Rediscovering the hidden trails of Nainital

For visitors, Nainital is a quintessential hill town with all the makings of a short break. For those who grew up here, it is a smorgasbord of memories: of school fetes, sunny picnics, long walks, bakery bites and lakeside evenings. While the increasing tourist footfall had erased much of Nanital's old world charm, the pandemic induced lockdown returned a glimpse of the Nainital of yore.

In a bid to reclaim my early days here, I retraced six of my favourite trails. Having regenerated through the lockdown moths, these trails have emerged cleaner and greener, and deeply steeped in the flavour of nostalgia.

Thandi Sadak

Nature lovers’ go-to walk of all times, the beloved Thandi Sadak, or cold road, is the ideal antidote to its better-known counterpart, the Mall Road. Named so as it barely sees the sun, the gravel-laden, tapering trail frames the lake on the left, starting from Tallital, the lower end of the lake, going all the way up to Mallital, the upper end. The willow and oak lined mile-long pedestrian-only path, takes you on a shaded walk interspersed with mossy rocks and quietude. Flanked on either end by the buzz of the popular hill town, this stretch is an oasis that makes for a great escape.

The McDonnell Circle

High above the Thandi Sadak is the Ayarpata hill with a lush trail few know of. The McDonnell Circle starts from the trail that forks off opposite Ayar Jungle Camp, a well-known campsite of Nainital. The beautiful, winding loop marked with oak and dense bamboo is home to hundreds of species of Himalayan birds, bang in the middle of this busy town. It is also a great alternative route to go up to the popular viewpoint Dorothy’s Seat (better known as Tiffin Top), from where a substantial portion of the Himalayan range is visible on a clear day.

Land’s End trail

Spiralling down from Dorothy’s Seat towards Baara Patthar, an area above Nainital’s upper lake region, is a stone-paved path leading to Land’s End. While most people headed to the spot choose to go up from Baara Patthar, the trail down from Dorothy’s is quieter and wider. The initial part also offers glimpses of the mountains between the cedar forest thicket. The silence of the trail is only marked by the occasional clanking of horseshoe-ridden hooves of steeds ferrying a tourist or two up to Tiffin Top. A clearing marks the end of the trail on the edge of a cliff, lined by a railing and overlooking the lovely Khurpatal lake below, cupped in a scenic vale.

Cheena Peak trail

When we see photographs of Nainital, often it’s the iconic birds’ eye view photo of the teardrop shaped lake ensconced by the hills around that surfaces. The best of these photos have been taken from Cheena peak, the highest hill of Nainital. Officially named Naina peak and locally called ‘China’ peak, the hike up to this top is definitely worth the view. The 6-km round trip from the closest road roadhead climbs steadily through deodar, oak and rhododendron forests which are stunning in full bloom in spring, and then again in the beauty of fall. For bravehearts who can make it in the dead of the winter, a fairy tale, snowbound winterscape is often the reward that awaits them.

Camel’s Back Road

Shaped like a sitting camel’s silhouette against the sky, the Camel’s Back climb starts from behind the Polytechnic Institute near Bara Patthar. Till date, it remains one of the lesser treaded trails of Nainital, with few tourists going to the very top. Unlike Dorothy’s Seat or Land’s End, this trail has no horseback option, lending itself to fewer visitors. The cedar and rhododendron forests dissolve into dried tufts of grass in the latter part, pinnacling at the top with bare rocks at the small summit area. The bare hill and steep climb towards the end make it a tough trail to navigate, but the best views come after the hardest climbs, and Camel’s Back is every inch worth the ascent.

Kilbury Trail

Branching midway from the Cheena trail is another one that runs parallel to the main road below, slicing through the forest and going all the way to the Dak Bungalow at Kilbury near the hamlet of Pangot. Referred to by hunter turned conservationist Jim Corbett as one of his favourite trails around Nainital, it comes as little surprise that the beauty of this trail enchanted him so. Other than village women out to collect firewood or the odd shepherd, you are bound to come across pretty much no other human being. Be alert for wildlife on this one though; it’s easy to lose oneself on this ridge straddling two valleys and the imposing forest around