Gurudongmar Lake is one of the highest lakes in the world and in India, at an elevation of according to the
Government of Sikkim
The Government of Sikkim also known as the State Government of Sikkim is the subnational government of the Indian state of Sikkim and its 6 districts, created by the National Constitution as the legislative, executive and judicial authority to ...
.
[ It is located in the ]Great Himalayas
The Great Himalayas or Greater Himalayas or Himadri is the highest mountain range of the Himalayan Range.Hussain, MajidGeography of India/ref> The world's highest peak, Mount Everest, as well as other "near−highest" peaks, such as Kangchenjunga, ...
in the Mangan District
North Sikkim (now officially named as Mangan District) is a district of the Indian state of Sikkim. Its district headquarters is Mangan. It is the seventh least populous district in the country (out of 640).
Geography
The district is the ...
in Indian state
India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions.
History
Pre-indepen ...
of Sikkim
Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...
, and considered sacred by Buddhists
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
, Sikhs
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ...
and Hindus
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
. The lake is named after Guru Padmasambhava
Padmasambhava ("Born from a Lotus"), also known as Guru Rinpoche (Precious Guru) and the Lotus from Oḍḍiyāna, was a tantric Buddhist Vajra master from India who may have taught Vajrayana in Tibet (circa 8th – 9th centuries)... According ...
—also known as Guru Rinpoche—founder of Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
, who visited in the 8th century.
Geography
The high altitude lake is located away from Gangtok
Gangtok is a city, municipality, the capital and the largest populated place of the Indian state of Sikkim. It is also the headquarters of the East Sikkim district, Gangtok District. Gangtok is in the eastern Himalayas, Himalayan range, at an e ...
, the capital city of Sikkim, and about south of the Tibetan (Chinese) border, in the district of North Sikkim
North Sikkim (now officially named as Mangan District) is a list of Indian districts, district of the Indian states and territories of India, state of Sikkim. Its district headquarters is Mangan, India, Mangan. It is the seventh least populous d ...
. The lake can be reached by road from Lachen via Thangu Valley
Thangu Valley or Thangu-Chopta Valley is a town located in Mangan District in Sikkim, India. The population is at an estimated 1,000 residents.
Location
Thangu valley is situated in the northern part of the Sikkim province, roughly 30 kilometers ...
. The road from Thangu to Gurudongmar passes through rugged terrain with moraine
A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice shee ...
, which has high alpine pastures covered with many rhododendron
''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...
trees.[ While Indian tourists are allowed to visit the lake, foreigners need to get a special permit from the Ministry of Home Affairs in Delhi.]
Features
The lake, fed by glaciers, is located to the north of the Kanchendzonga range, in a high plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...
area connected with the Tibetan Plateau
The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the Ti ...
. It provides one of the source streams which joins the Tso Lahmu and then form the source of the Teesta River
Teesta River is a long river that rises in the Pauhunri Mountain of eastern Himalayas, flows through the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal through Rangpur, and enters the Bay of Bengal. It drains an area of . In India, it flows through ...
. The lake remains completely frozen in the winter months, from November to Mid-May.
The lake has an area of and its peripheral length is .[ However, the size of the lake appears small at the place where the devotees offer worship because the larger part of the lake is not visible due to hilly topography obstructing the view.][ The area surrounding the lake, also known as Gurudongmar, is inhabited by ]Yaks
The domestic yak (''Bos grunniens''), also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox or hairy cattle, is a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, the Tibetan Plateau, Kachin St ...
