Rara Lake

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Lake in Nepal

title: "Rara Lake" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["ramsar-sites-in-nepal", "lakes-of-karnali-province", "mugu-district", "karnali-province", "lakes-of-nepal"] description: "Lake in Nepal" topic_path: "general/ramsar-sites-in-nepal" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rara_Lake" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Lake in Nepal ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox body of water"]

FieldValue
nameRara Lake
native_namene
imageRara lake, Mugu.jpg
captionView of Rara lake
locationMugu District, Karnali Province
coords
typefresh water
inflowsmall rivulets
outflowNijar River
basin_countriesNepal
length5.1 km
width2.7 km
area10.61 km2
depth100 m
max-depth167 m
volume1.07 km3
shore14 km
elevation2990 m
pushpin_mapNepal
pushpin_label_positionbottom
pushpin_map_altLocation of Rara Lake in Nepal
pushpin_map_caption
websitehttps://dnpwc.gov.np/en/conservation-area-detail/73
mapframeyes
mapframe-zoom12
embedded{{Designation list
embedyes
designation1Ramsar
designation1_date23 September 2007
designation1_number1695}}
part_ofRara National Park
frozenDecember–March
etymologyKing Mahendra
agencyNepal Army
other_nameMahendra Daha
altRara lake view
::

| name = Rara Lake | native_name = ne | image = Rara lake, Mugu.jpg | caption = View of Rara lake | image_bathymetry = | caption_bathymetry = | location = Mugu District, Karnali Province | coords = | type = fresh water | inflow = small rivulets | outflow = Nijar River | catchment = | basin_countries = Nepal | length = 5.1 km | width = 2.7 km | area = 10.61 km2 | depth = 100 m | max-depth = 167 m | volume = 1.07 km3 | residence_time = | shore = 14 km | elevation = 2990 m | pushpin_map = Nepal | pushpin_label_position = bottom | pushpin_map_alt = Location of Rara Lake in Nepal | pushpin_map_caption = | website = https://dnpwc.gov.np/en/conservation-area-detail/73 | reference = | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 12 | embedded = {{Designation list | embed = yes | designation1 = Ramsar | designation1_date = 23 September 2007 | designation1_number = 1695}} | part_of = Rara National Park | frozen = December–March | etymology = King Mahendra | agency = Nepal Army | other_name = Mahendra Daha | alt = Rara lake view Rara Lake, also known as Mahendra Lake, is the largest fresh water lake in the Nepalese Himalayas. It is the main feature of Rara National Park, located in Jumla and Mugu Districts of Karnali Province. Rara National Park stretches over 106 km2.

History

Rara Lake was included as part of Rara National Park in 1976. In September 2007, it was declared as a Ramsar site, covering 1583 ha including the surrounding wetland. Currently, this area along with the national park is being protected by the Nepali Army.

Features

Rara Lake lies at an elevation of 2975 m, has a water surface of 10.8 km2, a maximum depth of 167 m, is 5.1 km long and 2.7 km wide. It drains into the Mugu Karnali River via the Nijar River. The lake changes its colour up to 5 times a day depending on the climate. Rara Lake is surrounded by thickly forested hills named Chuchemara Danda at 4087 m and Murma at 3630 m. Behind the hills, the beautiful view of Saipal Mountain of Himalayan Range can be seen from the lake. One revolution of the lake by foot takes almost five hours. During, summer season, birds as far as Siberia can be found migrating to this area.

Socio-cultural and religious values

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Rara_National_Park_-_Murma_Top.jpg" caption="Rara lake view from top of Murma mountain"] ::

The main occupation of the people living around the area is agriculture. People also rear goats and extract medicinal herbs and sell them for their living. Thakur society is dominant in the community. Thakur Baba's Temple is situated in the southeast corner of the lake. Local people believe that the god Thakur shot an arrow to open the passage of the lake reducing the damage caused by flooding.

