Trip members: Karthik and family
Trip date: 8 April - 14 April 2026
Trip Plan : Mumbai - New Delhi - Kathgodam - Bhimtal - Nainital - Ranikhet - Ramnagar (him Corbett) - Kathgodam - New Delhi - Chennai
A trip planned to see Nainital and surrounding places. covering Jim Corbett National Park.
Day-1
We started from Chennai by flight to New Delhi by 9:15 AM flight. We reached New Delhi by mid-day and checked-in to Hotel StarVilla closer to NDLS railway station. We booked a place near NDLS as the plan was to go by train to Kathgodam next day early morning. Post check-in, we went for lunch to Maa Bhagwati Restaurant - had garlic naan, paneer sabji, jeera rice. We rested at the hotel for some time and started to Redfort around 3:30 PM. We had not seen Red Fort so far during earlier visits to New Delhi.
Red Fort
We took a tuk-tuk from the main road to Red Fort amongst the very busy Delhi roads. Entry tickets are for Rs.35 for Indians and cameras are allowed inside.
The Red Fort (Lal Qila) is one of India's iconic historical monuments and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The fort was built in the 17th century by Shah Jahan and it served as the main residence of the Mughal emperors for nearly 200 years. The fort is built using Red Sandstone and thus the name. This was constructed when Shah Jahan moved the captial from Agra to Delhi. Since India's independence in 1947, the Prime Minister hoists the national flag from the fort's ramparts every 15 August and delivers the Independence Day address to the nation here.
The fort is almost a town inside and has many buildings to go around and visit. A brief is as below:
- Lahori Gate – The main entrance and the fort's branded look.
- Chatta Chowk – A market at the entrance of the fort - used for royal artisans once sold luxury goods; currently for souvenirs.
- Diwan-i-Aam (Hall of Public Audience) – Where the emperor met the public and heard petitions.
- Diwan-i-Khas (Hall of Private Audience) – The venue for meetings with nobles and foreign dignitaries. It once housed the famous Peacock Throne.
- Rang Mahal (Palace of Colors) – The residence of the emperor's queens and family, known for its beautiful decorations.
- Mumtaz Mahal
- Hayat Bakhsh Bagh – A Mughal garden
We spent close to 2 hours going around the place and visiting almost every part of the fort. There are canteens inside for water and refreshments.
We returned back by Tuk-tuk to the hotel; had dinner at same place - Maa Bhagwati Restaurant.
Day-2
6:20 AM and Shatabdi to Kathgodam - Check-out, a street tea and onto the train. The food served was of below average quality and not sufficient as well. We reached Kathkodam around noon - took the Ertiga booked with Dayal & Premnath Goswami. It was around 27 degrees when we reached Kathgodam and quite sultry and dry.
The Kathgodam railway station parking was so badly managed that it took more than 30 mins to exit. It seems getting down 8 kms before at Haldwani is a better option if you plan to goto Kathgodam. We were super hungry and driver insisted to hold on for some more time and took us to a Dhaba styled restaturant on the hills towards Bhimtal.
Hills View Family Restaurant enroute Bhimtal - we had pahadi dal, pahadi chutney, mix veg, Jeera rice, hot pakodas and rotis. Definitely a very good place to eat on the route - fresh preparations and tasty. The hotel had some good views also.
Uttarakhand is primarily divided into 2 regions - Kumaon and Gharwal regions. Whole of Nainital and above come in Kumaon regions, while Rishikesh and above fall in Gharwal regions. Both have unique culture, food and quite different also.
Nainital
Nainital is one of the India's popular hill stations, nestled in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand. The town is built around the beautiful Naini Lake, surrounded by steep forested mountains. The scenic beauty offers a blend of natural beauty, colonial architecture, temples, and adventure activities. Nainital served as the summer capital of the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) during British rule and so colonial buildings, British names trek routes, roads and view points.
The Nainital region is called the "Lake District of India" because it is home to many beautiful natural freshwater lakes in the Kumaon hills. Bhimtal is a next bigger town near Nainital and has one of the biggest lakes around.
Bhimtal
Bhimtal is 22 kms away from Nainital and we planned to visit Bhimtal and few surrounding lakes before we reach Nainital.
Bhimtal is a beautiful picturesque hill town in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, located about 22 km before Nainital. It is known for its bunch of lakes around. Bhimtal itself is a serene lake amidst lush green hills, and a peaceful atmosphere and the biggest in the Lake district of Nainital.
Kamal Taal
Kamal Taal is a small lake on the way to Naukuchia Taal. This lake is filled with lotuses. Just stoped for for a minute and moved on.
