Suraj Tal

Suraj Tal 

Did you know that Suraj Tal, the thrid highest lake in India, may be reached by National Highway NH-21, the highest mountain road in the world?

Suraj Tal, a high altitude lake at 800 m (2600 feet) elevation , which is also known as Surya taal or Tso Kamtsi in Tibetan, is a sacred body of water. Literally, 'Suraj Tal' means the "Lake of the Sun God". Its geographical location is just below the 4,890 m (16,040 ft) high Bara-lacha-la pass in Lahaul and Spiti district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is the third highest lake in India, and the 21st-highest in the world. 

Suraj Tal Lake is just below the source of the Bhaga River that joins the Chandra River downstream at Tandi to form the Chandrabhaga River in Himachal Pradesh. The Chandrabhaga River is known as the Chenab as it enters the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir. The other major tributary of the Chandrabhaga, the Chandra originates from Chandra lake, and flows south-east of the Bara-lacha La.

The lake is fed from the glaciers and nullahs (streams) originating from the Bara-lacha-la pass. The pass is 8 km long and is also called the "Pass with crossroads on summit" since roads from Zanskar, Ladakh, Spiti and Lahaul meet at this pass. In addition to the Bhaga River that originates from it and flows through Suraj Tal, Bara-lacha-la Pass is also the source of the Chandra and Yunan Rivers in the southeast and north, respectively. 

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. It has a shore length of 4 km, and remains frozen during winter months

Rainfall precipitation is rare in the region. Snow precipitation from snow storms is reported to be less than 200 mm (7.9 in) of snow in nearly 50% of the storms, even though one observatory in the region has reported 800 mm (31 in) of snow fall. The precipitation starts melting from May. Snow on slopes is generally slackly bonded, with wind redistributing it.

The Lake's geology is similar to the nearby Bara-lacha-la Pass, which is reported to be an early rifting event on the northern Indian passive margin and that the Basalts which are emplaced along the trans–tensional faults indicate that.

National Highway skirting the lake on the left Lahaul Spiti valley is a common destination for Indian and foreign tourists for road trips, trekking and motorcycling. 

Tandi village, downstream of Suraj Tal is believed to be the place where Draupadi of the epic Mahabharata fame on her way to heaven along with her Pandava husbands died. It is also said that sage Vasishta was cremated in a village near the lake. 

Suraj Tal is 65 km (40 mi) from Keylong, the district headquarters of the Lahaul Spiti district. It is approachable by National Highway NH 21, also known as the Leh-Manali Highway. The road skirts Suraj Tal which is just 3 km (1.9 mi) short of the Bara-lacha-la pass. It remains inaccessible during the winter months of November to April since the pass becomes totally snowbound during this period.

Source: Extracts from article in Wikipedia with my contributions in November 2008.

Narasipur Char