Cheap Weekend Getaways from Delhi: August 2015

The Gorgeous Nainital

Tiffin Top, Nainital

Journey Starts from Here, 14th Aug, Old Delhi Railway Station

Old Delhi Railway Station

It was 14^th of August when we 3 friends planned to visit Nainital on weekend. Remember that this was our budget travel trip, so we hadn’t taken Bus or Car but we traveled through Indian Railway by Ranikhet Express at an individual cost of 90 bucks only.

Ranikhet Express

It took 5.30 hours to reach Kathgodam, the nearest railway station to Nainital. We reached Kathgodam at 5 am. It was early morning and the weather was awesome around the valley. Kathgodam is the place where the plains end and hilly area starts so Kathgodam is also very beautifully surrounded by sky soaring mountains.

Kathgodam to Nainital

Kathgodam Railway Station

After exiting the railway station, we took public transport bus of Uttarakhand at 5.40 am for Nainital.

Kathgodam to Nainital Bus View

The view in the journey was mesmerizing; the fragrance of the vegetation of those hills and the beautiful looking pine trees evoked nostalgic memories of my childhood. It was around 6 am when we saw the first ray of sun in some part of the valley, it was brighter and energetic.

Kathgodam to Nainital Bus View

Finally we reached Nainital on 15^th August at 6.30 am

Nainital is 35 Kms away from Kathgodam and it took around 1 hour of bus journey to reach Nainital.

Nainital Downtown

Lake View, Nainital

Since it was 15^th Aug, the down town of the city around the lake was crowded and there were combined school march of different schools of Nainital. It was very energetic feeling of seeing those young kids announcing the patriotic slogans.

Independence Day Celebration, Nainital

Independence Day March, Nainital

It was so attractive and patriotic march that it was irresistible to leave it mid-way but because we had to do a lot in these two days, so without waiting anymore we moved ahead to find a cheap hotel in Nainital mall road (the down town of the city). There were lots of hotels in Nainital mall road which were providing good rooms on low rate and we got a room in 1000 bucks.

Tourist Places in Nainital

Lake View, Nainital

We got freshen up in the hotel room within 1 hour and then taken breakfast and hired a car for Rs. 1550 for entire day drive through places near Nainital.

After driving throughout the mall road we stopped at Bara Khamba which is known for Rock Climbing, but because of the monsoon season there were algae on the rocks so rock climbing activity was abandoned temporarily, so we moved ahead. There were lots of things to do in Nainital and after some distance we got to do horse riding on the famous hill tops of Nainital. This was our first experience of horse riding and even through difficult terrains, so it was very adventurous and furious experience. The way to reach at the top was made after carving the hills, so the right side of our moving direction there was deep gorge.

Horse Riding, Nainital

After some minutes of horse riding we reached Tiger Top which is a famous hilltop in Nainital, but because of dense clouds nothing was visible around. The visibility was almost zero.

Tiger Top, Nainital

Now after 5 minutes we moved ahead for Tiffin Top which is the highest hilltop of Nainital and famous for its beautiful landscape.

Tiffin Top View

There was beautiful lush green landscape at Tiffin top. Here you can also get to see the famous St. Joseph College of which the famous bollywood legend Mr. Amitabh Bachchan is an alumnus.

St. Joseph College, Nainital

Tiffin Top, Nainital

After relaxing and getting freshen-up with some snacks & coffee for few minutes we returned from there at our horse riding start-up location to move ahead.

My Helper for Horse Riding

Me and my helper for horse riding

Suicide Point

It is very deep as well as beautiful gorge in the valley known for what its name suggests.

Suicide Point, Nainital

Saritatal (aka Sariatal)

We moved ahead with our car drive towards Saritatal which is a man-made lake in Nainital. It was a decent lake, not that much beautiful to boast-off.

Sariyatal, Nainital

Khurpatal

Khurpatal is very beautiful natural lake in Nainital, which is named after its shape like the foot of cow. It also famous for its unique trait of changing color of water according to the weather.

Khurpatal, Nainital

Mansa Devi Mandir, Khurpatal, Nainital

Khurpatal, Nainital

Sadiatal Cascade

After Khurptal, we moved towards Sadiatal Cascade.

Sadiatal Cascade, Nainital

Himalay Darshan (Himalayan Range View Point)

After enjoying for few minutes we moved towards Himalay Darshan (Himalayan Range View Point). But because of the bad weather we couldn’t see the Himalaya.

Himalaya Darshan, Nainital

My Friend at Himalaya Darshan, Nainital

Me & My Friend at Himalaya Darshan, Nainital

Now this was the end of our travelling by car and we returned to mall road again near our hotel at around 2 pm and took some lunch in a decent non-veg hotel.

The Gorgeous Evening View of Naini Lake

Afterwards we took some rest in our hotel room for 3 hours and then came out again from our den to visit the Naini lake for the gorgeous evening view.

First of all we took some evening snacks at our favourite coffee shop.

Coffee Shop, Nainital

As evening was bit colder, I felt the need to wear a t-shirt inside. We moved through the Thandi Sadak road which is the opposite side of the lake and mall road to get the view from opposite side.

Lake View, Nainital

Me at the Bank of Nainital Lake

Lake View, Nainital

Hanuman Mandir on Thandi Sadak, Nainital

Shani Mandir, Thandi Sadak, Nainital

Thandi Sadak, Nainital

Naina Devi Mandir, Nainital

The holi Naina Devi mandir in Nainital.

Naina Devi Temple, Nainital

Bara Bazaar, Nainital

Bara Bazaar is the local market place of Nainital. You can easily find local items like famous decorative candles of Nainital and the wooden decorative materials.

Bara Bazaar, Nainital

Jama Masjid (Mosque)

This famous Jama Masjid was built in 1882 during the British Era for muslim around Nainital.

Jama Masjid, Nainital

Walk Through Mall Road

Now after Bara Bazaar we came into the mall road of Nainital, were we walk around towards our hotel and did some shopping.

Mall Road, Nainital

Shopping in Mall Road, Nainital

Mall Road, Nainital

$Beautiful Fern on Tree, Mall Road, Nainital\$

Beautiful Fern on Tree, Mall Road, Nainital

Mall Road, Nainital

We were tired of walking so took some rest in the mall road itself nearby our hotel.

Then we took dinner nearby our hotel and rested their around the lake for an hour. The breeze was too cold to resist so we got inside our room after an hour.

16^th August

Lake View, Nainital

We got up at 9 am in the morning and got ready by 10.30 then checked-out of the hotel, now we went to take breakfast in our favourite coffee shop.

Tallital, Nanital

Then we got to see change in weather within 15 minutes, as cloud came from somewhere down the Nainital and started raining for around 1 hour, meanwhile we took our breakfast.