Nainital, Jim Corbett and Lansdowne

 A stroll around Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand, popularly called the Dev Bhoomi or the land of Gods, is one of the smaller but popular states in India. Carved out of Uttar Pradesh in 1998, Uttarakhand was initially named as Uttaranchal officially. Since, Uttarakhand was more popular among its locals, it was officially renamed to the current name in 2007. Uttarakhand is bordered by Tiber region and Nepal on one side and by Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh on the other. 

Nested in the Himalayan and Kumaon mountain ranges, the state is very clean with natural environment. The name Land of Gods refers to numerous temples in the state. Places like Haridwar, Rishikesh, Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamunotri (the last four famously known as Char Dham) are among the popular tourist and religious destinations.

I recently visited Uttarakhand, of course not the whole state. I visited Nainital, Jim Corbett and Lansdowne. Let me take you on a brief stroll across these areas.

Nainital:

Nainital is a town on the foothills of the Kumaon mountain range. It is the judicial capital of the state and holds the High court and Raj Bhavan. It used to be a summer capital of the United Province, a province under the British rule.

Nainital is around 350km from New Delhi, making it a popular weekend getaway from the capital city. It is also around 250km from Dehradun, the state capital. There are many buses that ply from New Delhi and Dehradun to Nainital. The best way to reach is by a cab. The nearest airport is Pantnagar while the nearest railway station in Kathgodham. 

There are many tourist places here. I will cover some of them here.

Naini Lake:

Naini Lake is a natural, tectonic lake in the town of Nainital. The name of the town comes from this lake (Tal means lake). It is in shape of a kidney. It is one of the most important places for tourism as well as a source of water for the town. The lake receives water from the surrounding catchment basin.

Boating is a popular activity undergone on this lake.

(View of Naini Lake)

(Boating in Naini lake)

(View of lake surroundings)

Naina Devi Temple:

Naina Devi Temple is located on the upper end of the Naini lake. It is believed to be one of the Shakthi Peeths. The part where Sati's eye fell is known to have formed the Naini lake and the goddess is worshipped since.

(View of temple from the lake)

(Lights view of the town from the temple)

(Naina Devi temple)

Mall Road:

Mall road is a shopping area in the town and is the busiest street in the town. There are numerous shops along with multiple restaurants and cafes. The road runs along the bank of the Naini lake.

Snow Viewpoint and Echo zone:

If you wish to witness snow-covered mountain tops emerging from clouds, offering different shades of sunlight and a mirror-like glare from far away, Snow Viewpoint is your destination. Located just 2 km away from the Nainital city center is the Snow Viewpoint offering its visitors an exceptional and bewitching view of the snow-covered Himalayan mountains. There are 2 ways to reach this - a small road leads to the top or one can take a ropeway all the way to the top. Ropeway also offers a bird view of the Naini lake.

Unfortunately, for us, we ended up on the Snow viewpoint on a cloudy and rainy day and we could not view the snow cladded hills.

Echo zone is located in the Himalayan Bird Conversation Reserve. As the name says, one can hear echoes around here and has a good viewpoint too. A temple dedicated to God Satyanarayan is also located here.

(Top of the Snow viewpoint)

(Cloudy day marred the views)

(View in echo zone)

Naukuchiatal:

Naukuchiatal or the lake of nine corners. It is located at around 25kms from Nainital. Another popular tourist destination, there are a lot of water activities present here apart from boating. There are many restaurants and cafes surrounding the lake. It is the deepest lake in the region.

(Naukuchiatal lake)

(Boats at Naukuchiatal)

Hanumangarhi:

Hanumangarhi is a temple on the way to Naukuchiatal, about 5kms from the lake. It has a 52 feet high statue of Lord Hanuman. The Temple has an artificial cave design on lines of the famous Vaishno Devi Shrine, which encircles the temple and leads to various sections and other small temples.

(Hanumangarhi temple)

Bhim Tal:

Bhim Tal is the largest lake in the region. It has an island in the center which is now a tourist attraction and an aquarium. It is around 20kms from Nainital. The water from the lake is used to agricultural and drinking purposes.

(Bhim Tal lake with island)

Jim Corbett National Park:

Jim Corbett National Park is the first national park in India. It is named after Jim Corbett who was a hunter and a naturalist. He is famously known hunting man-eating tigers during the British reign.

The Park is a Project Tiger initiative, and so the main attraction here is the Bengal Tiger. The Park spans across 520 sq. kms. Some of the other animals here include gharials, deer, pythons, jungle fowls, monitor lizards, mongoose, langurs among others. 

There are multiple zones in the park, where one can gain entrance to the safaris.

• The Dhikala Zone
• Jhirna Zone
• Bijrani Zone
• Dhela Zone
• The Durga Devi Zone
• Sitabani Buffer Zone
• Phato Zone
• Garjiya Zone

There are many resorts and hotels in the region. One may book safari (day/night) through these hotels. Most zones are closed during the monsoon season.

(Phato zone entrance)

(Buffaloes grazing)

Barati Row waterfall:

Another popular tourist place in the Corbett waterfall. This is located on the way to Jim Corbett Park from Nainital. Unfortunately, due to monsoon, this waterfall was closed, and we could not get in.

However, some 5kms further, we were able to visit another waterfall - the Barati row waterfall.

This is situated inside a forest area and involves a trek of about 2kms. The trek is worth because what you see is a cute waterfall where you can get into the waters and take a swim. It isn't too deep, so you don't have the fear to not play around.

(Trek way up to the falls)

(A small waterfall before the main fall)

(Barati Row waterfall)

Lansdowne:

Lansdowne is a small and a quiet hill station nested in the Kumaon hills. It is located about 250kms from Nainital, 280kms from New Delhi and 140kms from Dehradun. It is nearest hill station Delhi. It is named after its founder Lord Lansdowne, who was a viceroy of India. Currently, Lansdowne is a cantonment and houses the Garhwal Rifles regiment. Lansdowne can be easily reached by road. The route from Kotdwar to Lansdowne is very scenic especially during monsoons.

There are many local attractions. Some of them are the Bhullatal lake, War Memorial, Tip n Top viewpoint, St. Mary's church. The town in very neat and serene. The road leading to Lansdowne is covered with pine trees, making it a picturesque spot. 40kms from the town in the Tarakeshwar temple, which revered by the locals. A day at the place is very relaxing.

(Route to Lansdowne)

(Pine trees cover)

(A view from the town)

(Bhullatal lake)

(Boating at the lake)

(Panaromic view from Tip n Top viewpoint)

(War memorial of the Garhwal Rifles regiment)

Food and Accommodation:

All the three places mentioned have good resorts and hotels. Nainital, in particular, is far more popular than the other two and has luxury as well as budget friendly hotels. As mentioned before, there are many restaurants and cafes available in and around Nainital. However, it is better to reserve food at respective hotels in Jim Corbett and Lansdowne, as there are fewer options. Food is good in all places with typical North Indian food being the majority.

All these places are easily accessible via road and the roads are motorable. Best time to visit is from mid-September to December, when the climates are cool and there is no rain. Pack your bags with thermal wear just in case there is a sudden change in the weather. Do note to keep the place clean. For your next trip, pack your bags, you know where to visit ;)