Nainital
Nainital is a glittering jewel in the Himalyan necklace, blessed with scenic
natural spledour and varied natural resources . Dotted with lakes , Nainital
has earned the epithet of 'Lake District' of India . The most prominent of
the lakes is Naini lake ringed by hills . Nainital has a varied topography
. Some of the important places in the district are Nainital , Haldwani , Kaladhungi
, Ramnagar , Bhowali , Ramgarh , Mukteshwar , Bhimtal , Sattal and Naukuchiatal
. Nainitals unending expense of scenic beauty is nothing short of a
romance with awe-inspiring and pristine Mother nature.
"
NAINITAL" was founded in the year
1841 by
Mr.
P. Barron, a European merchant and an enthusiastic hunter from Rosa, near
Shahjahanpur. Mr.P.Barron was the first European who took great fancy to this
land.
Moved by the beauty of the sparkling lake he wrote:
"It is by far the best
site I have witnessed in the course of a 1,500 miles treak in the Himalayas."
It is very less is known about the history of Nainital. This region was called
"Khasdesh" in ancient times and
"Khasis" ruled this region before
Christ was born.
The name "
NAINI" is derived
from a temple to the goddess '
Naini Devi" built on the upper edge of
the lake and was destoyed by the landslip of 1880. It was subsequently replaced
by the present structure. The word "
Naini" means '
Eyes'and '
Tal'
means '
Lake'.
Places to See
Naini Lake: The nucleus of Nainitals 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 lakes
edge stab their magic light into its waters.
The lake offers the holiday makers ample opportunity for yachting, boating
or paddling the boat. Rowing as well as paddling boats are available at
both ends of lake.
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 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, Rose ringed Prakeet, Hill Fox , Ghoral,
Barking Deer, Sambhar. The zoo remains closed for visitors on Monday, all
national holidays , Holi & Diwali.
Aerial Ropeway: It 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.
Timings 10 AM to 4 PM
L
ands 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.
Nainital Reservation Form