Category: Lakes

Lakes in Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh is located at the core of the Himalayan region. It is one of the most beautiful states in northern India. Himachal Pradesh is not only known for its icy mountains, dense foliage, and adventure sports but also for its serene, friendly environment and beautiful lakes. Himachal Pradesh has dozens of large and small lakes spread over the state.

Himachal Pradesh has a geographical area of 56,000 sq. km. of which one percent is covered by lakes. Some lakes are natural bequests that may well date back millions of years to the time when the region was a vast island sea. Today, they are fed by streams of pure snow-melt or by ground-water springs. Practically without exception, they are held sacred – or at the very least, have fascinating legends merging with their crystal clear waters.

Division of lakes bases on location and altitude

Low Altitude Lakes

Renuka Lake & Macchial Lake

Mid altitude lakes

Dal Lake Dharamshala, Rewalsar Lake, Kareri Lake, Kumarwah Lake, Khajjiar Lake

High altitude lakes

Prashar Lake, Nako Lake, Chandratal Lake, Suraj Tal Lake, Dhankar Lake, Dashair Lake, Brighu Lake, Seruvalsar Lake, Manimahesh Lake, Ghadhasaru Lake, Mahakali Lake, Lama Dal and Chander Naun

Man Made Reservoirs

Pong Dam: Maharana Pratap Lake, Gobind Sagar Lake and Pandoh Lake in Himachal Pradesh

Theses reservoirs and lakes in Himachal Pradesh are surrounded by green foliage and dense forests. In some lakes, fishing and boating are allowed for tourists.

Pandoh Lake in Himachal Pradesh

Pandoh Lake, 1,360 m high with deep blue water, is on the Mandi-Kullu road ( National Highway 21) and is 25 km from Mandi. It is a long and narrow lake and is the result of Pandoh Dam, which is across the Beas River and whose main purpose is to divert the river for power generation.

Water sports activities on commercial basis are available for tourists from October to May every year.

White Water rafting

If adventure is your love and you are looking for some highly enthralling water sports, then river rafting in Himachal Pradesh comes as an excellent option for you. River Rafting, also known as White Water Rafting has gained high popularity in last few years in Himachal Pradesh and you can enjoy to the maximum extent in the rivers of the state and do other activities also.

During summer season, the melting snow on Himalayas fill the Himachal rivers with enough water and also provide them high speed that is suitable for taking up the river rafting expedition. Besides, the snow-fed rivers of Himachal Pradesh also offer easy to tough challenges to the river-rafting enthusiasts. The main commercial rafting river in the state is the Beas, which begins near Manali and flows through Kullu before reaching the Pandoh Dam. The Beas river provides Grade IV and V rapids.

Beas Sutlej Link

Beas Sutlej Link Project is the largest tunneling project in the country. It comprises of 13.1 Kms. Tunnel of 25 ft. dia meters, through which water is taken from Pandoh reservoir up to the Baggi Control Works. This tunnel is capable of carrying 9500 cs. water. The construction of tunnel involved excavation of over 1.31 million cyd. of rock and 0.55 million cyd. of concrete lining.

Pong Dam: Maharana Pratap Lake

Maharana Pratap Sagar, also known as Pong Dam Reservoir or Pong Dam Lake was created in 1975 building the highest earth fill dam in India on the Beas River in the wetland zone of the Shivalik Hills of the Kangra district of the state of Himachal Pradesh, in India.

The Maharana Pratap Sagar has been declared “Ramsar site-wetland of International Importance” by the Ramsar Bureau, Switzerland.

Nestled in the sylvan surroundings of the Kangra valley, the sprawling Pong Dam wetland has emerged as a major habitat for migratory birds in the country as also an attraction for bird watchers and you can see different kind of birds over there..

Known as an outstanding town of paradise for birds watchers, the wetland has rich bio-diversity with meager forests round the Pong Dam Wetland having several tree species which serve as edible fruits for the migratory birds. Keeping in view the natural beauty of the wetland, the area has been developed as national wetland and has been included in the list of internationally known wetlands

Water Sports in Pong Dam

A regional water sports center has been established in the Pong dam reservoir which offers focused activities such as canoeing, rowing, sailing, and water skiing, apart from swimming. Training programs are organized in water safety and rescue measures with three tier water sports courses – the basic course, intermediate course and advanced course. It is said to be the only center of its type in the country.

