TempleEntrée gratuiteFermé Wednesday (1st and 3rd week of month)

Naina Devi Temple

#2sur 9 lieux à visiter à NainitalNainital, Uttarakhand

Aussi appelé Naini Devi Mandir · Nainital Shakti Peeth

L'essentiel

Horaires d'ouverture : 06:00–22:00, closed Wednesdays. L'entrée est gratuite. Comptez 45 min. Meilleure période : 07:00.

Mis à jour le 18 septembre 2026 · Rédigé par Traveliac, avec assistance IA · 4 min de lecture

ItinéraireSite officiel

Photo: Ekabhishek / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Horaires d'ouverture: 06:00–22:00; Closed Wednesdays
Prix d'entrée: Gratuit
Durée nécessaire: 45 min
Meilleur moment de la journée: 07:00
Meilleurs mois: Mar – Jun, Sep – Nov
Adresse: Mallital, near Naini Lake, Nainital, Uttarakhand 263001

À propos de Naina Devi Temple

Naina Devi Temple stands at the northern edge of Naini Lake in Mallital, rebuilt in 1883 after the original shrine was destroyed in the 1880 landslide that killed around 151 people on this same slope. The temple is counted among the 51 Shakti Peeths of Hindu tradition, the sites where, according to legend, fragments of the goddess Sati's body fell as Lord Shiva carried her across the cosmos — here, the eyes (naina), which is also the source of the town's name. Two stone eyes set into the sanctum wall represent the goddess in her aniconic form, flanked by images of Kali and Ganesh. The temple's twin-spired silhouette against the lake is the most reproduced image of Nainital after the lake itself, and its position directly on the water means the courtyard doubles as a shoreline promenade even for visitors not there to worship.

Meilleur moment de la journée : 07:00. For the morning aarti and the shortest queue, or 18:30 – 19:00 for the evening aarti when the lakeside temple courtyard is lit.

Horaires de Naina Devi Temple

Horaires d'ouverture: 06:00–22:00; Mon–Tue 06:00–22:00
Wednesday Closed
Thu–Sun 06:00–22:00; 06:00 – 22:00 daily; morning aarti at 07:00, evening aarti at 19:00
Fermé le: Wednesday (1st and 3rd week of month)

Mon–Tue	06:00–22:00
Wednesday	Closed
Thu–Sun	06:00–22:00

Bon à savoir : Closed on Wednesdays during the first and third week of each month for internal temple rituals — check locally before a Wednesday visit.

Horaires d'ouverture établis à partir de uttarakhandtourism.gov.in et de sources publiques, mis à jour le 18 septembre 2026. Ils peuvent changer sans préavis — vérifiez avant de partir. Comment nous rédigeons ces guides

Prix d'entrée de Naina Devi Temple

Entry fees for Naina Devi Temple
Billet	Prix
Visiteurs indiens	Gratuit
Visiteurs étrangers	Gratuit
Enfants	Gratuit
Caméra	Gratuit

No entry fee. Donations toward puja and temple maintenance are voluntary, collected at a counter inside the complex.

Tarifs établis à partir de uttarakhandtourism.gov.in et de sources publiques, mis à jour le 18 septembre 2026. Ils peuvent changer sans préavis — vérifiez avant de partir. Comment nous rédigeons ces guides

Meilleure période pour visiter Naina Devi Temple

Quiet
Moderate
Busy

06:00 – 07:30
Morning Aarti
Local devotees dominate the early crowd; queue for darshan typically under 15 minutes outside festival periods.
Moderate
10:00 – 13:00
Midday Tourist Flow
Day-trippers combine the temple with lake and Mall Road visits; courtyard and corridor queue lengthen.
Busy
13:00 – 17:00
Afternoon LullBest time to go
Crowd thins as visitors move to Mall Road shopping or the ropeway; a good window for an unhurried visit.
Quiet
18:30 – 20:00
Evening Aarti
Evening aarti at 19:00 draws both worshippers and lakeside strollers; the illuminated courtyard is the most photographed moment of the day.
Busy

Histoire de Naina Devi Temple

A shrine to Naina Devi is recorded on this site from at least the mid-19th century, established after the British discovery and settlement of Nainital in 1841 formalised local devotion to a goddess already associated with the lake in regional folklore. Moti Ram Shah, a merchant devotee, is credited with installing the idol in 1842, giving the site its first formal temple structure.

