The Naini Lake in Nainital, Uttarakhand

This beautiful mango shaped lake situated at Nainital,  Uttarakhand in India is a very famous tourist spot especially for the especially for those who wish to spend some quality time with family away from the heat and hustle bustle of the metropolis. Every year people in huge numbers visit this place in the summers and even winters to play in the snow. And so did me and my friends decided to visit the place …….

Delhi to Haldwani by bus

A lot of buses ply from Delhi ( Anand Vihar ISBT) both directly to Nainital or Haldwani from where you can take a cab (easily found on the bus stand) for the remaining distance of 40 Kms (takes about 1 hr). One can also take a train to Haldwani and a cab thereafter.

We took a bus from Delhi at night and after a 6 hrs. journey reached Haldwani from where we took a cab to Nainital.

Day 1in Nainital

On reaching Nainital, we looked out for a place to stay. Luckily we found a nice decent hotel with the amazing lake view on the Mall road at a very very affordable price due to offseason.

After a small sleep we had an omelet for the breakfast and with still empty stomachs left to explore the city. Starting with a few minutes sitting next to the lake enjoying the breeze we were approached by a lot of cab drivers to take us to the around 13 viewpoints around the city. So we decided to take this which costs 700 per pax. The different points included few lakes, horse riding point( paid separately), barahpatthar ( a place where one can learn rock climbing), Lovers & Suicide point, a waterfall, caves (entry fee paid separately) and few more…One can find good options to fill the stomach at the waterfall. After 5 hrs. we were dropped back to the start point.

lake while on the cab tour

Next, we headed towards the famous market called The Bhotia Market where one can buy stuff from clothing to games and much more. Then we prayed at Naina Devi temple situated on the Lakeside. Now it was time to feed the stomach and the Bhotia market was the perfect place to eat at. A wide variety of options were available and we tried our hands on the Chinese food the place is known for. One must give a visit to Machan for eating.

Now, as the sun was down we took a walk on the Mall road which I found was better than that of Shimla. It was a really amazing walk with one after the other ice creams. There are lots of restaurants and branded shops one can try. At night the entry of cars is closed and the road is flooded with tourist in seasons.

We reached our hotel and made arrangements for some party. Then the late night Hookah on the terrace with a perfect lake view was the best part ( Because to buy that one HOOKAH we had to trek for about 2 hrs visiting the same place for thrice because of the great help we got from the local shopkeepers).  That’s all for the day GOOD NIGHT…See you tomorrow.

Day 2 in Nainital

The mango shaped Naini Lake, Nainital

We started a little late because of the late night party. We took a boat ride to reach the other side of the Mall road from where we were to take a ropeway which took us to Snow View Point from where the view was as shown above. After enjoying for about an hour we returned back and took a shuttle to the Zoo. I must say it was a very nice one where we saw the tiger, beautiful birds, Chimpanzees and a lot more…

After returning back we filled up our stomachs as it was around 6 in the eve. Next, we took a walk on the Mall road to once again see the beauty and around 8 Pm took the bus back to Delhi.

For you have time in hand and want to extend your holiday then visit the much more serene and rejuvenating town of Mukteshwar at just 42 km from Nainital.

Cost

Coming over to the most important part we managed the trip at almost negligible cost i.e. Rs 2000 per pax.

Delhi – Nainital-Delhi =  800 per pax

Hotel ( 3 rooms) = Total 1200 per night Shared amongst 7

Boating + cab tour = 800 per pax

Food = 100 Rs per meal per head

I think we had a lot for that little amount and those two days went very well for all of us looking forward to which we soon planned our next trip to Agra.

One must give a visit to the Nanda Devi Mahotsav hosted every year. This time it’s from 6th to 11th of September 2016.

That’s all folks………..