10 beautiful Lakes in India

India has a large number of beautiful lakes and great rivers spread all over the country from Kashmir to Kerala and from Rajasthan to Assam. Lakes in India can be divide as man made as well as natural, further natural lake again divided as freshwater lake and brackish water lakes. Indira Sagar reservoir the big lake is the biggest reservoir in India and The Sambhar Salt Lake is India’s largest inland salt lake. Most of the lakes in India are fresh water lakes, Dal Lake in Kashmir and Sasthamkotta Lake in Kerala are the example of freshwater lakes. These water bodies on the land surface are one of the most beautiful tourist attraction in India. The Cholamu Lake is counted as one of most beautiful lake in the world. The Lonar Crater the world’s oldest and largest crater in India is located in state of Maharashtra’s District Buldhana. There are so may beautiful lakes which are famous for bird watching such as Kolleru Lake, Pulicat Lake and Nal Sarovar Lake. The Kanwar Taal or Kabar Taal Lake at Bihar is Asia largest Fresh Water lake, Oxbow lake an oxbow lake is a U-shaped body of water.

Wular Lake: 

Wular Lake is one of the largest fresh water lakes in Asia and the largest in India, is located in Jammu and Kashmir. It is measures 24 kms across and surrounded by towering mountains, The green water of the Wular Lake is an important natural habitat for fish, a rich population of birds and wildlife. Thousands of people living on its shores and elsewhere in the Kashmir valley depend on Wular Lake for fishing to earn their livelihood. The Kashmir valley has few more beautiful lakes like Nagin Lake and most popular Dal Lake.

Wular Lake, Jammu & Kashmir

Loktak Lake: 

Loktak Lake is the largest freshwater lake in northeastern India, located in Manipur. It is also called the only floating lake in the world due to the floating phumdis. This ancient lake plays an important role in the economy of Manipur. It serves as a source of water for hydro power generation, irrigation drinking water supply and wildlife. The Keibul Lamjao National Park, which is the last natural refuge of the endangered sangai now found only in Manipur.

Loktak lake , Manipur 

Damdama Lake: 

Damdama Lake is one of the biggest natural lakes in Haryana. It is a weekend getaway destination around Delhi. Located near the Aravalli Hills and the best place for Boating, Rock Climbing, Bungee jumping and trekking. Sohna Hills a short drive from Damdama Lake, at top the Aravalli hills. There is another famous lake in Haryana called Sohna Lake. Sohna Lake is situated amidst the Aravalli hills in green city Chandigarh. It is one of the most renowned tourist attractions in Gurgaon.

Damdama Lake, Haryana

Dal Lake: 

The Kashmir valley is blessed with exotic natural beauty of landscape and water bodies, out of them one of the best is Dal Lake. Dal Lake is one of the most beautiful lakes of India and is the second largest in the J&K valley. This is one of the most famous lakes in India and an icon of the Kashmir tourism industry. Apart from the natural beauty, Dal Lake attractions are The floating gardens, colorful shikaras and houseboats. The east of Dal Lake was the residence of goddess Maa Durga. The Dal lake is situated in the beautiful city of Srinaga,Some of the most famous mosques are also located in Srinagar city to visit.

Shikara in Dal lake - Jammu & Kashmir

Pichola Lake: 

Lake Pichola is an artificial fresh water lake situated in Udaipur city in Rajasthan. Udaipur is a beautiful city, set amidst the Aravalli Ranges of Rajasthan, India. Known for its picturesque lakes, Udaipur also called ‘the city of lakes. The Lake Pichola, Udai Sagar Lake, Fateh Sagar Lake, Rajsamand Lake and Jaisamand Lake are the five prominent lakes of Udaipur. One of the most famous lake is Pushkar Lake, which is one of the major tourist attractions in the Royal State Rajasthan.

Pichola Lake

Gurudongmar Lake: 

Gurudongmar Lake is one of the highest lakes in the world. This fresh-water lake is located northeast of the Kangchenjunga range in Sikkim. Sikkim is considered to have the most beautiful natural lakes in the world some of them are sacred by locals and therefore are places of worship as well as tourism. There are a series of beautiful lakes in Sikkim,the Gurudongmar Lake is the biggest and most beautiful lake among them. Other lakes are Tsomgo Lake also known as the frozen lake of India and Khecheopalri Lake also known as the wishing lake.

