Gurudongmar Lake

{{Infobox body of water

| name = Gurudongmar Lake

| pushpin_map=India Sikkim#India

| pushpin_map_alt=Location of Gurudongmar Lake

| image = Gurudongmar Lake Sikkim, India (edit).jpg

| caption = Partially frozen Gurudongmar Lake

| alt = Buddhist Holy Lake -Gurudongmar Lake

| image_bathymetry =

| caption_bathymetry =

| location = Mangan District, Sikkim, India

| coords = {{coord|28.02|N|88.71|E|region:IN_type:waterbody|display=inline,title}}

| inflow =

| outflow =

| catchment =

| basin_countries = Sikkim, India

| length = Gurudongmar Lakeʍ

| width =

| area = {{Cvt|118|ha}}

| depth =

| max-depth =

| residence_time =

| shore = {{Cvt|5.34|km}}

| elevation = {{convert|16909|ft|m|abbr=on}}

| islands =

| cities = Mangan, Lachen

}}

Gurudongmar Lake is one of the highest lakes in the world and in India, at an elevation of {{convert|5430|m|abbr=on|sigfig=3|}} according to the Government of Sikkim.{{efn|Terrain maps indicate an elevation under {{convert|5150|m}}.[https://www.openstreetmap.org/search?query=gurudongmar#map=15/28.0265/88.7143&layers=C Gurudongmar], OpenStreetMap, retrieved 18 November 2021.}} It is located in the Great Himalayas in the Mangan District in Indian state of Sikkim, and considered sacred by Buddhists and Sikhs. The lake is named after Guru Padmasambhava, who visited it in the 8th century.

Geography

File:Gurudongmar Lake in May 2015.jpg (extreme right), Gurudongmar West, Gurudongmar, and Sanglaphu peaks in the background.]]

The high elevation lake is located in the district of North Sikkim, {{Cvt|190|km}} away from Gangtok, and about {{cvt|5|km}} south of the Chinese border. The lake can be reached by road from Lachen via Thangu Valley. The road from Thangu to Gurudongmar passes through rugged terrain with moraine, which has high alpine pastures covered with many rhododendron trees.

Features

The lake is fed by the Gurudongmar glacier and is a moraine-dammed lake.{{Cite book |last1=Bhuiyan |first1=C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K74fEAAAQBAJ&dq=gurudongmar+lake&pg=PA53 |title=Water Security and Sustainability: Proceedings of Down To Earth 2019 |last2=Flügel |first2=W.-A. |last3=Jain |first3=S. K. |publisher=Springer Nature |year=2021 |pages=53 |isbn=9789811598050}} It is located to the north of the Khangchengyao range, in a high plateau area connected with the Tibetan Plateau. It provides one of the source streams, which joins the Tso Lhamo Lake and then form the source of the Teesta River. The lake remains completely frozen in the winter months from November to mid May.{{Cite web |last1=Panigrahy |first1=S. |last2=Patel |first2=J. G. |last3=Parihar |first3=J. S. |title=National Wetland Atlas: High Altitude Lakes Of India |work= Gurudongmar Lake |date= September 2012 |publisher= Space Applications Centre, ISRO, Government of India |page= 83 |url= http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/Atlas-High-Altitude-Lakes-of-India.pdf |access-date=15 August 2015 |archive-date= 18 November 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171118123533/http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/Atlas-High-Altitude-Lakes-of-India.pdf |url-status= dead}}{{cite book |author=Husain |first=M. |year=2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EupOAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT282 |title=Understanding Geographical Map Entries |publisher=Tata McGraw-Hill Education |isbn=978-1-259-00090-4|pages=282–}}

File:Gurudongmar Lake (panoramic view) , Sikkim.jpg peak visible in the distance on the right]]

The lake has an area of {{Convert|118| ha}} and its peripheral length is {{Convert|5.34|km}}. The area surrounding the lake, also known as Gurudongmar, is inhabited by yaks, blue sheep and other wildlife of high elevation.

In folklore

File:Buddhist Flag flutters in GuruDongmar Lake.JPG

= In Buddhism =

Guru Padmasambhava, on his way back from Tibet, visited the holy Dorje Nyima lake, which remained frozen for most of the year. The locals called upon him to help them. After touching a small section of the lake, it never froze again, solving the water problem for the people. The lake became holy and an important place for Buddhist pilgrimage, ensuring the lake's continued existence.{{Cite news |last=Rongmei |first=Precious|title=Did you know of this legend about Sikkim’s Gurudongmar Lake? |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/travel/destinations/did-you-know-of-this-legend-about-sikkims-gurudongmar-lake/articleshow/96781872.cms |access-date=2023-11-27 |issn=0971-8257}}{{Cite web |title=সিকিমের গুরুদোংমার হ্রদের কিংবদন্তি সম্পর্কে জানেন কি? |url=https://eisamay.com/lifestyle/news-on-travel/did-you-know-about-this-beautiful-place-of-sikkim-gurudongmar-lake/articleshow/96929517.cms |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=Eisamay |language=bn}}

Dispute

File:Sarv Dharm Sthal near Gurudongmar Lake.jpg

A dispute arose when on the bank of the lake an Indian Army regiment of Sikhs—located at the border with China—considering the lake as the place visited by their saint Guru Nanak, constructed a Gurudwara 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, 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 on 6 July 2001, in the presence of the Sub Divisional Magistrate, Chungthang, North Sikkim. The monastery placed a lama as a watchman at the lake, entrusted with the task of maintaining it.{{cite book |author=Singh, M. |title=Punjab 2000: Political and Socio-economic Developments |date=2001 |publisher=Anamika Publishers & Distributors |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1ZNgVkbUtagC&pg=PA25 |isbn=978-81-86565-90-2 |pages=25–}}