Kumaon itinerary: 12 days in Nainital, Jwalabanj, Binsar and Corbett
12 days · 11 nights · 5 stays · sample itinerary
Twelve days in the foothills: two nights in Delhi, then a flight to Pantnagar for Nainital, a village homestay in Jwalabanj, a heritage lodge inside the Binsar sanctuary reached on foot, and three nights at Corbett before the return to Delhi.
It is a sample itinerary — a starting point, not a timetable. Each night has a place to stay, named where one is known; check that it is open and has room before you book. No flight or train is named, and the times in the plan are placeholders. Open it in the planner and it becomes a trip of your own, starting a month from today, with the places to see already on their days.
Day by day
Day 1
Stay: The Imperial, Delhi
2 nights
Day 2
India Gate and Lutyens’ Delhi
Bangla Sahib Gurudwara
Old Delhi, on foot and by cycle rickshaw
Humayun’s Tomb at sunset
Day 3
Delhi → Pantnagar
Flight · 08:00–09:15
Then about two and a half hours by road to Nainital. Times approximate.
Stay: Abbotsford, Nainital
2 nights
Day 4
Hike to Naina Peak
In the morning.
Heritage walk: Gurney House and the churches
Day 5
Nainital → Jwalabanj
Journey · 10:00–14:00
How is not stated. Times approximate.
Stay: Homestay in Jwalabanj (not named — choose one), Jwalabanj
2 nights
Burans Hill at sunset
Day 6
Forest walk down to the Jageshwar temples
Or a gentler walk to Mirtola Ashram.
Day 7
Jwalabanj → Binsar
Journey · 08:00–15:00
About forty minutes by road to Dhaulchina, then a hike of about eight kilometres through the forest to the lodge, with a picnic lunch on the way. Times approximate.
Stay: Nine Furlongs, Binsar
2 nights
Day 8
Birding walk in the Binsar sanctuary
In the morning.
Hike to Zero Point
Day 9
Binsar → Corbett
By road · 09:00–16:00
By road, stopping at the Corbett Museum in Kaladhungi. Times approximate.
Stay: Jims Jungle Retreat, Corbett
3 nights
Day 10
Corbett jeep safari at dawn
Corbett jeep safari in the afternoon
Day 11
Cycle through the plantations to nearby villages
Optional.
Day 12
Corbett → Delhi
Journey · 09:00–16:00
The trip ends with departure from Delhi. How is not stated. Times approximate.
How the route runs
Two nights in Delhi, then a short flight to Pantnagar and the drive up to Nainital. From there to the village of Jwalabanj, among oak and rhododendron, for walks and the Jageshwar temples; then into the Binsar sanctuary, the last stretch on foot. The last stop is Corbett National Park for jeep safaris, before the journey back to Delhi.
What is left for you to fill in
No flight or train is named, and every time in the plan is a placeholder, marked approximate: choose the services that suit, and set the drive times with whoever is driving. Where a journey says how is not stated, choose how. The places to see have no time of day; add one if it helps.
A stay that reads "not named" is a night with no place to stay yet: choose one. A stay whose note lists others has alternatives worth comparing. Check that each is open and has room for your dates before you book.