Comparison · 22 km and 700 m apart
Nainital or Bhimtal: choosing a base in Kumaon
Two lakes, forty minutes apart, that suit very different travellers — and the climb between them matters more than the crowds do.
- Local Kumaon routes
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- Driver-led travel
Quick answer
Bhimtal is closer, lower, quieter and gentler to reach; Nainital is the bigger town with more to do and more people doing it. Bhimtal is 21 to 23 km from Kathgodam, 35 to 50 minutes, at 1,370 m, with a lake larger than Naini Lake. Nainital is 34 to 35 km, one to one and a half hours, at 2,084 m, with the eye-shaped Naini Lake at 1,940 m, an entry toll, Mall Road restrictions in May, June and October, and roughly four thousand parking spaces that fill in season. If this is your first visit to Kumaon, Nainital. If you have small children, elderly parents, a passenger who gets carsick, or you have been before, Bhimtal.
Side by side
| Nainital | Bhimtal | |
|---|---|---|
| Distance from Kathgodam | 34–35 km by the direct road | 21–23 km; officially 22 km from the station |
| Driving time | 1–1.5 hrs, longer in season | 35–50 min |
| Altitude | 2,084 m; the lake at about 1,940 m | 1,370 m |
| The climb | About 1,500 m of ascent in roughly 30 km, continuously winding | Markedly gentler — about 700 m less altitude gain over a shorter road |
| The lake | Eye-shaped Naini Lake, which gives the town its name | Larger than Naini Lake, with an island about 91 m from shore reached by boat, and an aquarium on it |
| What else is there | “Jewel of Kumaon”; the seat of the Uttarakhand High Court; Mall Road; a full hill-station town | The 17th-century Bhimeshwara Mahadev temple beside a 40-foot dam |
| Entry charges | A toll at Tallital entering from the Haldwani and Bhowali side, and at Sukhatal from Kaladhungi | No town entry toll of the kind Nainital levies |
| Vehicle restrictions | Heavy vehicles restricted on Mall Road in May, June and October, 8:00–10:30 am and 2:30–10:30 pm; light vehicles 6–10 pm | None comparable |
| Parking | Roughly 4,000 spaces; vehicles have been held at entry points when they fill | Easier, though the lakeside fills at weekends |
| Distance to Bhowali | The road east to Almora runs through it | 11 km |
| Distance to Kainchi Dham | 17 km | About 20 km via Bhowali |
| Distance to Pantnagar airport | — | 58 km |
| Character | Busy, worked, year-round, more choice of everything | Quieter, more residential, more water, fewer shops |
Distances and journey times on this page are drawn from published sources and from our own driving, and are given as ranges because that is what they honestly are. A figure quoted to the kilometre on a Himalayan road is usually a figure someone made up.
The climb, and why it is the real decision
Most comparisons of these two places talk about crowds. The thing that actually changes people’s holidays is the road.
Nainital sits at 2,084 metres and the direct road from Kathgodam climbs roughly 1,500 metres in about thirty kilometres, through Ranibagh, Bhujiyaghat and Jeolikot to Tallital. That means bends without meaningful straights for the better part of an hour. It is a well-surfaced national highway and there is nothing alarming about it — but it is the section of Kumaon most likely to make a passenger unwell, and by a clear margin.
Bhimtal is at 1,370 metres, reached by a shorter road with roughly seven hundred metres less to climb. The difference is not marginal. If you have a child who is sick in cars, a parent who finds hairpins frightening, or anyone who has struggled on a hill road before, this is the single most useful fact on the page — and it is the reason we suggest Bhimtal to more people than the guidebooks do.
There is a third option worth knowing: the road to Nainital via Bhimtal and Bhowali is roughly 44 km rather than 34 to 35, and it is gentler and longer. When the direct climb is congested, or when a passenger is struggling, it is a genuinely useful alternative rather than a consolation prize.
