Nainital is a hill station in Uttarakhand state of North India. That we visited on our 6 days trip to Uttarakhand, along with Mussoorie, Corbett and Bhimtal. While we stayed in Bhimtal, we did a one day trip to Nainital, exploring places to see in Nainital in one day. And a major part of that day included a self paced walking tour exploring the Mall Road Nainital.
The concept of “Mall Road” was introduced by the British during the colonial era. As they discovered hilly places in India to settle at during the summer months. Including Shimla, Manali, Mussoorie and Nainital. At each of these destinations, they developed a main road buzzing with activities and housing the main market of the town. And named it the “Mall Road”. While the Mall Road remains at the heart of the town, the rest of the town slowly expanded around it.
Today we take you on a walking tour of the Mall Road Nainital. It is a road that runs along the bank of the Nainital Lake on one side. And is full of places to explore on the other side. The Mall Road of Nainital is renamed as “Govind Ballab Pant Marg” in the recent past. This road is the heart of tourism hub in Nainital. Along it’s stretch of around 1 km lies several boating points to access the lake, the famous Naina Devi Temple of Nainital, Areal Ropeway to the snow view point, several shops, hotels, restaurants and cafes, the town library and rotary club and several other iconic structures. So, let me take you with me on an armchair walking tour of the Mall Road Nainital.
Map of our walking tour of the Mall Road Nainital
Parking at Mall Road Nainital
There are several parking lots along the Mall Road Nainital including –
Tallital Parking Lot
Mallital Parking Lot
Stadium Ground Parking Lot
Since the Stadium Ground Parking Lot was at one end of the Mall Road and most of the attractions near it, this is where we parked our vehicle and started our walking tour from.
Attractions (in order) that we visited on our walking tour of the Mall Road Nainital
The stadium grounds besides parking lot
As you come out of the parking lot, the first place you will cross is the stadium grounds of Nainital. This houses the Nainital Stadium and the stadium ground hosts most of the state level games etc. But, at the time we visited , owing to the ongoing Durga Puja celebrations, there was a fare setup at one end of the Stadium Ground. With lots of shopping stalls, food stalls and rides for kids. Overall, it was a very vibrant setup that greeted us at the start of our walking tour of the Mall Road Nainital.
Maa Naina Devi Temple
Crossing the stadium grounds, you will reach Maa Naina Devi Temple. Which is located right on the bank of the Nainital Lake. The entryway to the temple is dotted with shops selling prasad, flowers for offering to the God, handicrafts, woollen items, handbags, souvenirs and even general toys for kids.
The temple grounds are very well maintained and organised. With several smaller temples across the campus housing different Hindu Deity. Including Hanuman, the 10 Avtars of Vishnu, Radha – Krishna, Navgrahas , a shivalingam and the main deity – Naina Devi. There is also a paid shoe stand and places to sit inside the campus in case you want to spend some time in peace here.
Boating point on the Nainital Lake
After visiting Maa Naina Devi Temple, the next point on our walking tour of the Mall Road Nainital was a boating point on the Nainital Lake. In fact there are 5+ boating points along the Mall Road and the periphery of the Nainital Lake. We went to the one on the left side of the temple. And enjoyed a 35-40 minutes boat ride across the whole Nainital Lake from here. Since it was around 11:00am in the morning, the sun was warm while the wind was crisp and cold. The combination of the two, along with the scenery that surrounded us was really refreshing. After enjoying the boat ride thoroughly, we proceeded to the next stop on our walking tour of the Mall Road Nainital.
PS: A free self paced walking tour of Fontainhas Goa
Bhutiya Market at Mallital Entry
Next, as you hit the Mall Road after crossing the Nainita Devi Temple, you will see a Tibetian Market dotted on the street that merges to the Mall Road. This market has a lot of shops of garments, particularly woollen, Tibetian handicrafts and toys etc. Locally, this market is called ” Bhutiya” Market. You can have a quick glance through this market before you hit the main Mall Road.
Areal ropeway cable car to Snow Viewpoint
Across the Bhutiya Market on the Mall Road Nainital lies the Areal Ropeway of Nainital or the cable car that offers a ride of around 3-4 minutes one way. And takes you to the top of the mountain. From where you can get mesmerising views of the whole Nainital Town and the Nainital Lake on one side. And the snow capped mountain peaks of Himalayas at the other end. There is a binocular set at the top to get closer views of the farther mountain ranges. There are some more recreational activities to enjoy here. You can easily spend an hour at this point.