The 18 September 1880 landslide destroyed the original temple along with much of the surrounding Mallital slope, part of the same disaster that killed roughly 151 people including guests at the Victoria Hotel. The temple was rebuilt in 1883 on the same ground, this time with reinforced retaining structures learned from the disaster's post-mortem engineering surveys — the site remains one of the clearest physical markers of that 19th-century catastrophe still in daily religious use.

Règles et étiquette à Naina Devi Temple

Footwear must be removed at the free rack near the main gate before entering the courtyard; the stone courtyard floor can be uncomfortably hot on clear summer afternoons, so sandals that slip on and off easily are more practical than lace-up shoes. Photography is generally permitted in the outer courtyard but is restricted inside the inner sanctum during aarti — follow the temple volunteers' instructions, which vary by crowd density.

The queue for darshan moves in a single-file line along a covered corridor; during Navratri (the nine-day festival in the Hindu months of Chaitra and Ashwin), wait times extend well beyond an hour and a separate express line sometimes opens for a nominal donation. Modest dress is expected — shoulders and knees covered — though there is no formal enforcement at the gate as there is at some larger Shakti Peeths.

Conseils pour visiter Naina Devi Temple

1
Combine the temple visit with a walk along the adjoining lake promenade — the two share the same stretch of shoreline, so there is no separate travel time required. Arriving for the 07:00 aarti also catches the calmest hour on the lake itself, before the Mall Road stalls and boat queues start up.
2
Stalls immediately outside the temple gate sell prasad, marigold garlands, and small brass idols; prices are not fixed and mild bargaining is normal, particularly for the idols rather than the prasad baskets. The temple trust's donation counter issues a receipt for any amount over ₹100, useful for those wanting a record of a larger contribution toward the ongoing maintenance of the lakeside retaining wall.

Comment se rendre à Naina Devi Temple

Nous n'avons pas encore localisé Naina Devi Temple avec précision ; la carte montre les autres lieux de notre guide Nainital. Utilisez l'adresse ci-dessous ou le lien d'itinéraire.

Mallital, near Naini Lake, Nainital, Uttarakhand 263001Itinéraire sur Google Maps

Depuis Tallital Bus Stand
1.5 km · 20 min walk along Mall Road
Free (walking); ₹40–₹60 by shared auto.
Depuis Kathgodam Railway Station
₹900–₹1,200
35 km · 75–90 min
Shared taxi).
Depuis Pantnagar Airport (PGH)
₹1,800–₹2,500
71 km · 2.5 hours
Prepaid taxi).

Aéroport le plus proche

Depuis Pantnagar Airport (PGH)

71 km, approximately 2.5 hours by road.

Gare la plus proche

Depuis Kathgodam Railway Station

35 km, approximately 1.5 hours by road.

FAQ — Naina Devi Temple

Is there an entry fee for Naina Devi Temple?

No. Entry is free; only puja items and voluntary donations involve payment.

Why is Naina Devi Temple considered a Shakti Peeth?

Yes, it is one of the 51 Shakti Peeths. Hindu legend holds that the eyes of the goddess Sati fell at this spot, and two stone eyes in the sanctum represent her in aniconic form.

Is the temple open every day?

No. It closes on Wednesdays during the first and third week of each month for internal rituals; all other days it is open 06:00–22:00 with aarti at 07:00 and 19:00.

Does the temple have any connection to Nainital's 1880 landslide?

Yes. The original shrine was destroyed in the 18 September 1880 landslide that killed around 151 people on this slope, and the current structure was rebuilt in 1883 on the same site.

Rédigé avec l'assistance de l'IA à partir de sources officielles et de registres publics, et publié seulement après les vérifications décrites dans Comment nous rédigeons ces guides. Personne chez Traveliac ne s'est rendu sur place. Mis à jour le 18 septembre 2026. Comment nous classons et vérifions les lieux