Nilnag Lake

Nilnag is a freshwater lake in Budgam district, Jammu and Kashmir, about 35 km from Budgam town and around 47 km from Srinagar. Its name joins nil, blue, and nag, a lake or spring, after its clear turquoise water, and it is used as a picnic spot. The usual road runs from Srinagar to Chadoora, then through Nagam to Buzgu village, taking roughly two hours by car; a difficult track through dense forest from Yousmarg can be managed only by motorbike.

Eric Biscoe, founder of the Tyndale Biscoe school, loved the lake and wished to rest beside it. After his death in 1949 his ashes were taken to Nilnag and, with the approval of the Buzgu villagers, scattered on its waters. Siltation has been making the lake shallower, and in 2017 the Yousmarg Development Authority dredged the basin, widened its boundaries and built huts for monitoring.