The Lake Sanctuary

This lake sanctuary is a big attraction for migratory ducks from Siberian region during winter. One can see thousands of ducks in the swamp area between Shahnahar barrage and Pongdam and the surrounding shallow waters of the lake. Clean blue water all around with the panoramic view of Dhauladhar Ranges and Kangra Valley make the visit to Ransar Island an unforgettable experience. Black buck and Cheetal on the island along with Surkhab, Cranes, Pintails and variety of water birds welcome the visitors on the Island.

How to reach Pong Dam

The best access option is the rail-road combination. The place is at a distance of

170 kilometers from Chandigarh

110 kilometers from Amritsar

55 kilometers from Dharamshala.

The nearest Airports is Chandigarh. The closest railway stations are Mukerian – 30 kilometers and Pathankot 32 kilometers. The rail stations Pathankot and Una are connected to Delhi by express trains.

Suraj Tal Lake in Himachal Pradesh

The lake is situated in the Upper Himalayan Zone or High Latitudinal Zone part of the Himalayas which has very sparse population with climatic conditions akin to polar conditions. Snowfall in this zone, though scanty, is reported to be spread all round the year. Rainfall precipitation is rare in the region.

Lahaul Spiti valley is common a destination for Indian and foreign tourists for road trips, trekking and motorcycling which cover the Lake and the Bara-lacha-la pass, en-route from Manali to Leh

How to get there

Suraj Tal is 65 km from Keylong, the district headquarters of the Lahaul Spiti district, a frontier district of India which is approachable by road by the National Highway NH 21, also known as the Leh-Manali Highway. The NH 21 is the vital road link for the people living in the Lahaul Spiti district. The road skirts the Suraj Tal and is just 3 km short of the Bara-lacha-la pass. It remains inaccessible from Rohtang Pass to Leh during winter months of November to April since the pass becomes totally snowbound during this period.

“During winters it remains in the grip of a pall of ice untidy with lumps of frozen snow and jutting stones”. But in the summer season this tarn comes back to its glorious charm, the deep blue of its icy waters reflecting craggy mountains and snowy heights.

Climate Lahaul & Spiti Valley

Since the valley is situated in rain shadow area, north of the Pir Panjal ranges the weather remains pleasant and quite comfortable during summers i.e. from May to mid Oct. This is the best season to visit this valley. It seldom rains, and the Mercury level does not exceed 30 degrees C and never falls below 15 degrees C throughout the summer season. One can always enjoy bright sunshine wandering within lush green valley. There is little or no rain in monsoons. The climate remains dry & invigorating. The days are hot and night is extremely cold. Heavy/Light woollens are recommended like shawls, sweater, cardigans etc.

During winter, i.e. from Nov. last to April because of western disturbances it snows heavily and the temperature goes down below minus. There is an average annual snow fall of about 7 feet.

Gobind Sagar Lake in Himachal Pradesh

Gobind Sagar is located in the districts of Bilaspur, which is 83 km away from Anandpur Sahib in Himachal Pradesh. One of India’s largest and world’s highest gravity Dams, Bhakra-Nangal Dam is built on the bank of Gobind Sagar.

Built in the year 1976, the Gobind Sagar feeds water to several states of North India. Spread over an area of 170 sq km, the Gobind Sagar houses variety of birds. The travel & tourism department of Himachal Pradesh permits fishing in the Gobind Sagar and the permit can be obtained from the department of fisheries at Bilaspur. During the month of October and November a variety of water sports activities are organized by the Department of Tourism & Civil Aviation. Tourists can enjoy water-skiing, sailing, Kayaking and water-scooter racing on the turf of Gobind Sagar.

Connected by a rope-way, the shrine of Naina Devi overlooks the Gobind Sagar. The adjoining wildlife sanctuary holds Sambhar, wild boar, barking deer and red jungle fowl.

Bhakra Nangal Dam

Being the biggest dam of India, large number of tourists get attracted towards its vast water reservoir and attractive location. It is a life time experience for any visitor to travel to this grand reservoir where water flows with a great speed at such a height. The site definitely generates awe in tourist visiting the dam. To facilitate tourism in this part of Himachal Pradesh, the travel & tourism department of the state has generated a wonderful picnic spot around the region.

How to reach Gobind Sagar Lake

Bhakra dam is about 13 Kms from Nangal. The nearest airport is Chandigarh (105 km from Nangal) after that you can go by road. Nangal is on the Delhi-Una line and there is a daily train “Himachal Express” on this route. Nangal is 20 Km. from Gurdwara Sri Kesgarh Sahib, Anandpur Sahib and 30 Kms from Gurdwara Sri Kiratpur Sahib.