Nainital – Trip to the Lake City

Persuaded by my husband’s insistance to visit Khurpatal near Nainital, I agreed for a staycation there this extended weekend. The objective was clear. We were to find a peaceful place to stay at Khurpatal and rest there. No aggressive stance to cover all the points in Nainital but rest and enjoy the serenity of the mountains.

The choice of Khurpatal was due to its less crowded but beautiful lake and location of a CPWD guest house which can be booked for a very nominal price by the central Govt employees, which my husband happen to be.

The plan faced setback as rooms were not available at the CPWD guest house. Now we went back to the traditional way and looked for a hotel near the Naini lake. People had just started to gather enough courage to step out of their house due to COVID-19. This three day extended weekend due to Good Friday was a golden opportunity. Consequently, most good places were also booked there. Eventually, we booked a place right on the Mall road.

How to Reach Nainital from Kathgodam

We left for Nainital by Kathgodam Shatabdi from New Delhi railway station at 6.20 AM. We reached Kathgodam at 11.40 AM. From there we took a cab. He charged us 600 INR for the 35 kilometer journey which is very less considering that they usually charge around 1000 INR. Tourism and allied sectors are the worst hit during this pandemic.

You can easily take a bus from either Haldwani or Kathgodam for Nainital. They are well connected and the bus frequency is also very good. There is a sixty rupees entry fee for entering the Mall road for vehicles to prevent overcrowding and generate revenue.

Now we faced our first challenge as soon as we deborded the cab. There was close to hundred stairs to reach our hotel. And we found more to reach our room. We were not impressed by the hotel at all. Utterrly overpriced, untidy and undeserving. You can read my review for the hotel here.

Now, as you can guess from the changed circumstances, our plans to just rest and relax were almost meaningless. We left our hotel as soon as we reached there after leaving our luggage in the room.

The Naini Lake

We started walking on the Mall road. Naini Lake was magnificent in this beautiful sunny day. Soon, the boatmen started insisting us for a ride in the boat. The lake is divided in three boating routes. The upper ppart is Mallital and the bottom portion is Tallital. It costs 160 INR for a half round and 210 INR for a full round of Tallital, Mallital, or the middle lake. The peddle boat also costs 210 INR per hour. The Shaktipeeth Naina Devi temple is situated at the Mallital. Mythologically it is the place where eyes of the Sati fell.

We got our first boat ride in the middle lake. It was a lot colder than Delhi and definitely more calmer and peaceful. All around us were small peaks. Evidently, there are seven peaks of approx 2300 meters.

Mouth-Watering Street Food

We were dying to try out the street food, it was mouth-watering. We tried chila and aloo tikki, you don’t generally find chila as street food. It was filled with potato, paneer, tomato, etc. Its taste was exceptional, one should definitely try it if they are in Nainital.

Mall Road

If you like exploring on your own, I believe renting a cycle is the best thing you can do. You can easily rent a bicycle on mall road. Nainital Mall road gets closed from 6-8 pm in the evening so that tourists can roam around without any disturbance. It is a perfect time to take out those cycles and explore the area. The view of Naini lake from Mall road is mesmerizing, you can stay there for hours looking at the lake.

Nainital Zoo

The next day we thought it will be better to have personal transportation as public transportation only take you to tourist points. We rented a scooter and went to the zoo, it was a lovely ride from our hotel to the Zoo. We both took turns while driving. You can also book the zoo shuttle that charges around 50 INR per person and leave you at the nearest point to the zoo. It is helpful for those people who can not walk that much. Even though the distance is not much zoo roads are steep that are hard to climb. 

The zoo of Nainital has most of the animals except elephants. There you will find leopard, tiger, red panda, white peacock, etc. If you are there with kids make sure to visit the zoo. They will have fun while learning so many things. You can take the zoo shuttle

It took us 2.5 hours to take a look around the entire zoo. After it, we went to Sattal lake. The route from Zoo to Sattal lake was amazing. There were so many beautiful points in the way. You will only be able to appreciate the beauty of the route if you have a personal vehicle. It was around 14 km and took us half an hour to reach there. You will get to see the view of Nainital from high mountains plus mountains there are delightful.

Sattal Lake Activities

You will find all kinds of activities at Sattal lake like paragliding, ropeway, kayaking, etc. It will be a fun day for those who like to take on challenges. I did kayaking, initially, it was scary but it was fun. Other than these activities you can also do camping here. It is a great place for a group hangout. There are people who provide good offers, there will be bonfires, lunch-dinner, activities, etc according to the package you take.

Nainital Viewpoints

The next day we went to see the Himalayas viewpoint it is hardly 5-6 km away from mall road. If you love walking you can cover this distance on foot. You will also find various viewpoints on your way. You will find one viewpoint from where Naini lake seems like mango, it is called Mango lake from there. On your way to the Himalaya viewpoint if you take a left turn you will find suicide point and lovers point. Lover’s point will be perfect for lovers who want to add one more pretty place to their diary. These viewpoints are 2-3 km from the Himalayas viewpoint so you can cover these in one go. Make sure you have something to layer yourself up because these cliffs tend to get chilly.

We could not view the Himalayas because there was a fire in nearby jungles due to which area was smoke in the atmosphere. fire is a regular feature of these pine forests.

Where to Eat

Even though there are various restaurants to eat at you can also try street food for meals. I believe they are good and healthy Indian foods. There was Chila with vegetables, Jalebi (Indian sweet), milk, etc. The mall road is filled with expensive to average restaurants. A sweet variety Bal Mithai is famous in the region. If you have a sweet tooth, remember to taste it.

We had lunch and breakfast at Alka’s restaurant, we also tried Sher-e Punjab.

What to Buy

If you are at a tourist place you will definitely want to buy gifts for your loved ones. Mall road is a good place to shop with various options. Mall road market has many candle shops. There were candles of all shapes and sizes, all candles had different fragrances and different colors. They seemed so calming and romantic. I definitely recommend you get some for yourself and your loved ones. 

You can also consider show pieces made of pine fruit. They are quite reasonably priced and beautiful.

Tips

• Avoid visiting Nainital if you do not like crowded areas. People from Delhi and other nearby cities come to spend their weekend here. Even though we went when the government was asking for Covid negative report the place was still very crowded.
• During peak season hotels will be very expensive so book your hotel one or two weeks in advance. During the weekend too you will find hotels charging more.
• Even if you go in summer keep a shawl or something with you so that you do not feel chilly during your night walks.

So this was our short trip to Nainital which ended with us getting out of it at 1.30 to reach Kathgodam railway station at 3.30. We reached there at 2.45 which gave us enough time to have lunch. Kathgodam Shatabdi left us in Delhi at 9 PM.

We never visited Khurpatal.