Naukuchiatal
Literally means "Lake of Nine Corners". This lake is believed to be around 40–45 meters deep, making it one of the deepest lakes in the region. This lake is popular for paragliding, paddle boating, and peaceful lakeside stays.
Few eateries and restrooms are available in this place.
Sattal
Sattal is located about 9 kilometers away from Bhimtal by road. Sattal is a network of seven smaller freshwater lakes connected by natural channels. The seven lakes are named after Hindu epics - Ram Tal, Sita Tal, Lakshman Tal, Panna Tal, Suka Tal, and Nal-Damyanti Tal. These lakes are very rich in birdlife, butterflies, and amongst beautiful dense oak and pine forests. The drive to these lakes itself is an amazing experience.
We tasted the local wild lime juice. The lime is of the size of Orange, and a small portion is enough for a glass of juice - so sour! But very refreshing.
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| Nal Damayanthi Taal |
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| Garud Taal |
Overall, we spent around 2-3 hours around all these lakes, tasting local tea and juices around. The driver then said he will take us to a beautiful place for sunset and he rightly did so!
Ghorakhal Sunset view point
We reached a view point on the Bhowali - Ghorakhal Road around 6:15 PM. It was quite a bit of elevation and was absolutlely cold. We just realised the Himalayan wind and stunning drop in temperature after a sunny day around lakes of Bhimtal. We had hot tea and enjoyed the vrey beautiful sunset - possibly the best in the trip.
Reaching Nainital
We reached hotel Himalaya - One of the oldest hotel of Nainital around 7:30 PM and it was absolutely cold - around 10 degrees. A sudden drop of 12 degrees in 1 hour time from the view point to the hotel. We checked in quickly, ordered food, and grasped out our winter wears in a hurry. It was so rapid chills and funny to come extend for the holiday mood.
Hotel Himalaya - mostly wooden, is a legacy and a heritage hotel, is a minute walk from Naintal lake. It is built upon a hillock and gives grand views of the lake at any time. The rooms are spacious, clean and very comfortable. We had rooms closer to the parking area and view of the lake.
We ordered dinner at the restaurant in the hotel, hot soups, rotis, rice and sabji. The food was very good, tired-we enjoyed the food.
Post dinner, I took a night walk around and the night view was amazing. Colder it gets, better is the experience.
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| Nainital by dark |
Day-3
Two edges of the Nainital lake are Mallital and Tallital. The mall road is between them. Rooms can be booked in this area to have good time in evenings. Nainital lake is very serene to walk around during early mornings and sunset time. Our hotel is at the Tallital end. Hotels are all around Tallital, Mallital and the connecting Mall road (1-2 kms) stretch overlooking the lake.
The morning walk
Early to bed previous night and morning start of 6 AM in Himalayas was very pleasant. The chill morning wind prompted us to take a walk around the lake - we had hot piping tea roadside and walked towards Tandi Sadak.
Thandi Sadak is a picturesque 1 km pedestrian-only path that invites tourists to be embraced by nature. The beautiful road, flanked by towering green pine, deodar, and oak trees, creates a perfect haven for a walk. The dried rustling leaves and chirping birds make it a very memorable walk in the morning along with cold breeze by the lake.
We reached back hotel by 7:30 AM, readied for the day and went for breakfast at Tallital market area - Sri Om Foods and Sweets - we had parathas - paneer, mix veg and aloo, puri and aloo sabji with tea. Every item was very good, freshly prepared and served. We liked the food. Service could be better.
The plan for the day was to do local sightseeing of Nainital - Himalaya Dharshan - view of snow clad greater Himalayas from Nainital, several view points of Nainital lake by Ayarpatta Road, Eco cave gardens and few more around. We skipped the Naina Devi temple for a purpose.
Our driver came as planned around 8:30 AM; yeah, we have early starts in tourist destinations always to avoid crowds and plan for the farthest point first. No exception this time too!
We had a view point first by the Ayarpatta Road - Adish View point. Beautiful complete view of the Naina lake.
Himalaya Dharshan
The Himalaya Dharshan is on the Kilibury Road - we were doing a detour via Ayarpatta road for the views of the lake and reached the view point. Enroute, the views of the lake were breathtaking.
We were very lucky that the time we reached the point, the sky was blue and we almost had the best view for the day. One can see massive snow clad peaks of Chamoli, Nanda Gunti, Trishul, Nanda Devi, Nanda Kot and Panch Chuli.
Each peak is unique and is special for different reasons. Our driver Mr.Prem was an avid trekker himself and took special interest in we identifying the peaks with the correct names and helped us to understand the geography and timeline/places to see those much closer. Very exciting!
