An erstwhile summer retreat of the British, Nainital is a lovely little hill station popular with nature lovers and honeymooners for its tranquil environs. Ensconced amid the Kumaon hills, the eye-shaped Naini Lake is the lifeline of Nainital. All activity in Nainital is centered around this lake â almost always can you spot tourists and locals sailing on boats and enjoying the breeze. Just across the emerald Naini Lake runs the Mall Road lined with shops bursting with colorful woolens and candles, on either side. Some popular attractions in Nainital are the Naina Devi Temple, Hanuman Garhi and other points of dramatic scenery such as Snow View, China Peak, Lands End and Tiffin Top.
Nainital is famous for candles created locally in attractive shapes and colors. Interestingly, The Mall has an array of shops dedicated to candles in different themes. Walk into one such store, and you will be spellbound by the sheer use of colors, the textures and the shapes they have been cast into. These colorful pieces of wax make a very thoughtful souvenir for your friends and family back home. You are recommended to shop for armloads of them - unlikely youâll find such a great variety elsewhere, besides they donât burn much of a hole in your pocket!
Outside of candles, the hill station has shops specializing in wooden handicrafts, including beautifully carved canes. And if you take to preserves, pop into one of the shops selling an assortment of fruit preserves made of locally grown produce â this includes jams, pickles, squashes, fruit juices, not to mention farm fresh apples, peaches and cherries among others.
Nainital is a great place to shop for woolen clothing remarkable for their dense threadwork. The local market is always full with beautifully embroidered shawls, colorful sweaters, caps and gloves. While Mall Road remains the main shopping hub, other shopping districts offering an equally interesting range are Barra Bazaar, Tibetian Bazaar, Mallital and Nallital Bazaars.
A popular picnic destination in Nainital, Tiffin Top or Dorothyâs Seat is at an altitude of approx. 2292 meters (null feet). From here you can take in awe-inspiring views of the Himalayas and the town below. The site gets its name âDorothyâs Seatâ from a stonework bench built in memory of an English lady, Mrs. Dorothy Kellet, who used come here to paint. The site till today gets painters and photographers in every season that come to capture the bucolic beauty of the hills in summer and their starkness in winter. The atmosphere is so peaceful and serene that you will feel like spending hours soaking up the sun and enjoying the exquisite surroundings.
Nainital is located at 29°23'N 79°27'E. It has an average elevation of 2,084 meters (null,837 feet).
Nainital has temperate summers, maximum temperature 27 °C (null °F); minimum temperature 10 °C (null °F), during which its population increases more than fivefold with an annual influx of tourists predominantly from the plains of Northern India. In the winter, Nainital receives snowfall between December and February with the temperatures varying between a maximum of 15 °C (null °F) and a minimum of - 3 °C (null °F).
Surface - Visitors commuting to Nainital by road can take the National Highway 87. If driving from Delhi, take the Noida road, proceed to Muradabad and thereon to Haldwani. From Haldwani, take the road to Kathgodam and continue to Nainital.
Regular state-run bus services are also available from Delhi, Agra, Dehradun, Haridwar, Kanpur, Lucknow, Bareilly, Kathgodam and Haldwani. Another alternative is to take the deluxe coaches run by tour-operators from Delhi.
Train - The nearest railway station is at Kathgodam that has a regular train service from Delhi, Ramnagar, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mathura, Dehradun and Jammu Tawi. Taxis and buses to Nainital are easily available outside the Kathgodam Railway Station. Distance between Kathgodam and Nainital: 35 kilometers (nullapproximately 21.75 miles).
Air - The nearest airport is at Pantnagar, about 70 kilometers (null.5 miles) from Nainital.
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