
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| Amateur capture of the Himalayan range from the China Peak! |
That was my 3 day sojourn to Nainital. I headed back to Delhi by bus from Haldwani. It was a very memorable first solo trip for me!!
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