Naini Lake

Naini Lake is the centrepiece of Nainital — a crescent-shaped lake at 1,940 metres, 1.4 kilometres long and up to 24 metres deep, surrounded by forested hills on three sides and the town on the fourth. The British developed the town as a hill station in the 1840s precisely because of the lake and the cool air, and the promenade along Mall Road has been the social spine of the place ever since.

Rowing boats, paddle boats, and gondola-style craft are available for hire at the Mallital and Tallital ghats at either end of the lake. Prices are fixed by the government and boats go out between 6am and 6pm. A circuit of the lake by rowing boat takes about an hour at a leisurely pace. The views from the water — forested ridges on every side, colonial buildings on the slopes — are the best way to understand the town's setting.

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A story
The lake's name comes from Sanskrit "nain" (eye), and the town's name from the lake's eye-like shape. According to legend, this is where the left eye of the goddess Sati fell to earth after Shiva carried her body across the cosmos in grief — one of 51 sacred Shakti Peethas that mark the spots where parts of Sati's body landed. In 1880 a massive landslide destroyed the Naina Devi temple on the lakeside and killed 151 people; the rains that triggered it fell at the rate of 20 inches in 40 hours.

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