It was quite cold there. Scenic mountain roads and pretty steep ones led to our resort “Shervani Hilltop.” The little houses built in the mountains looked so unique. It just amazed us as to how they would have taken all the construction material up. Shervani has a beautiful garden. The flowers are amazing, and we just loved admiring them. They have good heating in the rooms (which was really required in the cold), but one gets hot water only for a few hours in a day, as water is precious in the mountains. Fair enough! The food spread is quite lavish and tasty, and they had live singing too. The singer sang some lovely romantic ballads that added to the pleasure of dining. For those who have been to Nainital know that most activity is centered around the Naini lake and the Mall Road that runs adjacent to it. Mall Road is the predominant shopping area here. Nainital is well known for its candles, and we bought some too. Though, it is unclear why it is so because the wax does not originally come from Nainital. One good thing is the cleanliness drive. There is no visible litter, and they are strict about littering. The lake is also extremely clean. We had one of the best boat rides in the serene lake with an entertaining boatman, who told us stories of his children and how he had educated them all with his boatman’s salary. It is a pleasure to talk to locals and hear tidbits about the local history. Also, the language is so wonderful — good, lyrical Hindi. Don’t you agree that the language in the smaller towns is so clean and pure and a pleasure to hear as against the mixed, corrupt language of the cities.
a unique way of pottingcacti
We enjoyed our walks on the Mall Road. We even once did the 4-km route from our resort to the Mall Road to and fro, which is pretty steep! It did get our hearts pumping, and we were shedding our woolens in a hurry :). No wonder, the people in the hills are so fit. And, the air is so fresh and unpolluted. My husband joked that we might fall sick because of such clean air and fresh produce :). We also did a walk till the Himalaya Darshan Point. On clearer days, one can see Mount Everest and other Himalayan peaks from there, but on the day we went, we could not due to the fog, but we did enjoy the hike. Another nice place to visit is the Cave Garden. There are a multitude of caves here: Tiger cave, Panther cave, Ape cave, bat cave and so on. Let me tell you that the caves can be claustrophobic with steep climbs and sheer drops. But, it provides a huge rush. Sid and dad did 4 caves. I had the courage to only do 2 :). One could have great views of the Nainital city from here. Another curious thing I found here was that plastic bottles are slung from trees in some sort of pattern. Is it to show people not to litter or does it have some other significance? Some locals we asked had no clue. You can also do the cable car, but I personally don’t enjoy them much. One can also see various points on horseback if one is so inclined. Overall, it was a pleasurable stay among friendly, simple people. It was really relaxing and for people living closely a must do. A lot of people say that it is over-commercialized, but it seemed a sleepy, laid back town to me. No complains. We had a good time!
We braced ourselves for some bad roads, as we headed back to Delhi on Diwali!
We had been to Nainital when the boys were young. We had missed the caves then, but took the pony ride. The pics brought back those memories. Loved your husband’s comment about falling ill on fresh air and food 🙂
@Aathira Yep, one more place we didn’t go to was the zoo. But then since Bannerghatta zoo back home is so good and close by, we thought of letting it go. Haven’t been to chail. Must try.
@Destiny’s child Thank you so much! I see that you did keep your word :).
@Juxtaposition Absolutely loved it there!
@cybernag Oh yes, I went in my childhood too. I had pretty vague memories of back then but remembered the lake. It was fun going with my husband, mil and children this time.
@Bikram Yes, the place is good. The dahlias were so pretty there and in many hues. Some of them were so huge that the stems were just falling under the weight. I have clicked so many pictures of the flowers and jungles :). Captivating beauty.
@A Well glad that you liked the tour :). Since you belong to delhi, it is doable for you easily.
@Ramesh Thanks :).
@Rachna Thanks so much for visiting my space. It is a pleasure meeting you.
Well, I am happy to hear about the cleanliness drive. When we visited Nainital about 3 years back it was awfully congested and filthy! Loved the pictures -AWESOME!
I must have mentioned it before too that i belong to this beautiful place :):)Thanks for bringing my home to me through your beautiful pictures and description .tc.
