Baghsar Lake ( ur, باغ سر جھیل) is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

situated at 975 m above sea-level in the

Samahni Valley Samahni valley is a valley situated on the ''LOC'' (line of control) that separates Azad Kashmir from Jammu and Kashmir. It is 35 km long and about 8 km in width and covers an area of 1270 km2. By covered area, it is the largest valley ...

Bhimber District The Bhimber District ( ur, ) is the southernmost district of the 10 districts of Pakistan's dependent territory of Azad Kashmir. It has an area of 1516 km², and the district headquarter is the town of Bhimber. History The area is rich in ...

Azad Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (; ), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger Ka ...

, Pakistan. The lake is roughly half a kilometre long and overlooks the Bandala Valley. The lake is a popular tourist destination. Many local and migratory birds, especially ducks and geese, inhabit the lake. The lake is habitat to

water lilies ''Water Lilies'' (or ''Nymphéas'', ) is a Serial imagery, series of approximately 250 oil paintings by French Impressionism, Impressionist Claude Monet (1840–1926). The paintings depict his Fondation Monet in Giverny, flower garden at Fond ...

, and the surrounding hills are covered by cheerh, or

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

trees and lily flowers. The area has several archaeological remains since Bhimber fell on the route of Mughal emperors who occasionally visited the

Kashmir valley The Kashmir Valley, also known as the ''Vale of Kashmir'', is an intermontane valley concentrated in the Kashmir Division of the Indian- union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The valley is bounded on the southwest by the Pir Panjal Range and ...

. The

Baghsar Fort Baghsar Fort is an ancient fort built in Samahni Valley near Bhimber, Pakistan, close to a place known as Baghsar. The fort was constructed by Mughal rulers. Some parts of it are currently closed to visitors, due to it being right beside the line ...

is situated at 3353 feet above sea level. Mughal Emperor

Jahangir Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ear ...

died on his way back from Kashmir near Sarai Sababad in 1627 AD. To preserve his body, the entrails were removed and buried here, and the body was transported to Lahore later. This four-story structure of

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

has played important roles in history during the times of

Ahmed Shah Abdali Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahma ...

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He s ...

and

Gulab Singh Gulab Singh Jamwal (1792–1857) was the founder of Dogra dynasty and the first Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, the largest princely state under the British Raj, which was created after the defeat of the Sikh Empire in t ...

. It is said that the Mughal Emperor

, on his way back from the

Kashmir Valley The Kashmir Valley, also known as the ''Vale of Kashmir'', is an intermontane valley concentrated in the Kashmir Division of the Indian- union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The valley is bounded on the southwest by the Pir Panjal Range and ...

, fell ill and ultimately died in this fort.

References

Lakes of Azad Kashmir Bhimber District {{AzadKashmir-geo-stub