Nainital, 1950 meter high town rises up the wooded hills cupping a green lake. Yachts with candy striped sails, pedal boats and slow skiffs laying snail tracks on the water give Nainital a certain fairy tale quality.
Nainital, 1950 meter high town rises up the wooded hills cupping a green lake. Yachts with candy striped sails, pedal boats and slow skiffs laying snail tracks on the water give Nainital a certain fairy tale quality. A cable car with bright gondolas rides above the trees to 2,270meter high snow view. Most people spend their time walking up and down the tree shaded Mall from Talli Tal at the bus terminus end of the lake to Mall ital below Naini Tal's 2,611 meter high Naina Peak.Inspite of the height of its peak and the fact that the British had taken over Kumaon from the Nepalis in 1815, local people managed to keep the lake secret for many years. The lake is still regarded as sacred by many people in Kumaon.In 1841 however it was discovered by the British officer Captain Weller of the Royal Engineers and his friend P Barron.Barron was one of the first people to apply for a building site in this beautiful place. Much of the imperial Raj character which still exists in some parts of the town owes its presence to the fact that Naini Tal was the summer capital of the huge United Province. The Governor and his entire administration moved to the town in March or Apri.There are very few relics of the old Raj era round the lake .
One of them is the rambling old Naini Tal Yacht club from where boats can still be hired for a cruise around the lake. More adventurous visitors hire a horse at the Mallital end of the Mall and do an interesting ride up to the 2,292 meters high Dorothy's Seat. The path which serves both horses and trekkers winds past scattered houses and up through forested hillsides till the oaks open out into a knoll crowned by a large rock with a kiosk atop it. This is Dorothy's Seat and it gives spectacular view of the snow peaks of the Himalayas and of Naini and the lake far below. The verdant slopes of the opposite hillsides are patched with the red roofs of St Joseph's College, the green roofs of Government House and the fairways of its golf course. A 5 minute walk away is the beautiful little grassy dell of Tiffin Top surrounded by chir,oak and deodar trees and wonderfully serene. Quite naturally its been a favorite picnic spot from the cucumber-sandwich days of the British Raj.It takes about 35 minutes to ride up and appreciably longer to trek. Either way its well worth the effort. One can drive up through deodar and pine woods to a favorite spot for an eagle's view of the lake. On the opposite of the hill are beautiful lush green deodar and oak covered mountains of Kilbury.
