Nainital

Nainital is the pretentious hill‑station that British officials turned into a postcard in 1860 and tourists have been milking ever since, so bring patience and a decent pair of shoes. The lake itself—Bada Tal—must be circled at sunrise on a paddle‑boat from Mall Road, but the real payoff is stepping off at Naini Devi Temple at the east head, where the view over the mist‑clad hills finally feels earned. Keep the trinket‑laden Mall Road for a quick coffee at Connaught Place, then abandon the souvenir stalls and walk the less‑trodden Thandi Sadak to the oak‑shaded Government House, now a museum of colonial kitsch. Dinner is best at the modest Bhel Puri stall near the Gurney House, where you can taste authentic aloo‑tikki with the lake’s chill in the air. A nightcap at the Raj Bhavan’s public promenade is permissible only for photographs, not for wandering. Two days is honest: Day 1 for lake, temple and Mall, Day 2 for the nearby Snow View Point (take the 45‑minute rope‑way early to avoid the crowd) and a brisk trek to Nainital’s quieter sibling, Naukuchiatal, where you can kayak without the tourist‑bus horn chorus. Avoid monsoon (July–September); the roads turn to mud and the lake swells dangerously. Late summer (May–June) offers clear skies and bearable heat, and the town’s colonial hotels still have the high‑ceiling rooms that make the altitude tolerable. If you must be brief, skip the over‑priced rope‑way rides from Mall and instead hire a local guide to take you up the winding road on a shared jeep—cheaper, faster and far less scenic, but you’ll save a few rupees for the real experience.

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