We also rented the telescope and had closer views of the peaks as well. We spent close to 30 minutes here.
One gets a similar view of Himalayas while visiting Mussorie and the ranges of Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, Chaukhamba, Badrinath, are visible from there.
Few more view points followed and each one of them was a WOW!
We skipped the horse ride for the Himalayan Dharshan from another view point - Tiger Top as well as the Dorothy seat as it was quite sunny for the day.
Khurpatal
This lake is named after its horseshoe ("khur") shape. The lake is around 16 kms from Tallital. This is the farthest point on this side of Nainital and the descent begins to plains. The lake is known for its clear green waters and quiet surroundings. Very lonely place for people to see and be with nature.
We returned towards Nainital to visit Himalayan Botanical Garden, Eco Caves and more.
Himalayan Botanical Garden
The Himalayan botanical garden at section is dedicated to the conservation, propagation, and display of rare, endangered, medicinal, and native plant species - conifers, orchids and rhododhendrons in a natural Himalayan environment. Entry ticket of Rs.50 per person. The botanical garden had good collection of flora and had an exclusive exhibhition of insects from forests. This was quite unique and educative to know about them.
Eco Cave Park
Eco Cave Park, on the Kaladungi Road, is a bunch of natural caves in one place, interconnected. This is more of a thrill or adventure experience representating natural habitats. Each bunch of cave has a theme - named after an animal or alike and one needs to traverse into narrow passages of such size - Panther Cave, Tiger Cave, Bat Cave, Apes Cave and Flying Fox Cave.
Not everyone can enter all caves. Those fit and lean can make out all the caves while other can choose and enter or skip but still have a good time roaming around.
Entry fee is Rs.100 per person. A good experience and a memorable one!
After this, we were quite hungry. Most of the popular restaruants serving Kumaoni food are at Mallital or Mall road and we were closeby; but the car parking was not available and there are restrictions on one way movements and time aspects. Hence, we drove all the way back to Tallital to our rooms, put back all our winter wears and went for lunch at Mall road.
Lunch at Gianni's
We had few options of restaurants and took a tuk-tuk from Tallital and traveled through the mall road. I cited Gianni's and no queue outside and abruptly asked tuk-tuk to stop and went to Gianni's. The service person recommended to order 2 Kumaoni thalli and asked to share amongst 4 of us. We ordered extra ragi rotis to supplement the thali and cherished the local cusines.
Post lunch, we just walked around Mallital - lake view points and road side shops for some time and then returned back to the room by tuk-tuk for a power nap.
Evening ride
Around 4 PM, we walked down the hotel to the boating point. 2 per boat is allowed and charges are flat - tickets to be bought at the counter for Rs.320 for half circle and Rs.420 for full circle. Only row boats are available and 2 people per boat are allowed - a shikra ride.
We took half circle and enjoyed the evening breeze. The wind was picking up as we finished the ride. It was a good 20 minutes ride. We walked around for next 1 hour at the mall road assuming it would get busy like Gangtok, Manali or Darjeeling. But, there were very less eatery shops on the mall road. The roadside eateries are more on the Mallital side - which was quite far for us.
We gave an intentional miss to the ropeway as we almost had many similar views all through the day at different spots on the Aryapatta road and around.
We had momos and back to the room for chitchatting and packing to Ranikhet.
Day-4
Ranikhet is around 58 kms from Nainital and would take around 2:30 hrs to reach. We planned Ranikhet in this trip and kept Almora for a next trip along with Bageswar, Mukteshwar and other higher altitude places in future.
Once we crossed Kainchi Dham - the roads were average but absolutely no traffic. Though we covered less distance, by time, it was tired for us and had a tea break with hot pakodas and snacks. There is a place called - Black Frog rock on the Shipra river - just a rock shape! This is a spot people stop enroute and a photopoint - a hanging bridge and entry to rocky part of river.
From the rocky mountains, we swiftly entered into Alpine forests - Lesser Himalayas.
Around 11:30 AM, we reached Kumaon Regimental Center (KRC) Museum.
Kumaon Regimental Center (KRC) Museum
Kumaon Regimental Centre is a well-maintained museum that displays the bravery of the Kumaon Regiment. There are photos and war evidences of the people, the achieved glory - war memorabilia, uniforms, medals, and success stories of the Kumaon Regiment. Entry is regulated as the museum is situated inside an active military cantonment area with an entrance ticket of Rs.75 per person.
