By road
~320 km from Delhi
North India · Uttarakhand
Nainital, Uttarakhand
A lake in an emerald mountain bowl · ~320 km from Delhi
Getting there
By rail
Kathgodam (KGM), ~34-41 km, the main rail gateway to the Kumaon hills
By air
Pantnagar Airport, ~70 km, with limited flights; most fly to Delhi instead
Best time to visit
March to June and September to November; snow in January
Don't miss
Naini Lake
Naina Devi Temple
Snow View Point
High Altitude Zoo
Things to do
Boating on Naini Lake
Cable car to Snow View
Birding at Pangot
Where to eat
Sources: wikimedia, Photo: Skalvanov · CC BY-SA 4.0
What to pack
Warm layers, boating-friendly shoes, umbrella
A quieter corner
The Tibetan market's momos behind the Mall crowds
About Nainital
- Lakeside
- Hills
Where it is
Nainital is a hill station in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, set around the eye-shaped Naini Lake in a valley of the Kumaon foothills at about 2,000 m.
History
The lake and its Naina Devi shrine were sacred long before the British arrived, and Nainital grew into a hill station after the trader P. Barron built a house here in 1841. It became the summer capital of the United Provinces, and a great landslip in 1880 buried part of the town and created the Flats beside the lake.
People
Nainital's people speak Kumaoni and Hindi, and the town is known for its old boarding schools. Many families work in tourism and boating, and the Naina Devi Temple complex hosts the Nanda Devi Mela festival.
Known for
- Boating on Naini Lake
- The Naina Devi Temple
- The Mall Road
- Birdwatching at Pangot
Did you know?
The Naina Devi Temple is counted among the Shakti Peethas, where, by legend, the eyes of the goddess Sati fell, giving the lake and the town their name.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.