Nainital is a town in the Indian state of Uttarakhand and headquarters of Nainital district in the Kumaon foothills of the outer Himalayas. Situated at an altitude of 1,938 metres (6,358 feet) above sea level, Nainital is set in a valley containing a pear-shaped lake, approximately two miles in circumference, and surrounded by mountains, of which the highest are Naina on the north, Deopatha on the west, and Ayarpatha on the south. From the tops of the higher peaks, "magnificent views can be obtained of the vast plain to the south, or of the mass of tangled ridges lying north, bounded by the great snowy range which forms the central axis of the Himalayas. Nainital remains packed from April to November with tourist for sight seeing as well as for seeking escape from the heat of the plains. Naini lake has facilities for boating and yatching. Facilities for horse riding, skating, golf and rock climbing are also available for the visitors. Fishing is also permitted with the permission of local authorities. Talli Tal and Malli Tal are the two main trading centre at Nainital.
Nainital is referred to in the ‘Manas Khand’ of the ‘Skanda Purana’ as the Tri-Rishi-Sarovar,the lake of the three sages ,Atri,Pulastya and Pulaha who were reputed to have arrived here on a penitential piligrimage, and, finding no water to quench their thirst dug a hole and siphoned water into it from Mansarovar the sacred lake in Tibet.The Second important mythological reference to Nainital is as one of 64 ‘Shakti Peeths’.These centres were created wherever parts of charred body of Sati fell ,when Lord Shiva was carrying around her corpse in grief .It is said that the left eye (Nain) of Sati fell here and this gave rise to patron deity of town Nainital . It is said that the lake is formed in the emerald eye shape . Naina Devi temple is located at the northern end of the lake . Thus name of Nainital derivated from Naina and the tal (Lake).
The British occupied Kumaon; Garhwal in 1815 .After the British Occupation ,E. Gardiner was appointed as the commissioner of Kumaun Division on May’8 1815.
In 1817 the second commissioner of Kumaun Mr. G.W. Traill has conducted the second revenue settlement of Kumaun , Mr. Traill was the first European to visit Nainital but he did not popularize his visit in respect for the religious sanctity of the place.In the year 1839 an English businessman from Rosa , Mr. P. Barron a sugar trader and his friend an avid hunter strayed into the hills while hunting they got lost and while finding there way back chanced on the wondrous spot. So enamored was Barron with the vision of the placid lake that he left the sugar business and build a European Colony on shores of the lake .In 1841, Nainital appeared in issue of the ‘Englishman Calcutta’ announcing the discovery of a lake in the vicinity of Almora.
According to the earliest data available on tourist in Nainital by 1847, it had become a popular hill resort. On 3 October 1850, the Nainital Municipal Board was formally constituted. It was the second Municipal Board of North Western Provinces. To catalyse the formation of a town the administration transferred land to the wealthy Sah community of Almora, on condition that they build houses on the land. In 1862, Nainital became the summer seat of the North Western Provinces. After it was made the summer Capital, a remarkable expansion of the town occurred with the growth of magnificent bungalows all around and construction of facilities such as marketing areas, rest houses, recreation centres ,clubs etc together with the secretariat and other administrative units. It also became an important centre of education for the British who wanted to educate their children in the better air and away from the discomforts of the plains.
District Nainital has rich cultural traditions & heritage . The main towns of the district are cosmopolitan and its people are associated with various religions and sets living through generations. Broadly eighty percent of population follows Hindu religion, the rest part belongs to Sikh,Muslim,Christion,Bauddha etc religions. The major part of population follows Kumouni traditions. Marriages are mostly arranged by the parents after tallying horoscopes. The main functions of marriages are Ganesh Pooja, Suwal Pathai, Dhuliargh, Kanya-daan, phere, vida. The traditional kumouni barat take a lively colour in presence of Choliya Nritya (Dance) playing of turais (trumpets) ,dhol ,damua. But now a days people are seen dancing on the tunes of bands in Barat.
