Weekend Getaways near Shahjahanpur

After passing by Nainital, Bhimtal once you cover most of the distance, you will reach someshwar valley where you will find highly fertile ground with farms, hard working people growing their crops.

Day 12We took a walk a around the lake. Then took Rope Way to Snow view point, but could not see anything from there for fog. Then we went to Cave gardens, but cave were all closed for rain. By afternoon we started for Agra.

Day 11We came to Nainital in morning. After some walk beside the lake we found a hotel. But rain started, which mostly ruined rest of the day. At night I took a walk in the city. City looked quite great at night with the lake and all the lights over hills.

The tiny little town established by the British around the Naini Jheel- Nainital has emerged as one of the most popular tourist destinations of Uttarakhand.We've all reveled in the vibrance of this quaint town, so much so, that most travelers return to Nainital every holiday season! Adding yet another feather to its cap, Nainital is now home to a first of its kind concept holiday resort, Abbotsford 1876. No longer do you need to jostle with the crowds on the Mall Road or trudge from hotel to hotel to find a quiet room; you can simply drive right up and stay in absolute luxury at Abbotsford and enjoy Kumaon in its pristine natural beauty. The Victorian settings and the breathtaking view will make you feel that Abbotsford is the Downton Abbey of India!ABBOTSFORD 1876

Day 5: Ride back to Delhi to catch our flight back home.

My favourite although was Naukuchiatal as it was a quiet and serene lake nestled in the surrounding green hills with variety of bird life.We also enjoyed a boat ride here instead of the more popular Naini lake of NainitalBy evening we returned back to our room and called it a day.

Day 2: Morning started with the majestic view of Himalayas from the room itself. Slowly we pulled ourselves out from the comfort of the room to experience the chill outside and the morning fresh air. After breakfast we moved towards Nainital. Checked into a holiday home and just spent the day at leisure , visiting the Naini Devi temple, roaming around in the mall road in the evening and savoring hot momos and thukpas and finally retiring to our room.

Not on the regular tourist hot spot list.This church is one of the earliest buildings constructed in Nainital. The church was built in 1852. Located around a kilometre from the Naina Devi Temple, close to the High Court, this Anglican Church stands as an evidence of Nainital's history and culture and a reminder of era gone by.The foundation of the church was laid by Rev. Daniel Wilson, the fifth Bishop of Calcutta (now Kolkata) and the first Metropolitan of India and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), who visited Nainital in 1844. During his visit he was forced to stay in an unfinished house situated on the edge of the forest due to his illness. Rev. Wilson had been an assistant curator at St. John's Chapel, Bedford Row, Bloomsbury. From his memories of Bedford and his stay in wilderness came the name St. John's Wilderness Church.The church is often confused with another church (more popular) of the same name located in the forests of Forsyth Ganj below Mcleodganj, Himachal Pradesh. Lord Elgin, the British Viceroy of India (1862-63) who died in 1863 lays buried in the Church Cemetery, after all this was his favourite location. His wife Lady Elgin had donated Belgian Glass windows to the church. The church survived Kangra earthquake of 1880 with some damages.Coming back to the Nainital church, the church is enclosed among Pine/Deodar trees (this entire area was Pine Forest area) and one can still see huge pine trees all around. St. John's parsonage has a Church, Cemetery (one of the oldest in Nainital) and a school which has grown from being a small kindergarten school (in 1970's).The church is made in Gothic style, one can still see water spouting Gargoyles (rain water drains) on the roof. The artistic windows have most of the glasses broken, the ancient wooden pews, all these still carry the old world charm. Services are held in the church on Sundays and other Christian event days. The church earlier had a very unusual feature that of a gun rack close by the door-members of the congregation encountered wild life on their way to the service and thus required something for their protection, sometimes used for hunting occasional deer etc. too. This rack is no longer there.For pictures of this beautiful location click here Nainital saw a major landslide in the year 1880 (the same which led to the formation of the Nainital Flat). The church contains a brass memorial dedicated to the victims of the landslide. Bodies of few of the Christian victims are buried in the cemetery.The church is a peaceful haven, it is not much visited by the tourists. In fact most of the local taxi operators would show their ignorance about this church, they would try and push you towards more popular destinations, some of them would tell you about the St. Francis Church (on the Mall road). Inform them about the church near High Court and they would bring you here, but would still show ignorance about the name.Must visit destination for all those who want experience an era gone by, all those who still want to experience the feel of wilderness.St. John's Church Picture Gallery. How to reach: Location Map

Nainital the city of lakes, widely famous for its 7 lakes. The city has always influenced people for a big happy family vocation. However moving over and above a bit from nainital lies a place which is set at top of mountain ranges - Mukteshwar.

Started around 7:00 am in our polo into the windy January chill for nearly 7 hours of driving on decent roads, along with stoppages for the most yummiest dhaba food, we finally made it to Nainital.