Lake Manasarovar

Trip to Lake Manasarovar. These are some of the pictures taken during our trip to Lake Manasarovar and Mount Kailash. A 10 day trip that starts at the Tatopani dry port (Sindhupalchowk district), took us through a number of breathtaking scenic experiences.

About Lake Manasarovar: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Manass… Lake Manassarovar lies at 4,590 metres (15,060 ft) above mean sea level, a relatively high elevation for a large freshwater lake on the mostly saline lake-studded Tibetan Plateau. Despite claims to the contrary, there are hundreds of higher freshwater lakes in the world, including a larger and higher freshwater lake at 4,941 metres (16,211 ft) above sea level and 495 km2 in size, Angpa Tso (also known as Chibzhang Co, Migriggyangzham Co, East Chihpuchang Hu), further east on the Tibetan Plateau at 33°24′N 90°17′E. The largest freshwater lake of its size (290 km2) over 5000 meters elevation is Pumoyong Tso (also known as Puma Yumco, Po-mo Hu, Pumuoyong Tso), also on the Tibetan Plateau, at 28°34′N 90°24′E at 5,018 metres (16,463 ft) elevation.

Lake Manasarovar is relatively round in shape with the circumference of 88 kilometres (55 mi). Its depth reaches a maximum depth of 90 m (300 ft) and its surface area is 320 square kilometres (120 sq mi). It is connected to nearby Lake Rakshastal by the natural Ganga Chhu channel. Manassarovar is near the source of the Sutlej River which is the easternmost large tributary of the Indus. Nearby are the sources of the Brahmaputra River, the Indus River, and the Karnali River (Ghaghara), an important tributary of the Ganges River.

Lake Manas Sarovar overflows in to lake Rakshastal which is a salt water endorheic lake. These lakes used to be part of Sutlej River basin and got separated due to tectonic activity. Lake Manas Sarovar can be connected to the Ganga River basin through a fifteen km long tunnel to divert its water for easy availability to Hindus of India who considers its water as sacred.