Recent History
"Nainital" was founded in the year 1841 by Mr. P. Barron, a European merchant and an enthusiastic hunter from Rosa, near Shahjahanpur. Mr.P.Barron was the first European who took great fancy to this land. Moved by the beauty of the sparkling lake he wrote: "It is by far the best site I have witnessed in the course of a 1,500 miles treak in the

Himalayas." It is very less is known about the history of Nainital. This region was called "Khasdesh" in ancient times and "Khasis" ruled this region before Christ was born.

The name "NAINI" is derived from a temple to the goddess 'Naini Devi" built on the upper edge of the lake and was destoyed by the landslip of 1880. It was subsequently replaced by the present structure. The word "Naini" means 'Eyes'and 'Tal' means 'Lake'.

How to Reach Nainital by Air: The nearest airport from Nainital is Pantnagar (70kms) with direct flights from Delhi. But Delhi and Lucknow are more convenient airports for reaching Nainital since none of these places are too far from Nainital and are well connected with the rest of India.

How to Reach Nainital by Road: An extensive network of roads connect Nainital with prominent cities in Uttaranchal and other north Indian cities. You can reach Nainital by road from Delhi (310kms), Haldwani (40kms), Dehradun (300kms).

How to Reach Nainital by Rail: It is quite convenient to reach Nainital by rail. Kathgodam (35kms) is the nearest railhead from Nainital. A well laid network of broad gauge railway links Nainital to Delhi, Kolkata and Dehradun.

Hotels in Nainital

The Naini Retreat
Manu Maharani
Shervani Hilltop Inn,
Hotel Alka,
Arif Castles,
Elphinestone Hotel
Vikram Vintage Inn,
Classic the Mall
Dynasty Resort