Nainital
is a popular hill station in the Indian state of Uttrakhand
in the Kumaon foothills of the outer Himalayas.
Situated at an altitude of 2,084 meters above sea level, Nainital is set in a valley
containing a eye-shaped lake, approximately two miles in circumference, and
surrounded by mountains, of which the highest are Naina or China Peak (2,615 m) on the north, Deopatha (2,438 m) on the west, and Ayarpatha (2,278 m) on the south. From the tops of the higher peaks,
"magnificent views can be obtained of the vast plain to the south, or of
the mass of tangled ridges lying north, bounded by the great snowy range which
forms the central axis of the Himalayas".
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| View from Naina Peak 2,615m |
The temperate of summers inNainital, maximum
temperature 27 °C and minimum
temperature 7 °C, during which its population increases more than fivefold with
an annual influx of tourists predominantly from the plains of northern India.
In the winter, Nainital receives snowfall between December and February with
the temperatures varying between a maximum of 15 °C and a minimum of −3 °C .
As of the
2001 Indian census, Nainital had a population of 38,559. Males constitute 54%
of the population and females 46%. Nainital has an average literacy rate of
91%, higher than the national average of 74% , male literacy is 98%, and
female literacy is 86%. Kumaonies form the major part of the town's
population along with people from all over India.
Mythology
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| View of Nainital from China peak |
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| View from MalliTal |
It is
believed that Nainital figures in some ancient myths of India. In the Manas
Khand of the Skand Puranas, Nainital Lake is called Tri-Rishi-Sarovar,
hinting at the story of three rishis,
Atri, Pulastya and Pulaha, who, upon finding no water in Nainital, dug a large
hole at the location of the present day lake and filled it with water from the
holy lake Manasarovar in Tibet. According to lore, a dip
in Naini Lake, "the lesser Manasarovar," earns merit equal to a dip
in the great lake.
It is
also believed that The Naini Lake is one of the 64 Shakti Peeths, or
religious sites where parts of the charred body of Sati fell on earth while being carried by Lord Shiva.
The spot where Sati's eyes (or Nain) fell, came to be called Nain-tal or
lake of the eye. The goddess Shakti is worshiped at the Naina Devi Temple on
the north shore of the present day lake.
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