Live traffic, your route
Get there the smart way
Pick any place and we open Google Maps with the route already drawn from where you are, in driving mode, so you see the live traffic colours before you move. Most people never turn this on.
Find your spot first
Allow location once and we sort every stop by how near it is, and pin you as the start of the route.
Open any route below in driving mode and these exact colours light up your road. Green all the way? Go. A wall of red on the lakeside? You already know.
Closest to the lake first
20 stops, one tap each
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Nainital Zoo (GB Pant High Altitude Zoo)
Zoo
1.4 km from the lake4.2 ★ · 910Navigate · live traffic - 6
- 7Worth it
Snow View Point (ropeway)
Viewpoint / ropeway
1.6 km from the lake4.4 ★ · 627Navigate · live traffic - 8Worth it
Tiffin Top (Dorothy's Seat)
Ridge / viewpoint
2.3 km from the lake4.5 ★ · 2.9kNavigate · live traffic - 9
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Worth the drive
21 day trips from town
The escapes locals actually do. Distances and times are by road from Nainital. One tap opens the route with live traffic.
ARIES Observatory
Observatory
India's big telescope on Manora Peak. Pre-book the evening sky-viewing; by day it's just the campus and a view.
Sariyatal
Lake
Small green lake on the Kaladhungi road. Pretty for twenty minutes; skip the overpriced paddle boats.
Naina Devi Bird Reserve
Bird reserve
Quiet forest birding above town. Go early with patience, not on a weekend with a picnic crowd.
Kilbury
Forest / birding
Birdwatcher's lane through deodar forest. Cool, calm, blissfully tourist-free. Carry water.
Pangot
Hamlet / birding
Sleepy Himalayan village, serious birding, a few cosy stays. Come to slow down, not to sightsee.
Kathgodam
Railhead
The nearest train station, not a destination. Useful to know about, not worth a trip.
Haldwani
City
Gateway city for shopping and transport. Hot, busy, functional. You pass through, you don't visit.
Ramgarh
Orchard village
Kumaon's fruit bowl: orchards, literary history, big quiet. Perfect for a lazy, do-nothing day.
Mukteshwar
Hill station
Huge Himalayan views, an old temple, a bit of adventure. The genuinely worth-it day trip if you only take one.
Ranikhet
Cantonment town
Tidy army town, pine walks, a golf course in the clouds. Slow, clean and underrated.
Pantnagar
University town
Agricultural university and an airport. Nothing here for a tourist. Only come if you're flying.
Shitlakhet
Hill village
Unspoiled, sweeping Himalayan views, almost no crowd. For travellers who want quiet over a checklist.
Peora
Orchard hamlet
Fairy-tale orchard hamlet at 2,000 m. A handful of stays, endless views. Do nothing, beautifully.
Almora
Hill town
Cultural heart of Kumaon: bazaars, temples, Bal Mithai at the source. A proper town, not a viewpoint.
Jim Corbett National Park
National park
India's oldest tiger reserve. A real safari trip, not a Nainital side-quest. Book a stay and a zone in advance.
Kasar Devi
Temple / ridge
The famous calm ridge above Almora: sunsets, cafes, a temple. Stay the night if you possibly can.
Chitai Golu Devta Temple
Temple
The 'temple of bells', where people hang letters seeking justice from Golu Devta. Genuinely one of a kind.
Garjiya Temple
Temple
Hilltop Devi temple on a rock in the Kosi river, by Corbett. Pair it with a safari, not a day trip alone.
Binsar
Wildlife sanctuary
Forest sanctuary with a 300-km Himalayan panorama from Zero Point. An overnight, not a rushed day trip.
Jageshwar
Temple complex
Ancient cluster of 100-plus stone temples in a deodar forest. Atmospheric and old. Best on an Almora trip.
Kausani
Hill station
Gandhi's 'Switzerland of India' for the Himalayan sunrise. Too far to rush; stay over to actually see it.
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