This is a must visit to know the contributions of the army to the country. We also learnt about Major Shaitan Singh Bhati - the battle of Rezang la which ultimately became a movie 120 Bahadur. They also had a volunteer to speak about the exhibhits at Museum and know more details.
Post lunch, our driver had already informed a place for our lunch - proper Kumaoni veg dishes at a restaurant known to him - Royal Mountain Hotel. We reached this place around 1:45 PM. We ordered Kumaoni Thali, Kumaoni Methi Paneer Masala, Kumaoni Raita, and rotis.
The food was absolutely delicious, tasty and yummy.
Post lunch, we drove by the Golf course and reached our hotel - Hotel Himalayan Voyage.
Hotel Himalayan Voyage is one of the Himalayan view hotels at the Ranikhet range. The rooms are very spacious, super clean, new rooms with balcony and access to terrace for the views. Very comfortable stay and an inhouse restaurant.
We had a power nap and settled down at the cosy rooms.
Around 4:30 PM, we started to Haidakhan Babaji temple. The temple is 10 kms from the hotel and the whole route was calm and peaceful by the Alpine forests.
Haidakhan Babaji temple
This temple is made by Haidakhan who is believed to be the incarnation of Lord Shiva to whom this temple is dedicated. This temple displays a tall statue of Lord Hanuman and Lord Shiva. The place is great for meditation. We spend around 20 mins at the temple and meditating.
Apart from the serene temple, the place is the best in the locality of Ranikhet for views of snow clad Greater Himalayas - the peaks of Trishul, Nanda Devi, Panchachuli etc from the temple. This day was not lucky for us for these views.
Alpine forests
Enroute from the temple, we stopped by the pristine Alpine vegetation - cold wind creating a buzz, tall trees letting mild light through and a grand feel! It was so good and we spent a good 20-25 mins for just us! None around and a great experience!
Sunset at Ranikhet
As we drove back towards the room, I checked with driver for a Sunset view and he said he will take us to a special place and drove us to a Sunset point at Frog rock near Chaubatia. We reached well before sunset and enjoyed the views with pakoras and tea. We spent close to 45 mins in the cold wind watching the changing colours and birds chirping.
Day-5
We were excited to see the sunrise at Ranikhet and the snow clad mountain caps and woke up pretty early. It was very cold - hovering around 6 degrees at 5 AM and we were trying to get the first views.
The most expected Sunrise
The earlier day was hazy and absolutely no view of the snow clad peaks. We were not so confident of the bold views this morning as it was no different - no rains and quite hazy! However, we could see few peaks like Trishul, Chamoli and Nanda Devi as silhouttes.
Not a very satisfactory view and disappointed. It was a hit or miss for us as we planned only one night to stay at Ranikhet. It was unfair to expect views every day during summer!
Towards Ramnagar
The travel to Ramnagar was expected to be close to 4 hours covering 100 kms. As we started our journey towards Ramnagar, the sun came out and we could start having a better Himalayan Dharshan. Enroute, we visited the famous shooting spot - Swargashram Binsar Mahadev Mandir. The place is absolutely stunning to see. We did not get down and go in; but the location was awesome!
We did have some good view as we stopped for breakfast at Monal - road side hotel/motel. They were just opening and we took some time to stretch. We ordered pooris and chapathis with aloo sabji. As we resumed the trip, we had clearer views of the snowy peaks!
From the beautiful views of snow clad peaks, we entered swirling roads of green vegetation and then into the roads leading to the forests of Jim Corbett - rustling dry leaves and dry rivers.
We had lunch at Hotel Shan-e-Punjab - the rotis, jeera rice and sabji were all good.
Jim Corbett National Park
Jim Corbett National Park is one of the oldest and most popular national parks in India. It is known for its diverse flora and fauna, including Bengal tigers, Indian elephants, leopards, sloth bears, deer, and over 600 species of birds. The Corbett National Park has been divided into nine safari zones and gates.
Bijrani, Jhirna, Dhela, Dhikala, Durga Devi, Sonanadi, Sitabani, Garjia, and the Phanto zones. Bijrani and Dhela are the most popular zones; while Dhikala is popular for stays overnight and safaris. Jeep and Canter safaris are available across the different gates. There are 2 safari slots - one in the early morning and one by the afternoon - 6 AM and 2 PM. The safaris last for 3 hours of time within the sanctuary - the ticket checks, ID checks happen at the gate and it takes 15-20 mins of time. Mobile phones are NOT allowed and has to be deposited at the lockers at the entry gate for no fee.