@Meera oh, is that true! Then, I am so glad that I did not go 3 years ago. They have done a remarkable job of keeping places clean and are very prompt with fining for litter. Happy that you enjoyed the pictures.
@kavita wow, I didn’t know that. Do you belong to Uttarakhand or to Nainital? I found the number plate UK so funny to begin with :).
Beautiful flowers and beautiful description. Must visit it some time. To hear it is clean is so refreshing, we usually see only garbage lying around in most of the hill stations. even now last week during our visit to Yercaud, I saw so much garbage left uncleared, and plastic bottles and other throw aways just piling up everywhere. It has increased more so with people coming to see it from all over the country. I have seen it so many times, but places like Munnar, Ooty, Kodai are places I no longer wish to visit again. Glad to know you had a wonderful time in Nainital. I wonder when our country would ever be clean
@rama So true! I remember that I loved Yercaud when I visited last year, but the smell of garbage was overpowering. There was a huge dump at the Sterling Resorts where we stayed. Nainital has put in a lot of effort to keep things clean, and it seecms that they are very strict about littering the lake and surrounding area. A lot of time we are to blame because we are not so conscious about disposing our waste properly coupled with the apathy of the Administration.
Wow! lovely pichaas and such a nice way of explaining …After my halloween bhoot-pret pichaas this was pleasure to eyes .. so beautiful ,specially those little pots with cacti and that lovely lush green beauty ,, its like coolers to eyes! hope it was fun for you! tc
Lovely post… it gives an idea about this place that anyone could easily wish to visit. Nainital somehow represents our Kodaikanal where the almost activities go around the lake. Beautiful photos 🙂
Thanks Rachna for writing about our beautiful city. I was expecting that u would explore the conversation with the boat man that would have enhanced the human aspect of this pristine tourist place where every one comes to enjoy n have a good time but no one cares about the hardships n adversities these boatman face during the time of winters when the lake gets frozen n there are hardly any tourist to ride their boats…there meager earning only makes them warm by having some hot tea!
Wow! Prestine!
Beautiful clicks, Rachna. Was waiting for this post as Naini has been in my list for long maybe, sometime soon 🙂
@NRIGirl It was :).
@bbsearchingself I have over 250 photos taken here :).
Wonderful travelogue and nice clicks! 🙂
Pretty… I think Nainital and Chail are two beautiful, and quiet places to go to. Did you visit the Nainital Zoo?
Wow..Rachna! what lovely pics and narration. Lucky you! Now, lemme go and catch up on your posts I missed. 🙂
Lovely Pics Rachna. Nainital is on my list of must visit places. I can imagine that you must have had a relaxing stay there.
We had been to Nainital when the boys were young. We had missed the caves then, but took the pony ride. The pics brought back those memories. Loved your husband’s comment about falling ill on fresh air and food 🙂
@Shilpa thanks!
@Aathira Yep, one more place we didn’t go to was the zoo. But then since Bannerghatta zoo back home is so good and close by, we thought of letting it go. Haven’t been to chail. Must try.
@Destiny’s child Thank you so much! I see that you did keep your word :).
@Juxtaposition Absolutely loved it there!
@cybernag Oh yes, I went in my childhood too. I had pretty vague memories of back then but remembered the lake. It was fun going with my husband, mil and children this time.
wowo beautiful pictures .. I have been to nainital so many times ..
the lake is awesome an the picture of the Dahlia beautiful
Bikram’s
So many time we thought of going there but could not.
Now I just took a tour :)))
super post n super clicks..also nice to hear u had a good time rachna..cheers
hey…its nice to meet not just my namesake, but also someone who stays in the same city and is also a Writer 🙂
Lovely pictures. Made me envious as I love going on hikes.
That was a very captivating read with lovely pictures
Wonderful Pics Rachna! You hardened my wish of visiting to Naiital!
Oh Rachna it sounds (and looks) so heavenly.
@Bikram Yes, the place is good. The dahlias were so pretty there and in many hues. Some of them were so huge that the stems were just falling under the weight. I have clicked so many pictures of the flowers and jungles :). Captivating beauty.
