Naukuchiatal

Naukuchiatal or ‘lake of nine corners’ is a small hill station in Nainital district of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. The lake is 175 feet deep and is situated at 1220 mts above sea level. It is surrounded by hills covered in trees and shrubs. It is the deepest of all the lakes in the Nainital region. Length of lake is 983 mts., breadth is 693 mts & depth 40.3 mts.It is within an enchanting valley offering an opportunity of angling and bird watching.. A picnic to this beautiful place also offers one with the tempting challenges like paragliding, fishing, rowing, paddling or yachting. Naukuchiatal will even enchant the picnicker with the rare adventurous activity of parasailing.The lake is fed by an underground perennial spring. Naukuchiatal is also famous for the 'escape festival' which happens once every year (in the month of may).

The lake is situated 4 km from Bhimtal, and 26 km from Nainital, 320 km from Delhi. Nearest railway station is Kathgodam.

It is believed that this lake was created after hard worship(Hindi "tap") of Brahmaji and a small temple dedicated to Brahmaji exist near the KMVN guesthouse. According to locals anyone performing a parikarma of the lake will be blessed by Brahmaji.

Temperatures range from, Summer: 11 C-26 C Winter: -2C-14 C. The best time to visit Naukuchiatal is between the months of March –June and September - November. The temperature remains comfortable and is apt for sightseeing.

Hanuman Temple is situated on the main road to Naukuchiatal. It has a 52 feet high statue of Lord Hanuman. Beautiful scenery of high mountains and valley add glory to the holy figure. The Temple has an artificial cave design on lines of the famous Vaishno Devi Shrine, which encircles the temple and leads to various sections - at the feet of the Statue of Lord Hanuman, three temples in the main premises, the resting/staying place for devotees, the meditation room, Ram Darbar temple, and the Shani Temple.

It is situated at a distance of 20 km from Naukuchiatal set at an elevation of 2,285mts above sea level. Mukteshwar got its name from a 350year old temple Mukteshwer Dham whose presiding deity is great Lord Shiva. The top of the mountain on which Mukteshwar Dham is stood offers stupendous views of Himalayan range. Mukteshwar was developed by the Britishers as research and education institute by setting up Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) in 1893.

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Wikipedia