Nainital a most popular hill station near Delhi NCR

Nainital is the lake city of India situated on the foothills of Kumaon ranges in Uttarakhand. The beautiful Naini lake surrounded by mountains is what makes Nainital so beautiful and picturesque. The climate in Nainital during the months of April, May, June and July is just perfect to escape the hot climate in the plains, while the winters are dreamy and one might get to experience the snowfall in December or January.

Places to Visit

Ideal Duration: 3 Days/2 Nights

How to reach: Nearest railway station to Nainital is Kathgodam which is approximately 23 km from Nainital while the nearest airport is Pantnagar which is about 65 km from Nainital. Both from the railway station and the airport, you can get a cab although we suggested you to book your cabs in advance if you are landing at Pantnagar airport. Reaching Nainital by road is the most preferred and suggested way as the highway is good and you can easily get buses or taxis to Nainital.

Best time to visit: All seasons are good for Nainital but we advise you to do your bookings in advance, especially during the summer and winter peak seasons (May & June, December & January).

Places to stay: Best place to stay in Nainital is the Mall Road and the Zoo Road. Most of the hotels are situated in this area only. When you stay here, you can explore the nearby areas by walking and spend time sitting on the lakeside. If you are traveling by your own vehicle, make sure you confirm with your hotel that they have a parking place available since many hotels in Nainital don’t have parking.

Food & drink suggestions: Momos in the Tibet market are a must-try in Nainital. Apart from this, you can also enjoy fritters, bun-Makhan and Maggi. There are also some street shops on the mall road serving the best aloo-fry chat & veg/paneer chilla, a must try!

Things to do: Nainital has a lot to offer to its tourist. Here’s the list of things to do in Nainital:

• Visit the Naina devi temple
• Visit the old churches on the mall road
• Do shopping from Tibet Market
• Eat from the street shops and cafes near the temple
• Talk a walk on the Mall road
• Do boating on the Naini lake
• Explore the boat club
• Shop candles, accessories & décor items from the Mall road
• Hike to the Naini viewpoint
• Visit the Nainital Zoo
• Visit Jim Corbett’s house
• Enjoy the panoramic view of Nainital from the ropeway and visit the Tiffin top
• Do cycling on the Mall road
• Simply rewind and relax on the lakeside

Day wise Itinerary:

Day 1:

Reach Nainital in the morning. After check-in to your accommodation, take a walk to Naina Devi temple. If you are staying near the bus stand, you can also take a boat ride to reach the temple. After the darshan, explore the Tibet market. Have lunch in one of the cafes or street shops there. After this, visit the tiffin top via ropeway. Make sure you reach before 4 pm as it closes at 4 pm. After tiffin top, talk a walk through the mall road and enjoy shopping. End your day with having dinner in one of the lakeside cafes or restaurants.

Day 2:

After having your breakfast, leave for Zoo. Exploring the zoo will take around 2-3 hours minimum. After this, come down to Mall road and have your lunch. After lunch, visit the snow view point, Naini view point and Jim Corbett house. If time allows, visit the Hanuman Garhi and Cave Garden as it is on the way to Snow view point. Come back to the Mall road and walk to the upper market aka old bazaar and eat your dinner in one of the oldest food points of the city to call it a night.

Day 3: Leave for Delhi after breakfast

Additional information:

There are some famous tourist attractions on the outskirts of Nainital like Kainchi dham temple aka Neem Karoli baba ashram, Ghorakhal Tea Garden & factory and Ghorakhal temple. You can skip zoo and jim corbett house tour for these places to accommodate these in your itinerary or extend your stay for 1 day. Details of each place are as follows:

• Kainchi Dham temple: It takes around 2 hours to reach Kainchi dham temple
• Ghorakhal: Ghorakhal in Bhowali is about 16 km from Nainital and takes about1.5 hours to reach. Mainly there are 3 places to explore in Ghorakhal – Ghanti wala mandir, Ghorakhal temple and tea garden & factory. You will need approximately 5 hours to explore everything in Ghorakhal.

If you are going for 4 days, then you may also visit Bhimtal, Mukteshwar, Jageshwar, Ranikhet, Kausani and Pangot for a day. Obviously, you can’t do it in 1 day, but you may pick your place wisely. Below are the details of each place with the time required to reach from Nainital.

• Bhimtal: Bhimtal is 24 km from Nainital and takes about 1 hour to reach. The only attraction is the lake and the dam. This can also be done on the day 2 but you will have to skip any 2 of the activities mentioned

• Mukteshwar: Mukteshwar is about 50 km from Nainital which takes around 3 hours to reach. There is an ancient 350 old Shiva temple, a viewpoint called Chauli ki jali, apple orchards, and a ziplining point in Mukteshwar. You will have to hike about 300 steps up the hilltop to the temple. You will need an entire day for Mukteshwar, so plan accordingly.

• Jageshwar: Jageshwar is about 100 km from Nainital and takes around 5 hours to reach. It is a group of 125 ancient (7^th-14^th century) Shiva temples and is the 8^th jyotirlinga among the 12. It is advised to leave early from Nainital for Jageshwar as it is mostly a single-lane highway and one must avoid driving in the night on such roads because of the jungle and wild animals like leopards and tigers. Yes, you might spot one!

• Ranikhet: Ranikhet is about 60 km from Nainital and takes around 3 hours to reach. It is a cantonment town offering peace, serenity and amazing view of snow mountains to its visitors. Places to visit in Ranikhet are shawl factory to view point, Rani jheel, Chaubatia Garden, Mankameshwar temple and Golf course.

• Kausani: Kausani is about 120 km from Nainital and takes about 5 hours to reach. It is strictly advised that you leave early morning from Nainital to reach Kausani and come back timely until you are not planning to stay overnight. Places to see in Kausani are Anasakti Ashram (Gandhi Ashram), Kausani tea estate, Sumitra Nandan Pant House, Observatory, and Baijnath Temple. It takes around 6 hours to explore Kausani completely.

• Pangot: Pangot is approx. 15 km from Nainital and takes around 1 hour to reach. Pangot is an off-beat small village, perfect for nature lovers, trekkers, and campers. There is no particular place to visit in Pangot but the entire location is perfect to rewind and relax.