Bhimtal,
Bhimtal, earlier known as Bhimsarovar, is believed to be the stamping ground of the Pandavas. According to the locals the town is named so because when the Pandanvas had been exiled in this region they could not find a water body from which they could quench their thirst.
It was then that Bhima, the powerful, hit the ground with his "gada" or club thus creating a cavity in the ground, which was filled with an underground source of water.
The Bhimeshwar temple is said to have been set up by the Pandavas, who established a Shivling there.
Religious beliefs pertaining to the Saattal lakes go back to the times of the Mahabharata. The Nal Damayantital is named after King Nal. King Nal, one of the most famous kings of Hindu mythology, was sentenced to a fourteen year exile by his brother, Pushkar. Penniless and ostracised, he and his wife Damayanti sought refuge in Sattal, among other places.