Nainital Lake, also called Naini Lake, is a natural freshwater lake lying right in the heart of Nainital town, surrounded by forested hills and the busy Mall Road. The lake is kidney / crescent shaped and is the visual centre of the hill station—boats, colourful paddle-boats and evening lights reflected on the calm surface make it the main postcard view of the city. It is tectonic in origin and is one of the key lakes that give the Kumaon region its title of “Lake District of India.” Besides tourism and recreation, the lake also plays an important role in local ecology and water balance, and it appears in Kumaoni folklore and religious tradition, often associated with the goddess Naini Devi.
About this place
History & highlights
Nainital Lake is believed in local tradition to be the “Tri-Rishi Sarovar” mentioned in the Skanda Purana, a sacred lake where three rishis prayed for water. In the colonial period the area was “discovered” for the British by P. Baron, a trader who reportedly came across the lake on a hunting trip in 1839 and later promoted Nainital as a hill station. Under British rule Nainital grew into a summer capital, and the lakefront developed with promenades, clubs and bungalows. Over time, landslides and tectonic activity altered the lake from almost circular to its present crescent shape, and modern concerns like eutrophication and over-use have led to conservation efforts by local authorities and national agencies. Today, Nainital Lake’s history combines sacred legend, colonial hill-station development and contemporary environmental management, all centred on this single body of water.
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