@A Well glad that you liked the tour :). Since you belong to delhi, it is doable for you easily.
@Ramesh Thanks :).
@Rachna Thanks so much for visiting my space. It is a pleasure meeting you.
Thank you Rahul, Sahana and agnes for your warm words.
Well, I am happy to hear about the cleanliness drive. When we visited Nainital about 3 years back it was awfully congested and filthy! Loved the pictures -AWESOME!
I must have mentioned it before too that i belong to this beautiful place :):)Thanks for bringing my home to me through your beautiful pictures and description .tc.
🙂
@Meera oh, is that true! Then, I am so glad that I did not go 3 years ago. They have done a remarkable job of keeping places clean and are very prompt with fining for litter. Happy that you enjoyed the pictures.
@kavita wow, I didn’t know that. Do you belong to Uttarakhand or to Nainital? I found the number plate UK so funny to begin with :).
@Ramesh 😀
Nice pictures. Nainital is a beautiful place. My first visit to your blog, it nice 🙂
http://www.iredeem.blogspot.com/
Nice pictures. Nainital is a beautiful place. Its my first visit to your blog, its nice 🙂
http://www.iredeem.blogspot.com/
Beautiful flowers and beautiful description. Must visit it some time. To hear it is clean is so refreshing, we usually see only garbage lying around in most of the hill stations. even now last week during our visit to Yercaud, I saw so much garbage left uncleared, and plastic bottles and other throw aways just piling up everywhere. It has increased more so with people coming to see it from all over the country. I have seen it so many times, but places like Munnar, Ooty, Kodai are places I no longer wish to visit again.
Glad to know you had a wonderful time in Nainital.
I wonder when our country would ever be clean
@Shreya Thank you and welcome!
@rama So true! I remember that I loved Yercaud when I visited last year, but the smell of garbage was overpowering. There was a huge dump at the Sterling Resorts where we stayed. Nainital has put in a lot of effort to keep things clean, and it seecms that they are very strict about littering the lake and surrounding area. A lot of time we are to blame because we are not so conscious about disposing our waste properly coupled with the apathy of the Administration.
this is to tempting. Calm, peaceful and serene 🙂 I am sure you had a well deserved break.
Wow! lovely pichaas and such a nice way of explaining …After my halloween bhoot-pret pichaas this was pleasure to eyes ..
so beautiful ,specially those little pots with cacti and that lovely lush green beauty ,, its like coolers to eyes!
hope it was fun for you!
tc
heard so mucha bt nanital.. hope to visit there soon x
Awesome pictures.Nanital is a very beautiful place
@insignia Yes, it was really nice.
@Harman Thanks! True!
@Emmy Yes, you must!
@BKChowla Thanks! Yes, lovely place.
Rachna i am a Kumauoni by birth … mom from Ranikhet and dad originally from Mukteswar but raised in Almora and now finally settled in Delhi.
@kavita Wow, that’s interesting!
the pics – +10k 😀
Nainital isw my favourite hill station as we used to go there in every summer in our childhood..
Naini lake, and the temple nearby are my favourite spot..
WOW! beautiful…high on my list of places to visit…
Thank you Vijay, Renu and Ashok.
Very beautiful blog and what you got here Rachna! I got your blog from lovely rama ananth
@Linhy Thanks so much for visiting and hope to see you here more often.
Lovely post… it gives an idea about this place that anyone could easily wish to visit. Nainital somehow represents our Kodaikanal where the almost activities go around the lake. Beautiful photos 🙂
@Jeevan Thank you so much for visiting!
Simply beautifully captured shots…lovely viewing this wonderful place!
Thanks Rachna for writing about our beautiful city. I was expecting that u would explore the conversation with the boat man that would have enhanced the human aspect of this pristine tourist place where every one comes to enjoy n have a good time but no one cares about the hardships n adversities these boatman face during the time of winters when the lake gets frozen n there are hardly any tourist to ride their boats…there meager earning only makes them warm by having some hot tea!
This comment has been removed by the author.
Enjoy a holiday in the wilderness of Jim Corbett and catch a glimpse of Tiger and other wild animals in the lush forests of the national park.