Eye for an emerald eye

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Eye for an emerald eye

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Nainital is a hill
station in the Kumaon region of the northern Indian state of
Uttarakhand. About 300km from the Indian capital, New Delhi, the name
itself conjures up images of Bollywood movies from the sixties, where
the hero would invariably meet his love on an outing with friends in
Nainital.

Nainital is made up of two words — nain, meaning eye
and tal, which translates to lake in Hindi. Local legends connect the
word nain with the whole town blossoming (or mushrooming) around the
Naini lake.

Memories of the Raj


Though discovered in the early 1800s by the British, it was only in
the mid-1800s that it became a popular hill resort and a centre of
education. Much of the credit is given to P. Barron, a British sugar
trader who, upon chancing on this place, was so awestruck by the beauty
that he gave up his business, and built an European colony around the
lake instead.

Today, the town is an urban sprawl with concrete
houses hugging the hillsides. However, these scenes are easily
forgotten when the emerald-green lake comes into view or when quaint
hamlets pass you by on the drive to the different resorts on the hill
slopes.

Best time to visit
Nainital
teems with holidayers during summer, especially April and May, when
schools close for vacations. Winters, from December to February, are
cold with the higher altitudes experiencing snowfall.

Spring and autumn are good times to visit with October and November being the best time to see the Himalayas.

How to get there
To
reach Nainital, fly to New Delhi. From there it is an eight hour road
journey. One can also stop for a day or two at other scenic
destinations en route, such as the Corbett National Park. 

One
can easily arrange for a car and driver, who is well acquainted with
the region, for the duration of the trip through reputed travel agents
in New Delhi, Mumbai and other cities.

Kathgodam is the
nearest railway station, about 35 kms from the main town. It is well
connected to cities such as New Delhi and Lucknow.