"Once a year go to a place you have never been before."
This quote by Dalai Lama has become one of my favourite in the last few years. I have even tried my best to follow it by visiting a new destination on the first day itself or at least in the first month. I was in Hyderabad during new year 2016 and in Kerala on Pongal holidays 2017. 2018 was a bit loose and had to wait till march to visit Gwalior.
In 2019, I was back to celebrate new year in a new destination - NAINITAL. The 2018 year end trip was another milestone as Uttarkhand became the 18th Indian state I touched down at.
I tried hard to cut down cost by availing the Indian Railways but luck would not have it and it had to be a road trip. I started from Prayagraj at 8:00am on 28th December 2018 bound for Lucknow.
After around 5 hours of smooth ride I was dropped off at Alambagh bus station in Lucknow. This newly opened bus stand, I must say, is one of the finest I have ever seen in India. The Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT) must have been the same when it was opened. As it was lunch time I visited the food court on the first floor and tried their aloo paratha served with pickle. The pricing has been kept in budget. The food court serves a variety of food at pocket friendly prices.
This time I also got to try the Lucknow metro between Alambagh and Charbagh. During the time of my visit it used to run only on a small section, covering 8 stations and hence very few passengers used them. The pricing may be another concern. My ride cost me ₹20/-. If I guess it correctly, in Kolkata metro, it would have been ₹5 or ₹10/-. I put my stay at Hotel Anusuiya Palace booked on GOIBIBO at an amazing discounted price.
Fast forward day 2. Post lunch I reached Kaiserbagh bus station to figure out how to reach Kathgodam. Luckily there was a direct bus at 5 pm. The Uttarkhand Transport Corportion (UTC) bus took around nine hours to reach Haldwani. Haldwani is the major bus stand in the region while Kathgodam is the railway terminus. Another UTC bus and 40kms later I finally reached my destination.
The beautiful morning sky with its beautiful orange hue greeted me. From Tallital bus terminus in the chilly weather and a frozen foot I started walking towards Youth Hostel. My streak of luck finally came to a halt here. The accommodation was packed. After a lot of enquiring and walking around I reached from where I started in the morning at Tallital. I got a room at dharmashala. Though not too luxurious, it was at par with its cheap price.
During this look around, I visited the Naina Devi Mandir and adjacent Gurudwara passing by the Flats and Jama Masjid. A walk through the opposite bank of Mall road also sometimes called as the Thandai Sarak, is just serene. I found a very few people on this road. No vehicles ae allowed here.
So finally after getting fresh, I started walking towards the Zoo, officially known as the G. B. Pant High Altitude Zoo. One can take shuttle taxi that runs from Mall Road. The zoo located at the top of a hill on eastern bank of the Naini Lake gives a great view of the town below. Among other animals, the red panda is something new that I have never encountered in other zoos.
For the next four or five hours, I went walking towards the Bhowali road in search of a place called the Pines Old Cemetry which I had found on the internet. The only thing I found was a burning a burning ghat down the hills.
The evening was spent window shopping at the Tibtian market and tasting some momos and coffee.
The last day of the year. My initial plan was to trek to Naina Peak, however after walking till High Court and having a chat with tea stall owner, I decided against it and went towards the Eco Cave gardens. One have to trek to the Naina Peak, but it passed through some forest area and the route is not well marked (atleast as per the tea stall owner). The Eco Cave Gardens is a collection of six caves – Tiger cave, Panther cave, Porcupine cave, Bat cave, flying fox cave and Ape cave. Crawl and squeeze you way through them and then reach the hill top view point.
From here, I walked towards the Raj Bhavan road and started my walk towards Tiffin Top. Instead of going all the way down to Mallital from Suktal and then climbing up, a generous local guided me a shorter route. It starts near the high court and passes through the hills on the west bank of the lake, just above the Thandi Sarak which I had visited the day before. On the Raj Bhawan road the Db campus of Kumaon University is located. After passing this, we come to a tri-junction. Taking a U-turn towards the road that goes upwards, we pass through the St. Anthonys College and then finally the Sherwood College. Amitabh Bacchan is an alumni. The trek starts here. No cars can go beyond this point. This route is well marked and steep but the climb was worth it. The view of the snow clad Himalayas just restores the energy. As a supplement enjoy some hot steaming coffee or momo or maggi at the stalls there. To reach the top, there is an alternate routethrough Kaldungi road from where one can take a horse ride to the top. If you are exploring Nainital on taxi, you would be taking this way.
After descending, I visited the Raj Bhawan. Nainital is the summer capital of Uttarkhand. This is also the only Governor house in India that is open to public. An half-an-hour guided tour of the complex is organized every hour. The building was built in 1897 and modeled on the Buckingham Palace of England.
