Lake Hopping, Nainital

by - 11/24/2022

The word 'Tal' means lake in Hindi. Nainital: The word itself means Nine lakes (Naini: 9, Tal : Lake) So when you visit Nainital, you are supposed to visit all the lakes! No I am kidding. The cute hill town of Nainital itself has a huge lake which is surrounded by the Himalayas on all the sides. However, there are other smaller towns in the Nainital district that have many lakes. The famous ones are : Sattal, Bhimtal and Naukuchiatal. So on the final day of our trip, we went on a lake hopping tour. Our first stop was Sattal.

Sattal as the name suggests, is a combination of seven lakes which are interconnected with each other. The views of the lakes from above are worth capturing. We stopped our car to click the aerial views. After that, our car rapidly descended to reach the foot of the hill at the lake.
The way to the water was rather adventurous; through dense bushes and trees and swampy land. There were number of canoes anchored at the banks, and we wasted no time in waiting. We took the oars and rowed for a while. It was rather tricky for me to get back to the bank as more I wanted to row nearer, the further I was pushed into the lake! At one point, I even felt that I might have to swim in the lake! Thank God that was not necessary!

Our next stop was Bhimtal. It is the largest lake in the Kumaon region which has a dam too. The lake serves drinking water and a variety of fish are reared in it. The entire lake is surrounded by roads and hence urbanisation. Thus it lacks the wilderness that Sattal oozed. Bhimtal is usually a place for meals and snacks as there are a lot of eateries. Contrary to what people may perceive of tourist places, the prices of food are not that sky rocketing. However the parking was! It was flat 50 INR while we were there just for half an hour.
We tried to cover the boundaries of the lake on foot as much as possible. My parents were busy trying to control our toddler. After we got the alarm to come back, we load up in our car encircled the Lake on wheels. Our next destination was Naukuchiatal.
The word Naukuchiatal means 'nine corners' which translates to a lake with nine corners. But the thing that fascinated our family (read the parents of a three year old) the most was the lotus pond near the Naukuchiatal. Hailing from Bengal, lotuses are not an uncommon sight; but it had been really long that I had witnessed a lotus pond in adulthood. I was absolutely thrilled and so were my husband and daughter.
There are boating and kayaking options in every lake. After all, that's what water bodies are for, right? But since we had our return train back on that day, we did not venture into the water. It was definitely a trip for the books. This was my 4 th time in Nainital but still it charms me more every time I visit.

This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla.



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18 comments

  1. Bookmarked this post. I have not been to Nainital and your post is very luring indeed. I love the lotus and saw them growing like this on the Dal in Srinagar. They look like a carpet of ethereal beauty.

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  2. Heard so much about Nainital - enjoyed the virtual visit through your travelogue. Lovely pictures.

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  3. I have a close connection with Nainital and the reason is my honeymoon trip... when I close my eyes I can even see the moments we spend hopping from one lake to other and the beauty of the mountains.... although I am a beach lover. Thanks for refreshing my memories

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  4. Such amazing pictures! Nainital is all about lakes and I didn't know it had so many. Loved this virtual tour.

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  5. Lovely pictures. Nainital is my hometown. I did my schooling there. Beautiful memories and I love going back there each time.

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  6. I knew what nainital meant but I didn't know it is literal.
    wowww Mandira! so many lakes and such a beautiful place. Loved your story and your pics as usual

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  7. Nainital - Its been on my wish list. In fact we travel nearby cities. After reading your beautiful post will love to visit over there. It look like Dam Lake of Kashmir.

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  8. Beautiful pictures. I spent almost every summer in Nainital as a child. Love the place. Bhimtal and Naukuchiatal are my other favorites too.

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  9. Nainital calls me after this post, such mesmerizing pics.... Love the share

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  10. I have been to Nainital many times. Refreshed my memory with your travelog. I loved all your shots.
    -Anjali

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  11. Wow!!what a place to see and simply appreciate! Nature really has its own charisma that no matter how advance technology could be, it's still nature that could really amaze us, don't we! Love that place! Appreciate you sharing your trip! - MommyWithAGoal

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  12. Read and heard a lot about the scenic beauty of the Nainital. watched it in Movies but never had a chance of visiting it.

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  13. Loved your pictures. I still have not got the chance to visit Nainital but made plans many a times. I will keep your post in mind whenever I get a chance to visit this beautiful place.

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  14. I must say I always love your write up and pictures. I am planning Nainital visit in December though.

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  15. I went to Bhimtal but not Nainital. Your post makes me crazy to visit Nainital soon. Lovely clicks.

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  16. I haven't visited Nainital. I love hillstations and hope to visit it too.

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  17. What a beautiful place it seems. Definitely planning next year

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  18. As a child, I visited this part of the hills most frequently and I have the most fond memories of it! However, Naini does not mean 9 (that is 'nau' as in 'naukuchiatal or nine cornered lake'). 'Naini' comes from the goddess who is worshipped here and gave birth to these beautiful lakes. Her name is Naina Devi (goddess of beautiful eyes).
    Noor

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