People are mostly rice eating in habit but wheat, maduwa and other grains are also consumed. In pulses, people prefer Urad, Gahat, Bhatt, Masur . Meat is also common among the people. Ceremonial food consists of Kheer, Singhal, (picture to right) Poori, Pua, Bada, Kapa made of Palak, Raita, Khatai etc. The other typical kumouni foods are Chudkani & Bhattiya made of bhatt & Soya been, Gautras made of Gahat, Jholee made from mattha, Gaba vegetable
After harvesting season people mostly relax, rejoice, dance and sing thus a festival is generated. At the transition of sun from one constellation to another Sankranti is observed. Each Sankranti has a fair or festival connected to it somewhere in Kumoun. Fooldeyi, Bikhauti, Harela, Ghee Sankranti, Khatarua, Uttaraini are the mostly observed Sankranties throughout the region. Other festivals have the bearings in the moon and the dates changed frequently in Gregorian Calendar. Basant Panchami, Shiv Ratri, Holi, Samvatsar Parwa, Ram Navami, Dashra, Batsavitri, Rakshabandhan, Janmastmi, Nandastmi, Deepawali etc are some of the auspicious occasions. Fairs are organised on these occasions on certain places. The Uttaraini Mela at Chitrashila near Ranibag is observed on Makar Sankranti Day (Approx. 14th January). Kumaoni people feed the crows on Uttaraini day by saying ‘Khale Kaua khale Ghughuti Bada Khale’ .
On Buddha Purnima Day, in the month of May there is festivity near Budhansthli, while Bhimtal observes Harela Mela on 16th or 17th of July. Baishakhi Purnima day brings rejoicing near Lokhamtal while Kainchi temple premises is gay on 15th June. Kakrighat has Somnath Fair on the last Monday of Baishakh, Garjia is full of festivity on Kartik Purnima day in the month of November. Nandashtami Festival is observed with full devotion in the district, fairs are organised at Nainadevi temple Nainital and Bhowali.The Kumaoni people use the fortnight of Shradha in late September or early October to remember their passed away ancestors.
At all auspicious occasions tilak made out of processed turmeric with akshat (Pithya) is put on the forehead. Village ladies are seen with a long pithya starting from the upper nose up to forehead. Various superstitions exists as common throughout the country. A black spot is put on the forehead of a child to ward away from evil spirits .Courtesy calls are made on days other than Tuesday and Saturday. Mourning calls are made exclusively on Tuesday and Saturdays. Visit to sick persons are not made on Tuesdays , Thursdays and Saturdays. Females do not pay visit to their mothers on Thursday. Elders are greeted by touching their feet with ovation of pailagon and responded by chirinjivi bhav or saubhagyavati bhav.Others are greeted with folded hands using Namaskar .Married women put round ingoor or sindoor on their forehead . On special occasions married women wear huge golden nose ring called nath.Black beaded (Chareu) garland on their neck is considered to be the pious symbol of leading a married life for a woman.
Golden necklace is commonly used but poor people use silver in the neck known as Hansuli.So far as the usual dress is concerned females wear sari but there is still a longing for the conventional dress of ghaghara-pichora. Every lady keeps it ready for ceremonial occasions. The tradition of colorful ornamentation on Aanchal cloths is a unique Kumouni tradition, rooted deep in its long history. In all ritual ceremonies women wear pichora, also known as Rangwali. It is a piece of muslin cloth, 3 mts. in length & One and half mts. in width, which is dyed yellow, it is then printed with design with a padded wooden stick using red colours. At the centre is the sign of Swastik, and the motifs of sun, moon, bell and conch shell
People live in houses made out of stone or bricks. Few old constructions are made out of wood also. Wood carvings which was very common in the past are now very rare. In hilly area, roofs have slopes and roofing is done with the help of tin or slates of stone. In villages, animals live in ground floor called Goth and human beings in first floor.Hill temples are the monuments having mixture of deep sense of art and culture. Sculpture varies with the time of inception of the temple. The mode of worship is also different in many aspects from that of plains. These temples act as the nucleus of the social and cultural activities. Hill people orgnise Jagars to please local deities.Golu, Bholanath, Sam, Aidi, Gangnath are some of the local deities.
The style of painting is locally known as Aipan. During ceremonies and festivals the women set themselves to decorating the floor & walls of their houses with designs & patterns . The material used is the paste of rice mixed with ochre. The floor of the worship room, the seat of Gods; Goddesses, are decorated with specific tantrik motifs called Peeth or Yantra. 
A Yantra is a diagrammatic representation of the deity, and consists of linear or septal geometrical permutations of patterns considered as the plan of the terrestrial places where the deity resides. For Namkaran Sanskar, the Aipan on the wooden chauki comprises motifs of sun, moon, bell etc. In the Janeu, the Aipan shows the zodiacal sign of Great bear arranged in hexagons, to invoke the blessings of Sapta-Rishis. In marriage ceremony, the Dhuliargh Chauki bears a design of big water-jar, symbolising primordial water from which the universe emerged.