2019. Happy New Year everyone! The winter months are usually a off-season in Nainital except the few days before and after the first day of the year. The parking lots and the city gets packed up for these few days. I checked out of my room early, kept my extra bag at a cloak room near Tallital bus stand and headed to experience the pride of Kumaon, the Nainital Ropeways. From Mallital the cable car climbs the steep hill in just about four minutes to the snow view point. From the two view points here, one can get a clear view of the Himalayas. Climbing down I headed towards the final place on my list - St. John in wilderness church, a little known church near High Court.
So finally after this I signed off from Nainital and headed back home but with a detour via Bhimtal. From Nainital I first took a bus to Bhowali and then a sumo to the lake Bhimtal. As with Naini lake this one is also surrounded by hills but is larger. From Bhimtal a final four-wheeler ride to Haldawani and bus to Allahabad via Lucknow.
And here is a short video of the trip. Enjoy !!!
For more pictures from the trip follow me on Instagram using #ag1805x_in_Nainital.
Fast forward day 2. Post lunch I reached Kaiserbagh bus station to figure out how to reach Kathgodam. Luckily there was a direct bus at 5 pm. The Uttarkhand Transport Corportion (UTC) bus took around nine hours to reach Haldwani. Haldwani is the major bus stand in the region while Kathgodam is the railway terminus. Another UTC bus and 40kms later I finally reached my destination.
The beautiful morning sky with its beautiful orange hue greeted me. From Tallital bus terminus in the chilly weather and a frozen foot I started walking towards Youth Hostel. My streak of luck finally came to a halt here. The accommodation was packed. After a lot of enquiring and walking around I reached from where I started in the morning at Tallital. I got a room at dharmashala. Though not too luxurious, it was at par with its cheap price.
During this look around, I visited the Naina Devi Mandir and adjacent Gurudwara passing by the Flats and Jama Masjid. A walk through the opposite bank of Mall road also sometimes called as the Thandai Sarak, is just serene. I found a very few people on this road. No vehicles ae allowed here.
So finally after getting fresh, I started walking towards the Zoo, officially known as the G. B. Pant High Altitude Zoo. One can take shuttle taxi that runs from Mall Road. The zoo located at the top of a hill on eastern bank of the Naini Lake gives a great view of the town below. Among other animals, the red panda is something new that I have never encountered in other zoos.
For the next four or five hours, I went walking towards the Bhowali road in search of a place called the Pines Old Cemetry which I had found on the internet. The only thing I found was a burning a burning ghat down the hills.
The evening was spent window shopping at the Tibtian market and tasting some momos and coffee.
The last day of the year. My initial plan was to trek to Naina Peak, however after walking till High Court and having a chat with tea stall owner, I decided against it and went towards the Eco Cave gardens. One have to trek to the Naina Peak, but it passed through some forest area and the route is not well marked (atleast as per the tea stall owner). The Eco Cave Gardens is a collection of six caves – Tiger cave, Panther cave, Porcupine cave, Bat cave, flying fox cave and Ape cave. Crawl and squeeze you way through them and then reach the hill top view point.
From here, I walked towards the Raj Bhavan road and started my walk towards Tiffin Top. Instead of going all the way down to Mallital from Suktal and then climbing up, a generous local guided me a shorter route. It starts near the high court and passes through the hills on the west bank of the lake, just above the Thandi Sarak which I had visited the day before. On the Raj Bhawan road the Db campus of Kumaon University is located. After passing this, we come to a tri-junction. Taking a U-turn towards the road that goes upwards, we pass through the St. Anthonys College and then finally the Sherwood College. Amitabh Bacchan is an alumni. The trek starts here. No cars can go beyond this point. This route is well marked and steep but the climb was worth it. The view of the snow clad Himalayas just restores the energy. As a supplement enjoy some hot steaming coffee or momo or maggi at the stalls there. To reach the top, there is an alternate routethrough Kaldungi road from where one can take a horse ride to the top. If you are exploring Nainital on taxi, you would be taking this way.
After descending, I visited the Raj Bhawan. Nainital is the summer capital of Uttarkhand. This is also the only Governor house in India that is open to public. An half-an-hour guided tour of the complex is organized every hour. The building was built in 1897 and modeled on the Buckingham Palace of England.
2019. Happy New Year everyone! The winter months are usually a off-season in Nainital except the few days before and after the first day of the year. The parking lots and the city gets packed up for these few days. I checked out of my room early, kept my extra bag at a cloak room near Tallital bus stand and headed to experience the pride of Kumaon, the Nainital Ropeways. From Mallital the cable car climbs the steep hill in just about four minutes to the snow view point. From the two view points here, one can get a clear view of the Himalayas. Climbing down I headed towards the final place on my list - St. John in wilderness church, a little known church near High Court.
So finally after this I signed off from Nainital and headed back home but with a detour via Bhimtal. From Nainital I first took a bus to Bhowali and then a sumo to the lake Bhimtal. As with Naini lake this one is also surrounded by hills but is larger. From Bhimtal a final four-wheeler ride to Haldawani and bus to Allahabad via Lucknow.
And here is a short video of the trip. Enjoy !!!
For more pictures from the trip follow me on Instagram using #ag1805x_in_Nainital.
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