A lakey heaven in the mountains-Nainital

Nainital. There isn’t a word that describes my feelings for this place. It’s a getaway. It’s a beautiful hill station. It’s a place high up in the mountains with a lake in between. But most importantly, it is home. It is where my grandpa grew up, where my dad grew up and will always be the place I call home. So let’s go exploring.

1.      Hike

This shouldn’t come as a surprise as it’s a hill station and what else would you do if not hike when you’re surrounded by those huge mountains? Every summer in school was spent hiking up the same old trails with my cousins and dad and coming back home to get the best sleep ever. The best part of being a tourist at your hometown is that you can go places where the usual tourists won’t go or come back going halfway. Once while I was home during Christmas, we went for our usual hike, up the highest peak in the town called China Peak or more recently renamed as Naina Peak, we found a tourist coming back down and advising us saying, “Hey guys, it’s really slippery up there with the snow being a few days old.” We replied with even more enthusiasm in our voices saying, “Oh great, there is still snow up there?” And the guy informed us that the entire way was snow covered and it was dangerous to walk. When we told him we were local town people his voice dropped to an embarrassing tone and he replied saying, “Oh great, so you guys will go”. We sure did. And it was horribly slippery like the guy said it would be and I was freakishly scared of slipping off and falling into the wilderness of the mountains, which made me make one of my cousins to walk beside me holding my hand so that I wouldn’t fall off. Even though I call it home, I’d never seen snow in my life before and I was so excited that I forgot my nose and lips were frozen with the cold. But that didn’t stop me from taking selfies.

Here is the view from the top of China Peak, you can see the entire lake in the background

Yep its quiet some elevation training right there with this hike.

Just along China Peak is Camel’s Back, where you can go straight through by walking down the other side of China Peak and then climbing up again. As the name says, you probably would’ve already guessed why it’s named so, well yes, because it looks like a camel’s hump. Another good place to hike in town is Tiffin Top, which is a nice place to go for a picnic with friends and family. Once you reach there you can see the Himalayas so clearly that it’s a complete feat for any photographer out there. I got some great photos that Christmas of the snow covered mountains.

The majestic Himalayas

This one's called Nanda Parbat

This right here is called Trishul

Moving further, if you’ll walk down the other end of Tiffin Top then you’ll end up at another famous spot called Land’s End. Well yes it literally is land’s end. It’s like all of a sudden the land just vanished. From there you can see another lake town called Khurpatal down below. If any of you out there is interested in a Khatchar ride, then that is available as well. Though it stinks of their shit, but if you’re tired then you can get a short ride. When you walk towards town from Land’s End you’ll find Cave Garden. It has six caves named after the animals you’ll find in the wilderness like porcupine, panther and so on where you got to maneuver through the caves like the said animals do in the wilderness. It’s a fun place to go and try on your flexibility.

2.      Thandi Sadak

You love solitude? You love nature? You love walking on old, part stone, and part gravel roads? Well Thandi Sadak’s got you covered. Not only is it traffic free, but its right along the lake with a beautiful view of the city. Nainital is a haven for people who love to walk, and Thandi Sadak is just like a cherry on top of the walking cake in the town. Its one side water and one side lush green. What more could one want while walking? You’ll also find an amusing temple while on the way called Pashan Devi, where the goddess is depicted on a rock showing all her forms. It's called so because the road doesn't get much of sunlight and is colder than it's counter on the other end of the lake. Further by the end of the road you’ll reach the shopping hub of the town called Bhotia Market where you’ll find everything from clothing, backpacks, cosmetics, jewelry, and interior decoration to the famous momos and noodles among other tasty dishes. And if you’re lucky you might find a fair going on at flats, the place that holds the market. It could be clothes and goodies fair or a book fair, but you’ll always find the usual rides that accompany a fair everywhere. Flats also hosts lots of tournaments of various sports like, basketball, cricket and the town’s favorite, football. The town’s ropeway also ends there, so you can catch a ride up to another famous stop called Snow View, which since my school days has developed from being just a pit stop to stare through the tiny telescope there and look at the Himalayas, into a full blown amusement stop with freefall, disco cars, shooting and many more things to do. And if you are interested in water sports, then right at the beginning of the road, there is a spot where people go for swimming and kayaking. And if you’re into golf then while coming up to Thandi Sadak from the bus stand you’ll find a way up to Himalaya Hotel which hosts a 9 holes mini golf and if you make the last hole you get to play the whole course again for free. Its super fun and competitive.

