On the ground
- Access
- Nearest airport: Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport (ATQ).; Nearest railway station: Jammu Tawi Railway Station (JAT).
Nature & WildlifeLake
Mansar Lake
Pine-ringed lake of Mahabharata legend, home to turtles and lined with old shrines
Sign in to save places and plan trips, day by day.
01 — The story
The story
Mansar Lake lies 64 km from Jammu off the Jammu-Pathankot highway, framed by hills covered in pine. About a mile long and half a mile across, it is used for boating, and many turtles live in its water. Shrines to Umapati Mahadev, Narasimha and Durga stand around the shore, and on the eastern bank a boulder bound with iron chains, standing for serpents, marks a shrine to Sheshnag.
Local tradition links the lake to the Mahabharata. Babar Vahan, son of Arjuna and Ulpi, is said to have killed his father without knowing him and then fought Sheshnag for a gem that could restore Arjuna to life, coming up at the spot where Mansar now lies. Nearby Surinsar Lake is named after the tunnel he is believed to have dug, and the pair are held in reverence similar to Mansarovar.
Unmapia
02 — About
About Mansar Lake
Coming soon
We’re still writing about Mansar Lake: its history, what’s there and why it’s worth the trip.
03 — Plan your visit
Plan your visit
Where it is
Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir
No map pin yet: directions search for the name
01 — More in Jammu
