Nainital is India's lake district, a Victorian boating town wrapped around the emerald Naini lake, with a constellation of quieter lakes, Bhimtal, Sattal, Naukuchiatal and Khurpatal, scattered through the oak forest below. It splits neatly between the busy town and the calm circuit around it.
Two days cover the town itself: a morning row across the lake, the Naina Devi temple at the head of the water, the cable car to Snow View for the Nanda Devi line, Tiffin Top's walk, and evenings on the Mall Road promenade between the boathouse club and the bazaars. Temple bells, tea stalls above the mist and the Raj-era cottages on Ayarpatta hill give the town its texture.
A third day points outward. Sattal's seven linked lakes are the region's birdwatching heart, Bhimtal has an island aquarium and paragliding ridges, and Mukteshwar, an hour further, trades lakes for orchard country and a cliff-edge Shiva temple. Even a single well-planned day delivers the essentials without an overnight bill.
The town is genuinely year round: March to June is peak season on the water, October and November have the clearest peaks, and a January cold snap occasionally turns the surrounding ridges white. From Kathgodam railhead it is barely an hour uphill, which explains both the crowds and the case for sleeping at Sattal instead.