Sattal

Sattal, in Nainital district of Uttarakhand, is not a city but a cluster of seven interconnected freshwater lakes—Panna (Garud) Tal, Nal-Damyanti Tal, Purna Tal, Sita Tal, Ram Tal, Laxman Tal and Sukha/Bharat Tal—set at about 1,370 m in the lower Himalayas near Bhimtal.

The name “Sattal” literally means “seven lakes” (sat = seven, tal = lake). These lakes likely formed through tectonic activity uplifting sediments between the Tibetan plateau and Indo-Gangetic plains, creating enclosed basins that filled with rain and spring water. For centuries the surrounding Mehragaon valley and forests were used by local Kumaoni communities for farming, grazing and small shrines, while Sattal itself remained largely untouched and sacred in local folklore.

During the British Raj, Sattal gained some economic importance when a tea plantation was established here—one of only a few in Kumaon—taking advantage of the cool, moist climate. In the early 20th century, missionaries set up the Sattal Christian Ashram on a former tea estate, adding a Christian retreat and church to the area’s spiritual landscape.

In recent decades, Sattal has become known as an ecologically fragile birding hotspot, with hundreds of resident and migratory bird species, while remaining quieter and less commercial than nearby Nainital—its “history” now closely tied to conservation and nature tourism.