Nainital Nainital - City of beauty View of the lake and the hills from Mallital Nainital (Hindi: नैनीताल) is a town in the Indian state of Uttarakhand and headquarters of Nainital district in the Kumaon foothills of the outer Himalayas. Situated at an altitude of 1,938 metres (6,358 feet) above sea level, Nainital is set in a valley containing a pear-shaped lake, approximately two miles in circumference, and surrounded by mountains, of which the highest are Naina (2,615 m (8,579 ft)) on the north, Deopatha (2,438 m (7,999 ft)) on the west, and Ayarpatha (2,278 m (7,474 ft)) on the south. From the tops of the higher peaks, "magnificent views can be obtained of the vast plain to the south, or of the mass of tangled ridges lying north, bounded by the great snowy range which forms the central axis of the Himalayas." 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 . |
History St. John in the Wilderness, Nynee Tal, 1860 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. In due course it became the summer capital of then United Province dotted with lakes, Nainital has earned the epither of ' Lake District ' of India. This region was called "Khasdesh" in ancient times and "Khasis" ruled this region before Christ was born. mythology about nainitalIt is believed that Nainital figures in some ancient myths of India. In the Manas Khand of the Skand Puranas, Nainital Lake is called Tri-Rishi-Sarovar, hinting at the story of three sages (or rishis), Atri, Pulastya and Pulaha, who, upon finding no water in Nainital, dug a large hole at the location of the present day lake (sarovar = lake) and filled it with water from the holy lake Manasarovar in Tibet. According to lore, a dip in Naini Lake, "the lesser Manasarovar," earns merit equal to a dip in the great lake. It is also believed that The Naini Lake is one of the 64 Shakti Peeths, or religious sites where parts of the charred body of Sati (Parvati) fell on earth while being carried by Lord Shiva. The spot where Sati's eyes (or Nain) fell, came to be called Nain-tal or [lake of the eye.] The goddess Shakti is worshipped at the Naina Devi Temple on the north shore of the present day lake. |
Places to visit Naini Tal, landslip in 1880 Naina DeviAccording to legends, Sati or Parvati was the daughter of Prajapati Daksha and later, became the consort of Lord Shiva. Once her father insulted Lord Shiva and unable to accept this, she killed herself. When Lord Shiva heard of his wife's death his rage knew no bounds and holding Sati's body he began stalking the three worlds. The other gods trembled before his wrath and appealed to Lord Vishnu for help. Lord Vishnu let fly a volley of arrows which struck Sati's body and severed it to pieces. At the places where the pieces fell, the fifty-one sacred 'shaktipeeths' came into being. It is believed that Sati's eyes fell at the place where this temple is situated. Therefore, this temple is called Naina Devi. The word Naina is synonymous with Sati's eyes. Since then, devotees started visiting this temple. Once the devotee reaches the hill top, prasad can be bought from any of the various shops or it can also one's own offerings from home. After crossing the main gate, there is a big Peepal tree on the left side. On the right side of the temple there are idols of Lord Hanuman Ji and Ganesh Ji. After reaching the main entrance of the temple, there are two statues of lions. Inside the temple, devotees have darshan of three deities. On the extreme left is Mata Kali Devi, the centre representing two Netras or eyes is Maa Naina Devi and to right side is idol of Lord Ganesh. The Naina Devi Temple was destroyed by the landslip of 1880 and later rebuilt. It is located on the northern shore of Naini Lake. The presiding deity of the temple is Maa Naina Devi represented by two Netras or eyes. Flanking Naina Devi are the deities of Mata Kali and Lord Ganesha. Hanuman Garhi NainiTal, Hanuman Garhi Hanuman Garhi, a famous Hindu temple of Lord Hanuman, is situated to the south of Tallital, approximately 3.5 km away from the Nainital bus stop. The temple is perched at an altitude of 6,401 feet from the sea level. It was built by Neem Karoli Baba, a famous local saint, around 1950. The presiding deity of Hanuman Garhi is Hanuman, a devotee of Lord Rama, who is depicted in the image as opening his chest and revealing the images of Lord Ram and Sita Mata in his heart. Other than having religious significance, Hanuman Garhi temple is also famous for its strategic location. It is situated at such a height and at such a site, from where the sunrises and sunsets are artistically visible. People who visit Nainital do not miss the opportunity of watching the mesmerizing view of sunset that one can get from this place. Hanuman Garhi is a must visit for people with a religious bent of mind. On the other side of the hill housing the temple are Shitala Devi temple and Ashram of Lila Sah Bapu. Zoo Naini Tal, Zoo View Bharat Ratna Pt. Govind Ballabh Pant High Altitude Zoo Nainital is the only Zoo in the newly born state of Uttarakhand. It is situated in the hills of Sher ka Danda at about 2 km. from Tallital Bus station at an elevation of 2100 m. above mean sea level and connected by motorable road, where the Mountain quail was last seen in 1876. The Zoo was established in 1984 and is spread over an area of 4.693 ha. The Zoo was opened to visitors on 1st June 1995 and is managed by "The Bharat Ratna Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant High Altitude Zoo Management Society Nainital" from 1st March 2002. Bharat Ratna Pt. G.B. Pant High Altitude Nainital Zoo was established with the objective to conserve and protect the wild life and biodiversity of the hill region of Uttarakhand. Nainital marks a specific and important place in the international tourism map. This is a favorite visiting place for tourist, student and children. It has established its identity in the field of education, research and as a tourist spot. Nainital zoo is kept completely polythene free according to the demand of present time. Snow View Naini Tal, Snow View At the top, a close up view of Naina Devi (7816m) which was, as the old brass plate here tells you, 'the highest mountain in the British empire'. Naina Devi was India's highest peak until Sikkim (and thus Kanchenjunga) was absorbed into the country. There's a small marble temple dedicated to Dev Mundi housing images of Durga, Shiva, Sita, Rama, Lakshmana and Hanuman. From Snow View you can walk west to another point and then continue on to the main road to Kilbury. From here you could continue up to China Peak or head down the road to Sukhatal, passing great views of the lake in route. A walk up to Snow View can take in the tiny Gadhan Kunkyop Ling Gompa of the Gelukpa order (of which the Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader). Take the road uphill from the hotel city heart, from where a path branches off towards the gompa (the colorful prayers flags are visible from the road). The gompa serves Nainital's small (and mostly itinerant) Tibetan community. Most of the Tibetan families travel to Nainital in the summer season to sell sweaters and shawls, and in winter descend to the plains. Observatory Naini Tal, landslip in 1880 Situated on Manora peak it is about 1 Km from Hanumangarhi if some one prefers to visit it on foot . By road it is about 9 Kms from Nainital . It is a centre of astronomical studies and optical tracking of artificial satellites. For night viewing of stars and planets some days are fixed on moon lit nights and permission is necessary. Observatory was established at Nainital in 1955 and shifted to present location of Manora Peak in 1961. The primary objective of the observatory has been to develop facilities for modern astrophysical research in stellar, solar & theoretical branches of astrophysics.On some selected clear nights the visitors are also shown some celestial objects through the telescopes. |