Bhimtal Lake is a beautiful and one of the largest lakes in Kumaon. It is located into the town of Bhimtal, Nainital district, Uttarakhand, India. This lake provides an unexplored gleam of nature in its beautiful and fascinating form. It is a great place for the people who love boating, fishing, sailing, trekking and mountain biking. It derived its name from the Bhima of Mahabharata and perched at an elevation of 1370 mts above the sea level.
I visited Nainital in the month of October from Delhi, an overnight journey. Mistakenly I got my hotel booked in Bhimtal but as usual, sometimes mistakes become part of the plan so was this. I got a chance to explore the beautiful lake of Bhimtal. We took a Volvo at around 11:00 p.m. and reached to Bhimtal at around 8:00 a.m. Nainital Volvo bus does not go directly to Bhimtal so we get down after Haldwani, in middle of somewhere. There was no proper convince available, a gentle person was driving through and offer us a lift to Bhimtal Lake. He was a local resident and told us about different lakesin Nainital which are must visit and mentioned that Bhimtal is far better than Nainital, a place to enjoy peace away from the hustle bustle of the city.
BHIMESHWARA MAHADEV
TEMPLE
Bhimtal is a very small city and major development is around one side of the lake only. To our surprise there we came to know that Bhimtal is the largest lake of Nainital district and has its root associated with Mahabharata. Locals told us that the city got its name from Bhima of Mahabharata. It is believed that Bhima built the Bhimeshwara Mahadev Temple, an old Shiva temple in the bank of Bhimtal lake when he visited the place during the banishment (vanvas) period of Pandavas. The temple is a must visit holy place near Bhimtal and offers a magnificent view of lake.
BOATING IN BHIMTAL
We stayed at Neelesh Inn, it is a very good hotel at reasonable price and is on the bank of Bhimtal thus offers a great stay with an eye soothing view, especially in the night. But being near to lake you need to take care of mosquitoes, carry some mosquito repellent with you. After getting fresh we headed towards the boating in lake, the price of boating is less in Bhimtal than Nainital and you will enjoy a very peaceful ride with just 2-3 more boat in the lake, as this place is very less crowded and known to people. Our Helmsman was a very nice person and we covered the lake in around 45 – 50 minutes. The boating is done only in half part of the lake as on other part boating is prohibited to secure marine life. There is aquarium on a small island in the middle of the lake.
PARAGLIDING IN
BHIMTAL
After boating, we met with several people while waiting for Nainital autorickshaw. They were telling about different sports activities at a quite reasonable price. We preferred to do paragliding at a far cheaper rate than Rishikesh and Manali. We opted for a normal Fly, which normally lasts from 5-10 minutes, the ride and my companion both were really good. The person took us on the bike from Bhimtal lake to their destination which was nearby Naukuchiatal, another worth exploring lake in Nainital district.
WHY BHIMTAL OVER
NAINITAL ??
Nainital being a famous tourist destination is overcrowded and expensive but Bhimtal is less known and just a 1-hour journey from Nainital. So Bhimtal is a peaceful and less expensive place. A better place to explore nature and enjoy the peaceful boat ride. There are options of various sport offered near to the lake such as paragliding.
There are several other lakes that you can explore near Nainital:- Naini lake, Sariyatal, Sattal, Naukuchiatal, Khurpatal Lake, Sukha Tal Lake.
Guest Blogger: Kundan Kumar
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