Booking for the safari is online - along with camera costs. When you book safari, it is important to know the location of the gates and plan your travel and accommodation accordingly. Couple of gates are at Kotdwar - 150 kms from Ramnagar while others are in and around Ramnagar - ranging from 1km to 26 kms.
One has to plan and book the safaris as it opens at a 60-day window - the Corbett safaris are quite at demand and sell of very fast. The safari tickets also include allocation of jeeps with vehicle numbers and drive mobile number.
Our Safaris
We had booked 2 safaris - one afternoon and one morning safari - both at Bijrani zones. The jeep driver called us and asked us to be available at the gate at 1:30. We were the first jeep for the safari and entered the gate at 2 PM exactly at the Aamdanda gate. We cited reptiles and deer as like any random forest across India and slowly trying the sense tiger paws and bird hoots.
The sunny summer was no exception to the heat, especially after returning from sub 10 degrees for 3 days. It was difficult to bear. As we went around the forest, learning the landscape; movement patterns from the guide. The place had tall trees, dense bushes, and then suddenly open space across dry rivers - quite varied and mixed landscape.
Just then as we were into the first hour of safari, we heard a bird hoot and our guide said, may be a fawn was hunted by a tiger and we decided to stay put. Soon, all the jeeps came to the same place and parked in varied angles and moving around to spot. We wandered around and spotted Sambhar deer and peacocks!
And ENDed the safari knowing there are tigers but not for us to see. It felt as if it was scam - as many say in travel blogs; that we dont get the drive around the park, but end up on a place with no sighting.
Returned back to the rooms, after having tea, pakodas and Uttrakand special sweet - Bal Mithai. We had a good dinner and hit the beds early - to be ready for early morning safari.
Day-6
Expectations vs early disappointment
Started with obvious expectations of seeing something - reached the gate at 5:30 AM - slightly colder morning. Started with few deers; and birds chirping; not much!
As we were entering into the core zone, a jeep from the jungle stay came out and told they sighted tiger late evening but nothing after that; however a herd of elephants - are rogue and wandering around! Beware!
This was interesting, and within next few minutes, we saw 3 of them; a tusker, a female and calf. The herd was quite rogue, brushing around, breaking brances and walking hapazardly!
We took few minutes to snap pictures; but the guide was very clear that they can advance any time and the stretch of route did not have any escape route; but for a single road for a distance!
The pics were less but a good moment to savour in the safari!
Some relief to the disappointments and next we sighted few hornbills flying and few serpent eagles close by; and few more birds!
Aves at J.C.
Thus ended the safari with the big cats eluding!
We returned to the rooms, refreshed, had pre-ordered breakfast of pohas and sandwiches and took some rest before doing the final pack-up of the trip!
We checked-out around noon; started towards Kathgodam railway station via Kaladhungi. This was a close to 2 hour drive; stopped inbetween in a small place for lunch, a roadside dhaba - Dasila Family Dhaba - it was just ok!
We reached Kathgodam railway station by 2 PM. We took the 15:15 Shatabdi to NDLS. Reached NDLS around 9 PM. The CNG/LPG cabs of Delhi were not ready to take luggages as there was no space in the boot. It was really weird to see none of the cabs of airport/railway station were expecting luggages from travelling people - at railway stations! Uff!!
After lot of struggle, we managed to get a cab with luggage carrier - and reached Hotel Aerocity Purple Orchid around 10:30 PM. Hotel Aerocity Purple Orchid is closer to the airport - rooms were clean, spacious and comfortable for an overnight stay.
Day-7
We started around 6 AM and reached the airport for the 9 AM Chennai flight. We gulped Idlies and dosas at the airport after 6 days of rotis and jeera rices! :-)
All through the trip at Uttrakhand, we had booked our cabs through Mr.Dayal Goswami - (+91-9758127038). The cab was very clean and punctual at all times. Our cab (Ertiga) was drove by Mr.Prem; very gentle, soft spoken and very tourist friendly behaviour. Highly recommended.
Distances
- Kathgodam – Nainital – 43 kms – 1 hr 15 mins
- Kathgodam – Bhimtal – 20 kms – 40 mins
- Bhimtal – Nainital - 24 kms – 60 mins
- Bhimtal - Naukuchia Taal – 7 kms – 25 mins
- Bhimtal – Sattal – 9 kms – 30 mins
- Nala Damayanthi Tal, Garud Tal, Purna Tal, Sita Tal, Ram Tal
- Nainital – Ranikhet – 58 kms – 2:30 hrs
- Ranikhet - Ramnagar (Jim Corbett) – 96 kms – 3:30 hrs
- Ramnagar – Kathgodam – 58 kms – 1:30 hrs