Gurudongmar Lake

Gurudongmar Lake lies at about 17,800 feet in the high Himalaya of North Sikkim, in Mangan district, and ranks among the highest lakes in India. It is a place of pilgrimage for both Buddhists and Sikhs, and a small temple stands beside the water. Its glacier-fed waters pass on to Tso Lhamu Lake and are regarded as one of the sources of the Teesta River.

Tradition says that Guru Padmasambhava, passing through the region, found the local people short of water and blessed part of the lake so that it would stay unfrozen through the winter; to this day one section remains open while the rest is iced over from about October to March. Drinking the water is believed to help women who wish to conceive, and prayer flags crowd the shore, giving it the name of a wish lake. Blue sheep and yaks are sometimes seen on the surrounding slopes, and the hills hide much of the lake's true size.