Nainital is a lake town in Uttarkhand, named after naina devi temple. It is in kumaon region of himalayas, at an altitude of 2000m above MSL, around 250 kms from Delhi with 6hrs of journey time. We had been here around end of june and the temperature was around 16(min)/23(max). During peak season, nainital would be crowded with people and cars it is impossible to get a parking lot for your car. Ensure you plan your entry to nainital accordingly. Other lakes around include Bheemtal (largest by area), Khurpatal, Sattal, Sukhatal,etc. If you are coming to Nainital from Haldwani, then you pass through Bheemtal.
Things to do
- Walk by the lake @mall road
- Shop @mall road, there are plenty of art works and winter clothing available at economic price. Oh ya, try candles too – you get custom candle shapes, fragrance.
- Visit Naini peak, also called himalayan darshan
- To get the complete view of the lake, head to lake viewpoint. (The pic posted above is taken from lake viewpoint)
- You could also take the ropeway which is a very short ride takes you uphill.
- Trek to the nearby hills
Photography Tips
- Head to lake point for complete view of the lake, ensure you set wide-angle to grab a good view of surrounding hills with lake in between. Try polarizing filters to get the blue sky in good contrast.
- Nightlife photography: Head upwards of mall road to get a glimpse of nainital’s reflection on lake during night. Put your camera on tripod, set the shutter speed to 2s-10s and set exposure accordingly.
Tips - Prams for babies are available for rent as low as 50/hr. You could double it up as carrier while shopping in the busy mall road.
- If you are driving from Delhi, make sure to stop by gajrauli for food, there is bikanerwala & udupiwala both very good food stops. You have another udupiwala at kathgodam, if you miss this.
- While driving downhill, try to avoid braking too much generates too much of heat that my brakes stopped to work (called brake fading ) instead use engine breaking switching to lower gears. I had to stop for 1hr at haldwani faced this problem first time and waited patiently hoping there are no other complications.
- Looking for bamboo furnitures once you cross ganga bridge after Rampur. roadside shops are seen for more than a km length.
180 Days of North 