Vishansar Lake

The Vishansar Lake is an alpine high altitude oligotrophic lake[1] situated in the vicinity of Sonamarg[2] at an elevation of 3710 meters. It has a maximum length of 1 kilometer and maximum width of 0.6 kilometers.

Vishansar Lake
Vishansar Lake
Location	Ganderbal, Kashmir valley
Coordinates	34.388119°N 75.11875°E
Type	oligotrophic lake
Primary inflows	Krishansar Lake
Primary outflows	Neelum River
Max. length	1 kilometre (0.62 mi)
Max. width	0.6 kilometres (0.37 mi)
Surface elevation	3,710 metres (12,170 ft)
Frozen	December to April

Etymology, geography

Vishansar is the shortened word for Vishnusar. This lake holds great importance for Kashmiri Pandits. Vishansar in Kashmiri means the lake of Vishnu. It is home to many types of fishes[3] among of which is the brown trout.[4] It freezes during winter. During the summer season, the lake is surrounded by green lush meadows where local shepherds graze their flocks of sheep and goat. The Lake with its scenic beauty, snow-covered mountains and their gorges filled with small glaciers and the meadows around, with alpine flowers is an attraction for the trekkers in the Kashmir Valley. It is fed by the Krishansar Lake and glaciers. The Vishansar Lake is the source of Neelum River[5] which flows northwards up to Badoab and then westwards through Gurais along the Line of Control. The Gadsar Lake lies some 9 km in west crossing Gadsar Pass.

Access

The Vishansar Lake is situated 115 km. northeast from Srinagar and 35 km from Shitkadi Sonamarg. It can be accessed from Srinagar or Srinagar Airport, 80 km by road NH 1D up to village Shitkadi from which ponies can be hired to cover an alpine trek of 35 km which takes a complete day of trekking and one has to cross the Nichnai Pass of 4100 meters above sea level. The best time to visit the lake is in the month of June to September.

Gallery

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References

1. Raina, HS; KK Vass (May–June 2006). "Some biological features of a freshwater fairy shrimp, Branchinecta schantzi, Mackin, 1952 in the Northwestern Himalayas, India" (PDF). J. Indian Inst. Sci. 86: 287–291. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
2. "go2kashmir, Sonmarg, sonmarg, Accommodation in Sonmarg, Hotel in Sonamarg, Sonmarg attractions, Sonmarg Travel". Go2kashmir.com. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
3. "Fishes and Fisheries in high altitude lakes, Vishansar, Gadsar, Gangabal, Krishansar". Fao.org.
4. Petr, ed. by T. (1999). Fish and fisheries at higher altitudes : Asia. Rome: FAO. p. 72. ISBN 92-5-104309-4.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
5. Majid Hussain (1998). Geography of Jammu and Kashmir. Rajesh Publications, 1998. p. 13–. ISBN 9788185891163. Retrieved 31 July 2012.