That red building is the temple Pashan Devi and at the far end of the photo is the area called flats

3.      Food

Every place has its own taste and a few things that it’s known for being the local specialty. Well I don’t know if the things I’m going to tell you to try out are going to be the usual food on the top list of things to try out there on the internet, but I am sure you will enjoy them. Beginning with a sugary treat for the people out there with a sweet tooth you’ll find the famous jalebis of the “Loti Wala” in Tallital market a divine indulgence. My home being in the neighborhood of the shop and the family a huge fan of their product, it was always a welcome treat in the household that even the grownups would go themselves and buy or send out one of the kids to do the chore. Yogurt accompanies them usually but if you’d rather have just the sweet taste you can have it straight. Another awesome stop for quick street food is Neeru’s which is in the neighborhood of the Loti Wala. I still remember being fascinated by the quickness of the cook there as he used to make the noodles and my all time favorite, Bun Tikkis, within minutes and pack them up, while I used to stand transfixed just staring at the ease with which he used to finish up the orders. If you don’t shy away from a generous amount of spices in your food then do go and try the food there. It used to be my mid day snack almost every day, and I still never miss a chance to go and grab a bite there whenever I am in town. And while we are still in Tallital market don’t forget to pick up a box of “Chocolate” from Anand Mishthan right down from Neeru’s. And yes you read correct, chocolate it is and that too at an Indian sweet shop. But it’s no ordinary chocolate, and I shall let you give the words to its taste. Its fancier version of sugar balls stuck to it called “Baal Mithai” is also quiet famous but all that sugar hides up the original taste for me.

Here is Bal Mithai

And Chocolate

Now let’s move on to the other side of town called Mallital. Here I have for you momo lovers an awesome place to eat called Sonum. This place is so famous that they have two places where they do business, one down at the flats and one shop right up around the flats area. They also make some awesomely delicious noodles kind of thing called “Thuppa” which you shouldn’t miss out on eating. Next up we have for the tea lovers like me, The Honey Hut. This place serves you with all-you-can-have honey with your tea. So you can admire the city’s beauty all you want while you sip your tea with pure honey bliss.

And finally ending the food journey with another treat for the sweet tooth in you is an awesome place called Sakley’s right next to flats, having orgasmic baked goods on the menu with good music playing in the background.

Sakley's had this tiny little Christmas tree and I had to take a photo of it.

4.      Pahadi food

You must be wondering, she just finished food and now there is another redundant food topic again. Well this is no common food, and if you happen to have a pahadi friend there, do not miss on the opportunity to load up on the stuff our household makes. Not everyone is familiar with the food on this particular menu, which is why I’ll give you some of the absolute must try dishes.

Starting off with Ras Bhaat, we have here a soupy mixture of a few pulses, boiled and the seeds removed to be eaten later on along with rice, and a special spinach dish called “Kapa”. So the full plate would have some rice, kapa (pronounced ka-pa), maybe a veg somewhere there and a bowl of ras. Thanks to pahadi cooks out on the internet I somehow managed to find a few photos for you guys.

Next comes Dubka Bhaat, which is nothing but a pahadi pulse crushed and boiled with nothing but a tempering of a spice called “Jambu”. My personal favorite is the dubka made of a pulse called “Bhat” which has its normal dal that is also made that is popularly called "Bhat ki Chudkani". You can match it up with another pahadi special veg called “Laai”, which is a green vegetable and might taste a little sour to you in the beginning but it is awesome.

This is how Bhat looks like

And to end with desserts we have here a very tasty treat called “Singal-Pue”, which are an obvious presence in a pahadi household on special occasions or if someone new is over at the house. Singal isn't anything different, its made of the same batter, its just that the shape is of a spiral.

5.      Miscellaneous

Since I can’t club these things into a single field I’m just going to spread them out here under miscellaneous. The town was settled by the British during their rule and the English signs are still visible throughout the town in a good way. Starting with the convents all around and famous celebrities having study stints there makes the town even more of a hip place. The most striking schools for me have always been the Birla’s residential school for boys, Birla Vidya Mandir, situated on top of the hill among the wilderness away from the towns hustle and St. Joseph’s College or popularly known among the town folks as SEM. The movie Koi Mil Gaya was shot at SEM for all the school scenes.

This is SEM as seen from Tiffin Top

While talking about the English signs, one cannot forget about the Nainital High Court on the slopes of China/Naina Peak in Mallital. It’s an absolute yes on the places to go list for it’s a must see building for its architecture of the British period and the lush green gardens that are spread in front of it.

Since you are in a town with a lake at such a height, I should not leave the boating extravaganza out of the blog. You’ll find peddle boats and row boats. Whichever you want is your pick and you can enjoy the lake and look at the town from a different view.

If you are into temples then there is a good old temple called Hanuman Garhi at a walking distance from the town.

For the shopping freaks out there Mall Road has got you covered. It’s not just a shopping hub but it’s a great place to walk as well. Lined up with beautiful trees along the way you won’t regret a thing walking down this road. And while shopping, you can never miss buying some candles and aroma oils.

Before ending I’d like to give you an awesome fact about Nainital that is, if you happen to come up the town from Haldwani at night, you’ll find out that the town lights make the shape of OM on the mountains as you progress towards the town, and since you are so high up with an awesomely clean environment the astronomy geeks and night sky lovers are going to have the time of their life. The night sky that you’ll get in town on a clear night is just magnificently breathtaking. Also when I asked in my childhood why it was called Nainital, the answer I got was that when Sati's body was falling all over the place, her eye fell here and that's how we got the Naini lake and the very popular temple called Nanda or Naina Devi from where every Navratra her "Dola" is carried all through the town, and hence the name Nainital. I don't know how solid this story is but who cares when the place is so gorgeous. So go out, and fall in love with this town like so many other people do and make your own memories there. Mine are still fresh of the old ageing house with every nook and cranny full of memories and my grandpa's stories. I am sure you’ll love it there.