Activities in Nainital

Lake :
The nucleus of Nainital’s exquisite beauty is beautiful lake. In the day, mirrored in its waters stand seven proud hills, dotted with pretty cottages and villas. This reflection alone holds one spell bound. More beautiful than this however is the lake at night when the myriads of bulbs from the hill sides and quite a large number hanging near the lake’s edge stab their magic light into its waters.

The lake offers the holiday makers ample opportunity for yachting, boating or paddling the boat.

The north end of lake is called Mallital while the southern one is called Tallital which have a bridge (Danth popularly named) having Gandhiji's statue and post office on its sides. It is the only Post Office on the lake bridge in whole of the world. There is Bus Station, Taxi stand and Railway reservation counter on the same lake bridge, both ends have well laid out shopping centres, with beautifully laid of marts, stores and luxury shops.

The Mall :
On one of side of lake run the Mall road now named Govind Ballabh Pant Marg. It is lined up by many hotels , reataurents, travel agencies, shops, banks and other business concerns. In summer months of May & June Mall road is closed for vehicular traffic in evening hours to facilitate Mall strolling which is the famous attraction for all the tourists. This road is the main link joining Mallital and Tallital.

On the other side of the lake lies the Thandi Road. It is comparatively less busy and have Pashan devi temple. Vehicles are not allowed on Thandi Road .

The Flatts :
At the northern side of the lake there is a place of rendezvous for people from all walks of life. Here evenings are heavily crowded. There is a statue of Pt. Govind Ballabh Pant and a beautiful fountain. There is a band stand. The Flats has playing ground used for sports games and cultural activities during festivals. There is Chat Bazar, Bhotia Market in the flats. In Bhotia Market vendors sell their fancy items. There is Mosque, Gurudwara and Naina Devi temple in flatts. Capitol cinema and Rink theatre which is used for roller skating are also situated in Flatts. A portion of the flatts is used for car parking. New club, Boat House club, Masonic Hall are in the periphery of the flatts for recreation.

Zoo :
Around one Km. away from bus stand at an altitude of 2100 meters in sprawling open area there is Govind Ballabh Pant High Altitude Zoo. Now a days it has Monkeys, Himalayan black bear, Leopard, Siberian Tiger, Palm civet cat, Wolf, Silver Pheasants, Siberian Tiger, Rose ringed Prakeet, Hill Fox, Ghoral, Barking Deer, Sambhar. The zoo remains closed for visitors on Monday, all national holidays, Holi & Diwali.

Aerial Ropeway :
Rope Way is one of the main attractions of Nainital. This ropeway connects Snow - View Point (at 2270 Mts.) with Nainital near flats. Aerial ropeway starts at Mallital, there are two trolleys to carry passengers . It takes approx. 151.7 seconds to cover one way journey by trolley. Cabin capacity is 10+1 or 825 kg.

Horse Riding :
Horse riding is another important attraction for tourists in Nainital. Horses can be hired at Barapatthar. Several tourist use horses as their transport mode to visit the different peaks of Nainital. Horse Riding is now strictly prohibitted inside the Nainital town.

Governor’s House (Raj Bhavan) :
Raj Bhavan was built by British as residence of Governor of North West Province. Now Raj Bhavan is the official accommodation of Governor (Uttarakhand). State guests coming to Nainital also use it for their stay. It consists of a marvelous garden, Golf Links, Swimming Pool. Jhandidhar Modi Heights, Munshi heights are the other places in the complex worth seeing. The Governor’s House was built in the line of Buckingham Palace having double storied 113 rooms. For visiting this place prior permission is must.

Caves Garden :
This feature is the latest addition in the list of numerous tourism spots in Nainital. It is located in Sukha Tal around one Km from Mallital very near to Kumaun University Campus.

Hanuman Garhi :
Hanuman Garhi Temple is around 3.5 Kms away from the bus stop at an altitude of 1951 Mts. Hanuman Garhi is a religious centre and famous for its sun set view. One can go to Hanuman Garhi by taxi, bus or even on foot from Nainital. It has a temple complex presiding deity being Lord Hanuman besides Ram and Shiva. At the instance of Neem Karoli Baba around 1950 these temples were built. On the other side of the hill there is Shitala Devi temple and Ashram of Lila Sah Bapu.

Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences(ARIES)
Situated on Manora peak it is about 1 Km from Hanumangarhi if some one prefers to visit it on foot. By road it is about 9 Kms from Nainital. It is a centre of astronomical studies and optical tracking of artificial satellites. For night viewing of stars and planets some days are fixed on moon lit nights and permission is necessary.

Observatory was established at Nainital in 1955 and shifted to present location of Manora Peak in 1961. The primary objective of the observatory has been to develop facilities for modern astrophysical research in stellar, solar & theoretical branches of astrophysics. On some selected clear nights the visitors are also shown some celestial objects through the telescopes.

Snow View :
It is the most easily accessible hill top, height 2270 mts. and at a distance of 2.5 Km from the town. The spot is accessible through ropeway. This peak is also connected by motor able road. Snow view as the name suggests offers an indescribably beautiful and breath taking picture of the glittering snows of Himalyas. It has a temple, Tea, snacks, Photographers are available at this place.

Naina Peak or China Peak :
Naina peak is the highest peak of the town, at an altitude of 2611 mts. and at a distance of 6 Kms from the town. It commands an entrancing view of sparkling snow laden Himalayas from Bandar Punch in west to Api and Nari peaks of Nepal in the east, a full Himalayan range in one side and a birds eye view of the lake city of Nainital in its full grandeur on the other. With a pair of binoculars a good panorama of the tract surrounding Nainital is obtained . Pony or Horses can be hired to visit this peak either from Snow view or from Mallital.

Lands End :
Its altitude is 2118 mts. & it is located at about 4 Kms from the town. The best feature of this spot is that one does not have to climb much and as the name suggests one feels on reaching the area that the end of the land has really come. Needless to say the view of the neighboring hills and valley and the Khurpatal lake is exquisite from this point. One can go to Barapathar on a vehicle and then walk about one Km. up to the spot.

Dorothy Seat & Tiffin Top :
Located at a distance of 4 Kms from the town this peak is 2292 mts. above the sea level in Ayarpatta region. The road to this picnic spot crawls along the rugged hill side swaying this way & that, and than all in one breadth in hushed silence suddenly unfolds a canvas on which nature has painted this beautiful spot. Tiffin Top commands an excellent view of the Himalayas as well as the neighboring country side. Dorothy seat a memorial to an English lady painter Dorothy Kellet build by her husband an admirers after her death.

Tiffin Top & Lands end can be covered at a stretch as both spots are side by side.

Kilbury :
At an altitude of 2194 mts. and 10 Kms. from the town this place is accessible by a motor able road. There is a forest rest house for night stay.Kilbury is an ideal spot for a quiet and peaceful holiday.