Nainital: Not just another hill station

By Nidhi Joshi

Nainital is not just any other hill station, don’t believe me? Then you better read on to know how this lovely looking and responsible hill station is so different from the others.

To begin with it is one of the few hill stations that have high mountains and deep lakes. Yes, that is why the word ‘Tal’ which means lake in Hindi language. And it is after the beautiful lake that this hill station is named, Naini jheel or tal is the lifeline of this beautiful hill station; offering picturesque views this lake also has a temple on its banks called the Naina Devi temple which perhaps was the reason for the lake to be names as Naini.  Just beside the temple is the Tibetan market where you get stuff like clothes, artefacts, various food stalls and vendors selling small Knick knacks.

Beautiful shaped boats like the swan and dragon are major crowd pullers and adults enjoy the boat ride as much as the kids do. This lake looks like a paisley if you manage to climb a hill top and have a bird’s eye view you will know what I mean, and if you are lucky you could have clouds floating right above you while you are boating which, trust me happens more often than not. It is like you are floating in the sky of white candy and if you take a rowing boat your boatman could tell you a story or two. Like I came to know how the administration had fixed the problem of water pollution in the lake by fixing some kind of cleaners in the entire lake so if you look closely during your boat ride you’ll notice small whirlpools all over the lake, those are actually machines helping to keep the lake clean.

Another thing that not many people know about Nainital is the well-kept and wonderfully maintained zoo. You can get a car to take you up the hill top to the zoo from the mall road or you could walk till there and enjoy the scenery and crispness in the air. Nainital Zoo is by far the best zoo that I have come across in India, let alone a hill station.  As you enter the zoo you can’t help but notice the animals that are healthy and well fed and also the variety of wild animals that you will get to see here is amazing. From a red panda to a blue sheep to tiger and leopard all are here and you actually get to see the animals as the weather is nice and the animals have a huge space to walk around. In fact when we visited the zoo last year it started pouring and all the animals came out of their dens to enjoy the shower. I also captured a Himalayan bear climbing up and down a tree.

There is also a Shiva temple right next to the zoo and you can see a thousand bells hanging in the premises of the temple, perhaps which the devotees offer once their wishes are fulfilled.

You have a number of restaurants and hotels in Nainital but you should reserve one meal at Sakley’s  pastry shop which is known for its desserts.

We as a family try and visit these tourist spots during the off season which gives us a good view of the place and also good bargains at almost all places. However, if you are looking to visit during the peak season which is from April to June in summers and November to January in winters, I suggest it is a good idea to make your bookings in advance.