Visting Places Around Nainital District - Bhimtal

BHIMTAL : (1371 Meters) About 22 kms from Nainital, nestled in a beautiful pristine valley, this jem of a lake is the largest around Nainital. The beauty is enhanced by a small Island surrounded by crystal blue water. One road from Bhimtal leaves for Naukuchiatal while the another one goes to Kathgodam 21 Kms from here.

About Bhimtal

Bhimtal is one of the largest lake around Nainital named after Bhima of Mahabharata. It has a island in the center approached only by a boat and at present it has an Aquarium there. A gaggle of ducks has made the lake their home and give company to the lake visitor. Bhimtal is much less crowded than Nainital and the lake, Bhimtal is much cleaner than it's better known counterpart Nainital. Bhimtal can be reached directly from Delhi in 6-7 hours.

Bhimtal is slightly on the warmer side in mid June, but makes for an all year round destination. For recreation one can do boating at the lake or explore the surrounding jungle on foot. It can also be made as a center for exploring the surrounding lakes. There is a large Victorian dam at one end of the Bhimtal lake and terraced flower gardens can be found on either side. Next to the dam is the Bhimkeshwar temple dedicated to Bhim. There is also the Godhakhal Temple 3 km from Bhimtal. Another interesting place in Bhimtal is The Museum of Folk Culture (Lok Sanskriti Sangrahalaya) housing collections of folk paintings and ancient wooden artifacts. Bhimtal makes for an interesting off beat destination both for the family and corporate traveler.

About An Aquarium On The Island On Bhimtal

Bhimtal Lake is home to a large variety of aquatic species. There is an island in the centre of the lake that used to have a restaurant, which fascinated a lot of tourists until its beauty was ruined due to publics leftovers. The Nainital Lake Development Authority hence decided to develop an aquarium on the island. They have converted the restaurant into an aquarium to prevent pollution and clean the lake. Earlier, there used to be a restaurant on this island and a lot of tourists used to visit the restaurant. However, tourists used to leave behind waste that used to pollute the lake.

The Nainital Lake Development Authority Dhiraj Garbayal , Secretary of the N L D A in Uttarakhand came up with the idea of converting the restaurant into an aquarium to stop the lake from being polluted.

Bhimtal, Bhimtal Tourism, Bhimtal Travel Guide, Bhimtal Lake About Aquarium on the Island on Bhimtal

A variety of fishes from countries like South Africa, Mexico and China have been kept in the aquarium that are captivating tourists attention. They are excited to watch different species of fishes in it.

Bhimtal, from the Macnabb Collection Col James Henry Erskine Reid Album of Indian views, taken by Lawrie & Company in 1895

The major tourist attraction in Bhimtal is the Bhimtal Lake which has an island at its centre. Besides tourism, Bhimtal has also now become a mini district headquarters since most of the district administration offices have been shifted to the newly constructed Vikas Bhawan, the building complex for district administrative offices.

Bhimtal, Bhimtal Tourism, Bhimtal Travel Guide, Bhimtal Lake History of Bhimtal

Bhimtal is an ancient place named after Bhima of Mahabharata. Bhimeshwara Mahadev Temple, an old Shiva temple in the bank of Bhimtal lake, is believed to have been built when Bhima visited the place during the banishment (vanvas) period of Pandavas.

Bhimtal, earlier known as Bhimsarovar, is believed to be the stamping ground of the Pandavas.

According to the locals the town is named so because when the Pandanvas had been exiled in this region they could not find a water body from which they could quench their thirst. It was then that Bhima, the powerful, hit the ground with his "gada" or club thus creating a cavity in the ground, which was filled with an underground source of water.

Bhimtal, Bhimtal Tourism, Bhimtal Travel Guide, Bhimtal Lake Bhimeshwar Temple - Bhimtal - Bhimeshwar Mahadev

The Bhimeshwar temple is said to have been set up by the Pandavas, who established a Shivling there.

Oil Painting on Paper Of the Temple July 30 1878." by Marianne North (1830-1890)

The present temple was built in 17th century, by Baz Bahadur (1638-78 AD), a King of the Chand dynasty, and the Raja of Kumaon. Bhimtal came under British rule after the Anglo-Nepalese War (1814-16), when Naintal became the summer capital of the province. Bhimtal is older than nearby Nainital as the city of Nainital is just 150-160 years old. But Bhimtal has been a stoppage for the travellers of the region from hills to plains or vise versa for a long time.

