Delhi to Nainital
by Car

300 km by road, and 6-7 hours behind the wheel. The route divides into 5 stages, the longest being Ghaziabad to Moradabad at 130 km. The longest stage is not the slowest one: Haldwani to Nainital covers 35 km in 1.5 hrs, which is where the hours actually go.

Haldwani to Nainital — 35 km graded moderate, and 1.5 hrs of the day. 30 km mountain ascent, 9 hairpin bends, stunning lake views. By contrast Rampur to Haldwani is graded good, so the route is not uniform and planning it as one average speed is how people end up arriving after dark. The road quality on this corridor runs across good and moderate.

Haldwani to Nainital — 35 km in 1.5 hrs, which is the slowest average on the route. 30 km mountain ascent, 9 hairpin bends, stunning lake views. Ghaziabad to Moradabad is the longest stage at 130 km and takes 2.5 hrs, so distance and time are not in proportion on this corridor. Knowing which stage is slow is what lets a departure time be chosen properly rather than guessed at.

NH-9 start, urban stretch, UP plains, brass city of Moradabad and Historical Raza Library, among others. These are on the route rather than detours from it, which is the practical distinction — a stop that costs you ten minutes is a different proposition from one that costs an hour each way. Tell the driver in advance which of them you want to stop at and the day gets planned around it instead of around the clock.

The last 35 km from Haldwani to Nainital is all uphill — keep your engine cool and use low gears. Then: bhimtal detour (5 km off route) has a less crowded lake — consider it if Nainital is too packed. Then: stock up on snacks and water at Haldwani — options thin out on the mountain stretch. Then: naini Lake boating is best in early morning before tourist crowds arrive. None of that is generic road-trip advice — it is what the drivers who run this corridor pass on, and the position-specific items are the ones worth reading twice.

The mountain work on this route is a different job from the highway part of it, and we treat it that way: a driver who knows this climb goes on this run. Haldwani to Nainital is the stage that asks the most of the car and the driver. Lower gears on the descent rather than the brakes, a wider following distance than feels necessary, and a start early enough to finish the climb in daylight. With only 5 fuel stations on the route, the tank gets filled before the hill section rather than in it.

We would rather you did not, and we will say so. The hill section of this route is the part where visibility, unlit edges and oncoming traffic combine badly, and arriving three hours later in daylight is the better trade. If the journey has to run into the night, it runs with the night allowance for the driver and a start time chosen so the climb is behind you before dark. A driver asked to do 300 km on no sleep is the single worst risk on any booking, and we do not take it.

Ghaziabad at 20 km, Moradabad at 150 km and Rampur at 180 km. Those figures are measured from Delhi, not from Nainital — the same stops on the return journey sit at different numbers, and a list copied from the other direction puts every one of them in the wrong place. The useful halfway mark on this route is around 150 km.