Gurudongmar Lake

Chilka Lake: 

Chilka Lake is the brackish water lake and is the largest coastal lake in India. The Chilka Lake in situated in Orissa and is Asia’s largest inland salt-water lagoon. Brackish water is water that has more salinity than fresh water, but not as much as seawater. Chilika Lake, popularly known as Chilka, is the queen of natural scenery in the tribal state Orissa, also known as the Swiss-lake in the continent. Attraction of chilika lake are fishing boats, migratory birds and an entertaining baba. The beautiful chilka lake is paradise for the migratory birds.

Chilka lake

Vembanad Lake: 

Vembanad Lake is India’s longest lake and is the largest lakes in the beautiful state land of God, Kerala. The Vembanad Lake is the largest brackish lagoon in Kerala.The houseboats and snake race are the major attraction on Vembanad Lake. Vallam Kali,The Snake Boat Race held every year in august is a major attraction of Vembanad Lake. There are so many lakes in the state one of them is Sasthamkotta lake, Sasthamkotta known as the ‘queen of lakes’ is the largest and biggest freshwater lake in Kerala. The lake also host the longest railway bridge of India, named as Vembanad Rail Bridge.

Vembanad Lake

Bhimtal Lake: 

The pride of Bhimtal is a beautiful lake which offers magnificent vistas for tourists. The lake is larger than Nainital lake,The island at the center of the lake. Uttaranchal is famous for its valley of flowers, green meadows and spectacular lakes. One of the best natural freshwater bodies is Nainital Lake, situated amidst the township surrounded by the mountains. Naini Lake is one of the most famous lakes of Uttarakhand and most visited attraction in India, the Lakes of Kumaon hills of Uttarakhand are world famous for its beauty.

Bhimtal Lake

Upper lake: 

Upper lake is the largest artificial lake in Asia, situated in “City of Lakes” called Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Upper lake locally known as Bada Talab is the oldest man-made lake in India and one of the major sources of drinkable water for the city. City of lakes, Bhopal has 17 lakes another lake is known as chota talab. These lake are an important destination for canoeing and other water activities. The Takia island in Upper Lake and marine drive are the major attraction of lakes. Bhopal is also considered as one of the green city in India.

Upper lake

Hindu ascetic - Sadhu of India

Sadhu is a Hindu ascetic, who have left behind all material, family, social position, money and sexual attachments and live in caves, forests, mountains and temples. Sadhus occupy a unique and important place in Hindu society, particularly in Indian villages and small towns. A Sadhu is also referred as Baba by common peoples and most sadhus rely on the donations of lay peoples. There are female sadhus as well — known as sadhvis.

Resting Sadhu

Lifestyle of a sadhu is very difficult, early morning bath, After the bath, sadhus gather around the dhuni or holy fireplace, and begin with their prayers and meditation for the day. Sadhus typically survive on bhiksha provided by families, peoples or depend on natural resources, they spend most of their time in meditation. His guru sent them to the city for Bhiksha. Sadhus use “Charas” to concentrate on meditation.

Chilam Sadhu

You can find Sadhus in ashrams, temples in the midst of major urban centers, in huts on the edges of villages, in caves in the remote mountains or in the jungle. But you can’t find sadhu always at one place, they always on their way to move from one place to another, Sadhus worship The Lord Shiva. They are generally allowed free passage on the trains to go anywhere is India or Nepal.

Naga Baba

To become a sadhu a new person has to follow a guru for many years, serving him by doing menial tasks until acquiring the necessary experience to leave his leadership. Naked holy men belong to Naga group of sadhus they never wear any clothes even in severe winter. Most of them smear their bodies with ash and have long matted hair. Aghora sadhus who live in cemeteries have company with ghosts, they practices cannibalism, eating rotten dead meat and meditating on human corpses.

Sevda Sadhu

The Maha Kumbh Mela: 

The Kumbh Mela is the Biggest religious gathering in India,  last Kumbh Mela was the largest gathering anywhere in the world in recorded history. Kumbh Mela is that pilgrimage occurs four times every twelve years, once at each of the four locations Allahabad, Haridwar, Nashik and Ujjain one of the oldest living city in India. The Sadhus, saints and yogis who live in Himalayan caves gather together for bathing into The Holy River and to bless the people. Hundreds of foreigners joined Indian pilgrims in the festival. Haridwar has hosted the Purna Kumbha mela on Makar Sankranti 14 January 2010. Next Kumbha Mela will held at Prayag Allahabad in the year 2013.

