About Bhimtal

 

Bhimtal is a pretty little hill town around Bhimtal Lake (1370 m above sea level) in the Lake District of Kumaon in the foothills of the Himalayas. It is 22 km from its more famous neighbour  Nainital, and is quiet and uncrowded. The climate is wonderful, with pleasant summers, a beautiful spring and autumn, and sunny, bracing winters. The lake, which has a little island in the middle, is the largest of the lakes here.

Bhimtal is great as a base from which to make day trips to nearby places of interest – Corbett Park, Nainital, Almora, Ranikhet, Mukteshwar, Kausani, Kaichi Dham, Hairakhan, and others. Sat Tal is a moderate hike away, and Naukuchiatal is 5 km from Bhimtal. It makes an ideal place to stay if you  prefer nature and quiet where you stay for your holiday.

Bhimtal is in the Shivalik range, and the region is known as Devbhoomi, the Land of the Gods. The Pandavas (of the Mahabharata) are believed to have visited here during their vanvas (forest exile, and when their wife Draupadi was thirsty, Bhima struck the ground with his mace, and water gushed out. The lake that was formed, was named after him. An ancient Shiva temple of Bhimeshwara Mahadev has stood here for centuries; the present temple was built in the 17th century by the King of Kumaon, Baz Bahadur of the Chand dynasty.

The entire region around Bhimtal is redolent of the stories of the ancient epics – named after the great cobra, Karkotak mountain is lapped at the base by Bhimtal Lake; Hidimba hill named after its namesake demon lady whom Bhima married; the Sat Tal lakes individually named after the Ramayana's chief players...the list is endless.

Bhimtal is much older than Nainital, which was a secret holy lake known only to the hill people till the 1840s, when the British discovered it. Bhimtal was the best route between the Kumaon mountains and the plains of India. It was a stopping place for  traders from Tibet travelling down in caravans of sheep loaded with borax, to trade for goods not to be got in the high mountains. It may well have been part of the Silk Route.

Today you can step into a row-boat and the boatman will take you for a delightful round of the lake. The first boat to sail upon its clear green and blue waters was carried up on the heads of porters, from Haldwani, more than 150 years ago.