Who each one suits
| If you are | We would suggest | Because |
|---|---|---|
| On your first visit to Kumaon | Nainital | It is the town everyone means when they say the Kumaon lakes, and the first time you should probably see it. You can always come back to the quiet one. |
| Coming back for a second or third time | Bhimtal | Most repeat visitors we drive have made this switch already. The lake is larger, the crowds are thinner, and Nainital is 22 km away if you want an afternoon of it. |
| Travelling with small children | Bhimtal | Shorter drive, gentler climb, less altitude, easier parking, and a boat to an island with an aquarium on it, which is a better afternoon for a six-year-old than a Mall Road. |
| Travelling with elderly parents | Bhimtal | Seven hundred metres lower and a much shorter road. Nainital is not high enough to cause real altitude trouble, but the drive itself is tiring and the town involves walking on slopes. |
| Prone to motion sickness | Bhimtal, or Nainital by the Bhowali road | Thirty kilometres of unbroken hairpins is the problem, not the destination. Either shorten the climb or take the gentler alignment. |
| Arriving on a pre-dawn train | Either — both are easy | Bhimtal in 35 to 50 minutes puts you at a guesthouse before breakfast; Nainital before dawn means an empty road and no entry queue. This is the one case where Nainital is easier than usual. |
| Wanting shops, restaurants and things to do after dark | Nainital | It is a working town with the High Court in it, not a resort. Bhimtal genuinely has less going on, which is either the point or the problem. |
| Using it as a base for touring Kumaon | Bhimtal | It is 11 km from Bhowali, which is the junction everything passes through — Kainchi Dham, Almora, Ranikhet, the eastern routes. You start every day already past the bottleneck. |
| Coming in May, June or October with a large vehicle | Bhimtal | Nainital’s heavy-vehicle restrictions on Mall Road fall in exactly those months, and its parking is the constraint on the whole town. |
| After the lake itself, more than the town | Bhimtal | The lake is larger than Naini Lake and much less busy on the water. |
Crowds, and the honest version
Nainital is busy. That is not a criticism — it is busy because it is good, and a town that empties out is usually a town with nothing in it. But the practical consequences are real: in season the town holds vehicles at its entry points when parking fills, Mall Road carries timed restrictions on heavy and light vehicles through May, June and October, and a mid-morning arrival in the first week of June is a materially different journey from a nine o’clock one. The difference can be an hour.
Bhimtal is quieter, and quieter has a cost too. There is less choice of food, fewer things to do in bad weather, and if what you want is the sound of a hill town in the evening, you will find Bhimtal a bit still. Several people we have driven have loved it for exactly the reason others found it dull.
A base, or a destination
This is the framing we find most useful, and it is not the one most comparisons use.
Nainital is a destination. You go there to be in Nainital. It has enough town to fill two or three days on its own, and using it as a base means driving down out of it and back up into it every day, through the entry point and the parking problem, twice.
Bhimtal is a base. Eleven kilometres from Bhowali puts you on the correct side of the junction for everything: Kainchi Dham is about twenty kilometres away, Nainital is twenty-two, and the roads to Almora and the eastern hills all start from Bhowali. If your trip is a set of day trips, this matters every single morning.
The four-day plan in our Kumaon circuit itineraries is built on exactly that logic, with Bhimtal as the base and Nainital as one of the days.
We are not going to declare a winner
Because there is not one, and anybody who tells you otherwise is telling you about themselves rather than about you. The two places are twenty-two kilometres and seven hundred metres apart and they do different jobs.
What we would say, having driven both roads several times a week: if you are choosing badly, it is usually in the direction of Nainital, because it is the name you already knew. If your trip has small children, older travellers, a short stay, a touring plan, or a June date in it, at least look properly at the quieter option before you book. And if you want to see both, that is entirely reasonable — they are forty minutes apart and a car held for the day covers both comfortably.
The route detail for each is on the Kathgodam to Nainital page and the Kathgodam to Bhimtal page, and the fare guide explains how holding a car for a day differs from a drop.
Still not sure which to book?
Tell us who is travelling — ages, how many, how long you have, and whether anyone struggles on winding roads. We will tell you which of the two we would put you in, and we are not paid more either way.
Common questions
Is Bhimtal better than Nainital?
Neither is better; they suit different people. Bhimtal is closer to Kathgodam, 700 m lower, quieter, easier to reach and a better touring base. Nainital is the bigger town with more to do, and is the one to see on a first visit.
Which is closer to Kathgodam, Nainital or Bhimtal?
Bhimtal, at 21 to 23 km and 35 to 50 minutes. The Nainital district administration gives 22 km from the station. Nainital is 34 to 35 km and one to one and a half hours by the direct road.
Which lake is bigger, Naini Lake or Bhimtal lake?
Bhimtal lake is larger than Naini Lake, according to the Nainital district administration. It also has an island about 91 metres from the shore, reached by boat, with an aquarium on it.
Which is better for someone who gets carsick?
Bhimtal, clearly. The direct road to Nainital climbs roughly 1,500 metres in about thirty kilometres with no meaningful straights. Bhimtal is 700 metres lower over a shorter road. If you must go to Nainital, the route via Bhimtal and Bhowali is about 44 km and gentler.
Is there a toll to enter Bhimtal?
Bhimtal does not levy the kind of town entry toll Nainital does. Nainital charges at Tallital for vehicles entering from the Haldwani and Bhowali side, and at Sukhatal for those arriving from Kaladhungi.
Can I stay in Bhimtal and visit Nainital?
Easily. They are 22 km apart, which is under an hour with a car held for the day. Many repeat visitors do exactly this — sleep in the quiet one, spend an afternoon in the busy one.
Which is the better base for touring Kumaon?
Bhimtal, because it is 11 km from Bhowali, the junction that every road east passes through. Kainchi Dham, Almora, Ranikhet and the eastern routes all start from there, so you begin each day past the bottleneck rather than driving down into it.
Sources and further reading
Where this page states a fact about roads, permits or public information, these are the sources it relies on. Anything we could not verify, we have said so.