Nainital Lake
lake · 348 m away
temple10 min from Nainital
Naina Devi Temple, Nainital
The Naina Devi Temple on the north shore of Nainital Lake, a Shakti shrine rebuilt after the 1880 landslip and the focus of the town's lake legend.
What it is
The Naina Devi Temple stands on the north shore of Nainital Lake, in the Mallital end of Nainital, and is a shrine of the goddess Shakti. The local legend, which Wikipedia retells, is that the eye of the goddess Sati fell here and the lake is one of the Shakti Peeths; nain means eye and tal means lake. The older temple was destroyed in the landslip of 1880 and a new one built afterwards.
Photos: आशीष भटनागर (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Ekabhishek (CC BY-SA 3.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Getting there
It is a short walk along the Mall Road from the middle of the lake. By road it is about 3.9 km and 10 minutes from the hub point on our routing. We have no verified opening hours, so ask in town.
The visit
Our photographs show a red-roofed temple at the water's edge, lit at dusk with boats moored in front, a gate hung with bells and a small octagonal shrine under a red roof. It is a working temple and often crowded, so go quietly, keep to the paths and ask before photographing inside. The setting by the lake is the reason most visitors stop.
The temple belongs to the town's origin story; read the lake page for the 1880 landslip and what was rebuilt, and look at the flat ground beside it, which the town made after the slip.
When to go
Any season, though winters are cold and the monsoon is wet. See when to visit Nainital.
Around it
Nainital Lake is the whole setting, and Kainchi Dham is a drive out, 43 minutes by road. The one-day plan puts the temple second, and the two-day plan does too.
Plans that include this
All 2 plans that stop here →
Day plan · First visitleisure
One day in Nainital — the lake, the Naina Devi Temple and Kainchi Dham
A one-day Nainital plan: the lake and its boats, the Naina Devi Temple on the north shore, then the Kainchi Dham ashram on the Almora road. Free to copy.
Best Mar–Jun · Oct–Nov
See the plan →
1 night · 2 days · First visitleisure
Two days in Nainital — the lakes, Kainchi Dham and Sattal
A two-day Nainital plan: the lake, the Naina Devi Temple and Kainchi Dham on day one, then Bhimtal Lake and the seven lakes of Sattal on day two. Free to copy.
Best Mar–Jun · Oct–Nov
See the plan →Nearby places
Questions people ask
What is the Naina Devi Temple?
A temple of the goddess Shakti on the north shore of Nainital Lake, known locally as Naini Mata. Wikipedia says the lake is held to be one of the Shakti Peeths, the place where the eye of the goddess Sati fell. The name of the town and the lake both come from that legend.
Is it the original temple?
No. Wikipedia says the earlier temple was destroyed in the landslip of 18 September 1880, along with the Assembly Rooms, and that a new temple was built after it, beside the recreation ground called the Flats. We have no verified date for the present building, so we do not give one.
How do you reach it?
It is a short walk along the Mall Road from the centre, on the northern, Mallital end of the lake. By road it is about 3.9 km and 10 minutes from the hub point on our routing. We have no verified opening hours or festival dates, so ask in town before you plan around them.