Shops along the Mall Road Nainital
Once you are back from the ropeway, you can start walking across the length of the Mall Road Nainital. The whole Mall Road Nainital buzzes with shops of all kind. You will find branded shops here. As well as local shops and several small souvenir shops. Some of the items that are famous here and must buy include –
- Woollen items that you will get at dirt cheap prices. Like shawls and stoles have starting price of INR 100. Similarly for caps, gloves, sweaters. We even saw clearance sale running at a lot of places with items being sold at prices even lower than INR 100!!
- Wooden handicrafts, spatulas and spoons, trays and other wooden items including toys and games for kids
- Buddhist items like the musical bowl
- Feng Sui items like wind chimes
- Souvenirs including refrigerator magnets and other such items.
Some of the famous shops to look out for in Nainital include –
- Shan Candle’s Gift Point
- Narayan’s MiNi gift shop
- Gift point
- Parvati Art and Craft
Restaurants and Cafes along the Mall Road Nainital
Along side the shops, the whole of Mall Road Nainital is dotted with Restaurants and Cafes. Some of them have great ambience while others provide wonderful seating with lake view. We had our lunch at Zooby’s . And we particularly liked the veg platter that was served here. Some other famous cafes and restaurants to try when on a walking tour of the Mall Road Nainital include.
- Embassy Restaurant
- Nescafe Maggie Point
- Sakley’s Restaurant and Pastry shop
- Cafe Lakeside
- Gianni’s Pure Veg
- The Moonlight Restaurant
Instagram Spots along the Mall Road Nainital
There are several picture perfect spots along the Mall Road Nainital, where you can take your pictures, rest on benches and get up close to the Lake. We stopped at a few such spots on our way as we were on our walking tour.
General information related to visiting Nainital
How to reach Nainital ?
You can reach Nainital by road from major towns like New Delhi and Dehradun, which also have airports. Or, you can reach Kathgodam through a train. Kathgodam is the nearest railway station to Nainital. From there, you can get a shared taxi or bus to Nainital. You can also book buses from all major cities of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh or New Delhi to Nainital. We took a round trip cab from New Delhi to Nainital for our trip. We also visited Corbett and Mussoorie along with Nainital on this trip.
What is the best time to visit Nainital ?
For snowfall and snow sports, visit Nainital in the peak winter season of December end to February. While to enjoy milder climate and greenery, visit right after the monsoons, in the month of October and November. Summers have started getting harsher. And monsoons often lead to landslides in this region. So, it is best to avoid the summer and monsoon months from April to September. However, if you live nearby, you can always plan a quick weekend getaway to Nainital during any month of the year by keeping an eye on the weather.
How many days are sufficient to explore Nainital ?
To explore the attractions in the town of Nainital itself, 2 days are sufficient. While if you want to explore some more places around Nainital like Bhimtal, Almora, Ranikhet etc. then you might want to add one day for each place you plan to visit from Nainital.
What to pack for a trip to Nainital ?
Irrespective of which month you are visiting Nainital, always keep one layer of woollen cloths, particularly for kids. As, temperature changes suddenly and dips when it rains or snows all of a sudden. If visiting in the peak winter months, you will need proper thermal inners, gloves, caps, heavy winter jackets and snow shoes . When we visited at the end of October, it was mildly cold in the day and colder in the night. We needed a layer of light jacket in the day and a heavier jacket at night. The younger kids < 5 years of age might require another additional layer of clothing.
Where to stay in Nainital ?
Most of the attractions of the Nainital town lie along the Mall Road. It also houses a lot of hotels, homestays and backpacker hostels. However, the accommodation is more costly right near the lake as compared to a little farther away. So, depending on your budget you can choose to stay either near the lake, for the convenience of walking around to most attractions. Or, farther away, for enjoying the natural surroundings better. Here’s a a complete list of accommodations in Nainital to browse through. However, if you are unable to find a suitable accommodation in Nainital itself for what so ever reason, you can always find a stay option in Bhimtal, which is just 20km away, quieter and as beautiful. We stayed in a lake side property called Lake Hill Hotel in Bhimtal. And thoroughly enjoyed our stay here. Some of the properties that we researched and added to our wishlist in Nainital and Bhimtal included –
Saffron Stays Gardens on the Lake, The Rosefinch Sarovar Portico, Naini Retreat Nainital and WelcomHeritage Ashdale for luxury
Naini Cottage, Lakeside Inn, Sakley’s cottages for staying nearer to lake and at affordable price.
You might also want to read: whether to stay in Nainital or Bhimtal. Before you make a decision.
Onwards Journey from Nainital
From Nainital, we proceeded for a wonderful staycation in Jim Corbett National Park. And then embarked on a road trip from Jim Corbett National Park to Mussoorie. Thereby spending couple of days in Mussoorie before heading back home.
You can also explore other less crowded places at slightly higher altitude near Nainital like Almora, Binsar, Ranikhet and Auli.
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