, blue sheep
The bharal (''Pseudois nayaur''), also called the blue sheep, is a caprine native to the high Himalayas. It is the only member of the genus ''Pseudois.'' It occurs in India, Bhutan, China (in Gansu, Ningxia, Sichuan, Tibet, and Inner Mongolia), ...
and other wildlife of high altitude.[
The lake is fresh water and used to be very clear; the bed of the lake could even be seen from the middle of the lake. Pollution has muddied the waters in recent years, and the lake has taken on a white tinge and has obscured visibility.][
]
In folklore
A legend related to the frozen condition of the lake is linked to the visit of Guru Padmasambhava to the lake, on his way back from Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
. When he saw it, he felt that it was worthy of veneration, as it represented the divine location of Dorje Nyima or Chhoedten Nyima. Because the lake remained frozen most of the year with no possibility of providing for drinking water needs, the people of the area appealed to Padmasambhva to help them. The guru agreed to help and placed his hands on a small part of the lake area, which stopped freezing during winter, facilitating drinking water to the people. Since then, the lake has been considered sacred and devotees carry this sacred water in containers.[
According to another legend, when Padmasambhava visited the lake he saw an auspicious phenomenon and then he considered it a good augury to enter the mainland of Sikkim, then known as Demojong.][
]
Dispute
A dispute arose when on the bank of the lake an Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
regiment of Sikhs—located at the border with China—considering the lake as the place visited by their saint Guru Nanak
Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also referred to as ('father Nānak'), was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated wor ...
, constructed a Gurudwara
A gurdwara (sometimes written as gurudwara) (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ''guradu'ārā'', meaning "Door to the Guru") is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths ...
in 1997–1998. This created anger among the Sikkimese people of the area, who considered the Gurudwara an illegal construction, because their ancient sacred lake had been sanctified by the visit of their Guru Padmasambhava. The government of Sikkim then constituted a high level committee to examine the issue and submit a report. Documents furnished to the committee by the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology
Namgyal Institute of Tibetology (NIT) is a Tibet museum in Gangtok, Sikkim, India, named after the 11th Chogyal of Sikkim, Sir Tashi Namgyal. The institute employs researchers and one of its new research programs is a project which seeks to d ...
, Gangtok, agreed with the claim of the local people that it was without a doubt a Buddhist religious place. This was accepted by the committee. The building constructed by the Sikh regiment was then handed over by the Army to the Lachen Monastery
Lachen Monastery (also called Ngodrub Choling Gonpa, "Launching Gompa"), built in 1858, is a Nyingma Buddhist monastery near Lachen, Sikkim, northeastern India.
It is home to Lachen Monastic School.
See also
*Buddhism
*Gautama Buddha
*History ...
on 6 July 2001, in the presence of the Sub Divisional Magistrate, Chungthang
Chungthang is a town in Mangan District district in the Indian state of Sikkim. It is situated at the confluence of the Lachen and Lachung rivers, which combine to form the Teesta River. Located at a distance of from the state capital Gangtok, th ...
, North Sikkim. The monastery placed a lama as a watchman at the lake, entrusted with the task of maintaining it.
Images
See also
* Tourism in North East India
Northeast India consists of the eight states Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. Tourism in this area is based around the unique Himalayan landscape and culture distinct from the rest of India.
N ...
* Tilicho lake
Tilicho Lake () is a lake located in the Manang district of Nepal, as the crow flies from the city of Pokhara. It is situated at an elevation of in the Annapurna range of the Himalayas. Another source lists the elevation of Lake Tilicho as bein ...
* Lake Tsongmo
Tsomgo Lake'','' also known as Tsongmo Lake or Changgu Lake, is a glacial lake in the East Sikkim district of the Indian state of Sikkim, some from the capital Gangtok. Located at an elevation of , the lake remains frozen during the winter se ...
* Khecheopalri Lake
Khecheopalri Lake, originally known as Kha-Chot-Palri (meaning the heaven of Padmasambhava), is a lake located near Khecheopalri village, west of Gangtok in the West Sikkim district of the Northeastern Indian state of Sikkim.
Located to the ...
* Sanglaphu
Notes
References
External links
Gurudongmar lake Travel Guide
Gurudongmar Lake- Permit Regulations Climate Temperature Height
{{North East India
China–India border
Mangan district
Sacred lakes of Sikkim
Tourism in Northeast India