Sadhus-In-Kumbh-Mela

12 Famous Jyotirlingas of The Lord Shiva

Sawan or Shravan The holy month in India is started, During this month India offers numerous fair and festivals across the country. Every state has its own traditional festivals to celebrate, some of the monsoon festivals are Teej a fasting festival, Nag panchami, then Raksha Bandhan and Janmashtmi. Apart from these festivals, All Mondays of sacred holy month of Shravan is devoted to the worship of great God Lord Shiva. The holy yatra or march of Kanwariya also start during this sacred month and Pilgrims called Kanwariya, reciting Bol Bam can be seen at Land of Shiva and every other holy sites or holy places such as confluences of sacred rivers and at famous 12 Jyotirlingas of lord Shiva. The Holy men of India are also spotted during this month at various temples of Lord Shiva, As they are the true devotees of God of God’s Lord Shiva. Originally there were believed to be 64 jyothirlingas while 12 of them are considered to be very auspicious and holy. The famous 12 Jyotirlingas of God Shiva are spread all over India, Jyothi lingam means, Lord Shiva appeared in the form of light (Jyothi) lingam. Other famous temples of Lord Shiva are Amarnath, Bhojpur Shiva Linga Temple, Amareshwar temple Amarkantak, Murudeshwara, Shankaracharya temple Kashmiri, Lingaraj temple Bhubaneswar, Mukteswara temple, and great Kailasanathar Temple.

Somnath Jyotirlinga:

The Somnath Temple is located in the Saurashtra, on the western coast of Gujarat. Somnath temple,also known as the Shrine Eternal is considered to be the most significant and revered 12 Jyotirlinga temples across India The Protector of Moon God temple is destroyed six times and rebuilt six times,recently it was rebuilt in November 1947. The Aadi Jyotirling Shree Somnath Mahadev temple is dedicated to Someshwara, the Lord Shiva, with moon on his head.

Somnath Jyotirlinga Gujrat

Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga: 

Sri Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple is located at Srisailam in Nallamala hills of Andhra Pradesh. The temple is situated in the town of Srisailam near the banks of Krishna river. Mallikarjun Jyotirlinga is one of the greatest shrines in India and it constitutes one of the 12 Jyotirlingam shrines of Lord Shiva. The temple in hill looks like a great fort and is also known for its treasure of sculptures, There are number of sculptures on the walls appear as a gallery.

Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga Andra-Pradesh

Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga: 

The most famous Mahakaleshwar Hindu temples is situated in the holy and ancient city of Ujjain in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The most lively Shiva Temples of India is located on the side of the Rudra Sagar lake in heart of Ujjain city. Mahakaleshwar idol is also known as dakshinamurti, as its facing the south. This is only temple of lord Shiva among the 12 Jyotirlingas where the idol of Great God is facing the south. The holy temple which is credited with citations in the great works of Poet Kalidasa.

Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga Ujjain

Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga: 

Omkareshwar is a famous Jyotirlinga temple located is a holy island of Shivpuri in Maheshwar, Madhay Pradesh. This holy shrine of Lord Shiva is located at the convergence of Kaveri and holy river Narmada. One of the Dwadasa jyotirlingas is spread on the Mandhata hills in Vindhya Mountains of Madhya Pradesh. Shape of the holy island is looks like the holy symbol of Shiva “the Om”. There are two temples Omkareshwar and other one is Amareshwar, The Mamleshwar jyotirling is situated on other side of Narmada river. Narmada river’s hold one of the biggest dams project in India, Sardar Sarovar Dam.

Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga Madhya-Pradesh

Kedarnath Jyotirlinga: 

The kedarnath jyotirlinga temple,one of the holiest Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Shiva is located in Uttarakhand. The holiest pilgrimages for the devout Hindu is situated at the head end of the River Mandakini in the Garhwal Himalayas. Kedarnath temple is not directly accessible by road,a 14 km uphill trek from Gaurikund has to be cross to be reached here. The Temple is one of the four major sites in India’s known as Chota Char Dham, other three are Yamunotri,Gangotri and and Badrinath. Shri Kedarnath temple is open only between the end of April to Kartik Purnima, During the winters, the murtis (idols) from Kedarnath temple are brought to Ukhimath and worshiped there for six months. Image source: admirableindia.com

Kedarnath Jyotirlinga

Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga: 

Bhimashankar Temple Jyotirlinga is situated in the Sahyadri ranges near pune in Maharashtra. The ancient shrine of lord Shiva is one of the most famous pilgrim places in Maharashtra. Bhimashankar jyotirlinga temple is far away from the tumult of the urban life and wrapped in the congregations of the majestic western ghats. Bhimashankar, One of the oldest Shiva temple is surrounded by Buddha style carvings, dense forests of high hill ranges and home to rare species of flora and fauna.

Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga Maharashtra

Vishwanath Jyotirlinga: 

Kashi Vishwanath JyotirLinga temple is located in the oldest city of India, Banaras Uttar Pradesh. Kashi, Banaras now Varanasi is the holiest city of India and fully dedicated to the Lord Vishwanath. The city is situated on the bank of holy river the Gange and considered the most sacred place for Hindus. The Aarti is held in the temple five times in a day, the evening Aarti is called  Ganga Aarti held every evening at Dasashwamedha Ghat.

Vishwanath Jyotirlinga Kashi

Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga: 

The Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga is located at the source of the holy Godavari river in the town of Trimbak, in the Nashik, Maharashtra. The Trimbakeshwar Temple is an ancient Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas. Triambakeshwar owns spectacular distinction of the Jyotirlinga having three faces exemplifying Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara (Shiva). All other 11 Jyotirlingas have only Shiva lingam.

Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga Nashik

Baidyanath Jyotirlinga: 

The Baidyanath dham also known as Baba dham is the most sacred abodes of Shiva. One of the twelve Jyotirlingas is located in Deoghar in the tribal state of Jharkhand. Baba Dham temple located where the heart of Bhagwati Sati had fallen, so this place is also referred as Mahashakti peeth. It is believed that the Baidynath (Vaidyanath) Jyotirlingam in Deogarh is associated with legendary stories of Ravana and Lord Shiva. This shrine is very famous, as Kanwariya Offers holy water of river Gange to the Lord Shiva during the month of shravan.

Baidyanath Jyotirlinga Jharkhand

Nageshwar Jyotirlinga: 

The Nageshwar Jyotirlinga is believed as the first Jyotirlinga on the earth. The great Nageshwar Jyotirlinga is located near Dwarka, in the Gujarat state of India. Nageshvara Jyotirlinga is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines of Lord Shiva mentioned in the Shiva Purana. This Nagaeshwara Jyotirlingam is facing south with the Gomugham facing east. There are three major shrines in India which are believed as identical to this Jyotirlinga, Those are the Jageshwar temple near Almora in Uttarakhand, the Nageshwara temple near Dwaraka in Gujarat, and the Nagnath temple in Aundha in Maharashtra.

Nageswar Jyotirlinga Dwarka

Rameshwaram Jyotirlinga: 

Rameshwaram is a religious town located in the state of Tamil Nadu. The Rameshwaram temple is dedicated to the Hindu god Lord Shiva and its one of the 12 famous Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva. Amongst the 12 Lord Shiva Jyotirlinga, Rameshwaram is one of the most sacred shrines of Hindus in India. This place is one of the holiest places in India to Hindus and part of the Char Dham pilgrimage. Rameswara means Lord of Rama,the seventh incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu is believed to have prayed to Shiva here. So this place is considered holy pilgrimage site for both Shaivites and Vaishnavites. The Pamban Bridge of Rameshwaram on the Palk Strait connects Rameswaram on Pamban Island to mainland India.

Rameshwaram Jyotirlinga

Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga: 

The Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga temple is placed at a close distance of about 11 km from Daulatabad in the neighborhood of Aurangabad in Maharashtra. Grishneshwar temple is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and near to rock-cut Ajanta Ellora caves. The ancient pilgrimage site revered as the abode of one of the 12 Jyotirlinga manifestation of Lord Shiva. Holy month of Shrawan is filled with devotional fervours for the devotees of Lord Shiva at all Jyotirlinga shrines across India.

Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga Maharashtra