Nainital is a place that is famous among tourists in the world. It is a beautiful city in the mountains. Nainital is the district of Uttarakhand. The High Court of Uttarakhand is also situated in this beautiful city. As a traveller I like this tourist destination very much. I got a chance to go there when I was in college. We planned a tour to Nainital but that was cancelled due to cold response of some classmates at a later stage. But we decided again to go for a picnic and then we, about 20 friends, from my class made a plan. We hired 2 cars and started our journey to Nainital early in the morning. I was very excited for this trip to Nainital. We all gathered at our college gate and started our journey at 5 a.m. in the morning. All the way from Moradabad to Nainital I was thinking about adventurous roads ahead. After reaching Kashipur we pick one of our friends from there. We had to go to Kashipur to pick our friend but you need not go via Kashipur if you travel from Delhi or Moradabad. There are many routes to Nainital, you can pick any of them. We choose via Kashipur-Ramnagar to reach Nainital. Somewhere between Ramnagar and Nainital our driver told us about a waterfall which is also a good tourist attraction. So we decided to go there, but unfortunately that was closed that day. After capturing some photos, we headed towards our beautiful travel destination ie Nainital.
I am always fascinated by zig-zag roads in mountains. So I was very much excited on the way to Nainital. On the way we took a short halt and clicked some pictures roadside. Then we proceed and I was very happy while traveling between high mountains and deep ravines. Finally we reached our destination and after having parked our vehicles we went to the Naini Devi temple. This is the temple, dedicated to goddess Naini, situated on the bank of Naini Lake. Lake Naini is a famous lake in Nainital. Perhaps Nainital, Naini Devi temple and Naini Lake are interconnected in respect of nomenclature.
Places to visit in Nainital: There are various places to visit in Nainital that attract lots of travellers. Infact the whole city of Nainital is worth visiting. Everywhere in Nainital, there is something you must visit. The mountains are the real beauty of Nainital and this beauty doubles when there is snowfall in winter. Due to shortage of time we visited only a few places.
China Peak: This is a mountain of about 2-3 kilometers in height. From the top of this mountain you can see the Great Wall of China. Perhaps because of this it is called China Peak. Unfortunately due to bad weather that day, we couldn't make it possible. There was one guy who made us see the college with the help of his telescope in which sports scene of famous bollywood movie “Koi Mil Gaya” was shot. You may find these guys on China Peak who let you see different points like lovers point, suicide point, The Great Wall of China and many more in exchange of some money.
Naini Lake: After visiting China Peak we returned to Lake Naini for boating. We, 4 friends, hired a paddle boat and rowed across the lake. There were different types of boats like for two people, for four people, paddle boat etc. You can hire any of them of your choice. The rent was 120 rupees that time. Now it must have increased.
Local Market: After finishing boating we visited local market which is around the Naini Lake. We bought some souvenirs from there. You can buy clothes, beautiful hats, shoes and much more from there. You will definitely enjoy visiting local market in Nainital.
There is much more to pay visit and enjoy in Nainital. You can go to the zoo if you like to see animals. There is a waterfall where you can enjoy your day. Make a plan for at least one week. There are many things you can do. You can enjoy some adventurous activities also.
Food and Stay in Nainital: These are two basic and very important things for any traveller. But in Nainital you need not worry about your stay and food. You can get different varieties of food easily. There are many restaurants and hotels that offer food of your choice like- South Indian food, Veg and Non-veg food, Chinese food, and much more.
For your stay there are many hotels according to your budget- luxurious, low budget, hostels etc. You can find and book hotels online through any online platform. But keep in mind that during peak season like Christmas, New Year and Snowfall hotel prices are very much high. Even a low budget hotel can cost you as much as luxurious in normal days.
How to reach Nainital: Nainital is well connected by road. Other modes of transport are also good but you need to travel by road necessarily.
By road: Roads to Nainital are very good. You can reach Nainital by road from Delhi via Moradabad. From here you can opt any route- via Kashipur-Ramnagar, via Rampur, via Bazpur and any other which is feasible that time. Nainital is also connected to Bareilly, if you are coming from Lucknow side.
By train: Although there is no railway station in Nainital, but you can travel by train to the nearest railway station from Nainital. Kathgodam is the nearest railway station from Nainital. From Kathgodam you can hire a taxi or travel in bus to reach Nainital. Haldwani is also near from Nainital and if you reach Haldwani by train, you can reach Nainital from here by hiring a taxi or by bus. But Kathgodam is bigger railway station than Haldwani. Distance from Kathgodam to Nainital is about 30 kilometers and from Haldwani to Nainital it is about 40 kilometers.
By air: If you are from other than North India or from out of India, you can come to Delhi by air. IGI (Indira Gandhi International) Airport is the nearest big airport. From here you have many options -- you can go by train till Kathgodam from Delhi, you can hire a taxi from Delhi to Nainital, you can come to Moradabad by train and then hire a taxi to Nainital, you can go to Ramnagar from Delhi and then Nainital but this is not a good choice. There is also a domestic airport near Nainital that is Pant Nagar airport. This is the nearest airport from Nainital actually and connected to New Delhi. You can take a flight from Delhi to Pant Nagar and then travel by road. Lucknow Airport can be a good option. In conclusion, despite coming by flight you have to travel by road also to reach Nainital.
Best Weather to come Nainital: There is no specific season to come Nainital. You can come to Nainital in any season except rainy season. Going in mountains in rainy season is very dangerous because of landslide and many other perilous things, so avoid coming in rain. Weather of Nainital is always good and attractive. In summer Nainital becomes very much crowded place. Sometimes, the administration has to block all the roads to come Nainital due to over-booking of hotels and parking in summer. But many tourists like to come in summer. If you want to see snowfall, come in winter. In winter season you will love to see snowing. White snow covering mountains far and wide is a great joy.
This is my story of Travelling Nainital. There are other places around Nainital for journey which I will cover later. Hope you will be helped reading this and enjoyed. Finally we returned from Nainital in the evening and reached Moradabad in midnight after a enjoyable trip of Nainital.