The old pedesterial road is still in use here and this road connects nearby Kathgodam to all Kumaon region and even to Nepal and Tibet. It might have been the part of the famous ancient silk route.

Temple on the Bhimtal Lake Bhimtal Year 1864, by Samuel Bourne

The Boer Prisoners Camp, Bhimtal 1890

Places of Interest near Bhimtal

Near the Bhimeshwar temple is a small hill known as Garg Parvat, which is the source of river Gargi, also known as Gola Nadi in the region.

About 2 km from Bhimtal is Nal Damyanti Tal, a small natural lake. It is believed that the palace of famous king Nala drowned into this lake. It is a very sacred place for the dwellers of the region.

About 5 km from Bhimtal is a hill known as Hidimba Parvat. It gets its name from demon Hidimba of Mahabharata. Vankhandi Maharaj, a monk and environmentalist lives on the hill now, and has created a sanctuary for the wild animals around the hill. The area is known as Vankhandi Ashram.

The hill of Karkotaka is supposed to be named after Karkotaka, a mythical cobra. The hill is famous for its Nag temple in the region and on every Rishi Panchami thousands of people visit the temple and worship the Nag Karkotaka Maharaj. This is one of the famous nag temples situated in Uttarakhand region.

The Museum of Folk Culture (Lok Sanskriti Sangrahalaya) housing collections of folk paintings and ancient wooden artifacts.

There is a 17th century Bhimeshwar temple complex along the 40 feet high dam.

The Dam by the Bhimtal Lake and the Bhim temple at Bhimtal, 1895.

Institutitions In Bhimtal

There are many government and private institutions in Bhimtal which include Tassar Regional Research Center (Ministry of Textile, Govt. of India), National Cold Water Fisheries Institute, Jan Sikshan Sansthan, Birla Institute of Applied Sciences (an Institute of Higher Technical Education), Kumoun University Campus (Faculty of Management and Pharmacy) and District Institute of Teachers Education (DITE). Bhimtal has quite a few English medium schools. Sainik School in Ghorakhal near Bhimtal is a school where students prepare themselves to join the Indian Military. The Head of the school is a working officer from the Indian Air Force. Hermann Gmeiner School, Mount Alvern Convent School, Lakes International School and Central School are some other well known schools in the area.

Bhimtal Weather - Climate - Temperature of Bhimtal

Bhimtal in Summers 33 - 16

Bhimtal in Winters 14 - 4

Bhimtal Distance Chart

Delhi to Bhimtal 295 kms

Nainital to Bhimtal 22 kms

Naukuchiatal to Bhimtal 06 kms

Kathgodam to Bhimtal 21 kms

Bhowali to Bhimtal 11 kms

Haldwani to Bhimtal 29 kms

Pantnagar to Bhimtal 55 kms

Distance from various travel destinations to Bhimtal in Uttarakhand. Distance chart from Delhi Haldwani Kathgodam Nainital Bhimtal Binsar Sattal Lucknow Haridwar to Bhimtal Uttarakhand

Distance between Mumbai to Bhimtal - 1540 Kms

Distance between Pune to Bhimtal - 1575 Kms

Distance between Kolkata to Bhimtal - 1385 Kms

Distance between Delhi to Bhimtal - 295 Kms

Distance between Kathgodam to Bhimtal - 21 Kms

Distance between Nainital and Bhimtal - 22 Kms

How To Reach Almora How To Reach Bhimtal

Bhimtal By Air : The nearest airport to Bhimtal is at Pantnagar, During the summer regular flights are operational. the seat of a famous agricultural university, about 55 Kms from Bhimtal.

Bhimtal By Rail : The nearest railway station is at Kathgodam situated around 23 Kms away. Kathgodam is connected by rail directly with Delhi, the capital of India, Lucknow, the capital of the state of Uttar Pradesh, Dehradun the capital of the state of Uttarakhand and Calcutta.

From Kathgodam to Bhimtal Local Transport, private taxies as well as buses run by Private Operators, and buses run by the state government corporation - UASRTC are available at all hours.

Bhimtal By Road : Bhimtal is connected conveniently and is merely 295 Kms away from Delhi.

Bhimtal to Nainital Distance Bhimtal to Nainital Distance is 22 Kms

You Can Visit Bhimtal By Taxi Or By Tours & Travel Packages.

Nainital Tourism offers Transport & online booking Luxury - Deluxe and Budget from 25 + various Hotels & Resorts in Bhimtal.

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