Flora and fauna

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Fishes_in_Rara.jpg" caption="Fish in clear water of Rara"] ::

Rara Lake, being surrounded by Rara National Park, has unique floral and faunal importance with rare and vulnerable species. The park was established in 1976 to preserve the beauty of the lake and protect it from sedimentation and adverse human activities. The Park flora consists of 1074 species, of which 16 are endemic to Nepal; the fauna includes 51 species of mammals and 214 species of birds. The hills surrounding the lake is covered with coniferous forest like Himalayan cypress, West Himalayan Spruce, Black Juniper and Oak. The national flower of the country Rhododendron also occurs here.

The lake holds three endemic fish species Nepalese snowtrout Nepalese snowtrout (Schizothorax macrophthalmus), (S. nepalensis) and the Rara snowtrout (S. raraensis) and one endemic frog, Rara Lake frog (Nanorana rarica). The Rara snowtrout is only recorded in this lake. 236 different species of birds can be found in the lake.

Climate

Summer is quite pleasant but winter is cold. The best visiting time to the lake is September/October and April to May. From December to March, the temperatures go low below the freezing point, and heavy snowfall occur up to one meter, blocking the way to the lake. April to June is warm in this region. |metric first=y |single line=y |collapsed = Y |location = Rara Lake, elevation 3048 m |Jan high C = 7.5 |Feb high C = 9.3 |Mar high C = 13.6 |Apr high C = 18.8 |May high C = 21.0 |Jun high C = 21.6 |Jul high C = 18.7 |Aug high C = 18.6 |Sep high C = 18.1 |Oct high C = 15.8 |Nov high C = 10.1 |Dec high C = 8.0 | year high C = |Jan mean C = 2.5 |Feb mean C = 3.9 |Mar mean C = 8.1 |Apr mean C = 11.3 |May mean C = 13.5 |Jun mean C = 15.5 |Jul mean C = 14.5 |Aug mean C = 14.3 |Sep mean C = 13.3 |Oct mean C = 9.8 |Nov mean C = 5.1 |Dec mean C = 3.2 | year mean C = |Jan low C = -2.3 |Feb low C = -1.5 |Mar low C = 2.9 |Apr low C = 3.7 |May low C = 6.0 |Jun low C = 9.5 |Jul low C = 10.3 |Aug low C = 10.1 |Sep low C = 8.5 |Oct low C = 4.0 |Nov low C = 0.2 |Dec low C = -1.5 | year low C = |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 31.4 |Feb precipitation mm = 42.7 |Mar precipitation mm = 49.7 |Apr precipitation mm = 43.3 |May precipitation mm = 69.5 |Jun precipitation mm = 81.8 |Jul precipitation mm = 192.4 |Aug precipitation mm = 207.6 |Sep precipitation mm = 106.1 |Oct precipitation mm = 30.1 |Nov precipitation mm = 8.5 |Dec precipitation mm = 22.0 |year precipitation mm = | source 1 = FAO{{cite web | url = https://www.fao.org/land-water/land/land-governance/land-resources-planning-toolbox/category/details/fr/c/1028000/ | title = World-wide Agroclimatic Data of FAO (FAOCLIM) | publisher= Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations | access-date = 28 October 2024}} JICA{{cite web | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240406020323/https://openjicareport.jica.go.jp/pdf/12147286_01.pdf | archive-date = 6 April 2024 | url = https://openjicareport.jica.go.jp/pdf/12147286_01.pdf | title = ネパール国 全国貯水式水力発電所マスタープラン調査 ファイナルレポート | publisher=Japan International Cooperation Agency | access-date = 28 October 2024}}

Transport

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Mugu_Airport.JPG" caption="[[Tara Air]] taxiing down the runway in Talcha Airport"] ::

Rara Lake does not have connection to the national road network and can only be reached from the nearest town Jumla by trekking. From Nepalgunj there is two ways to reach the lake, one is by following the salt route to Humla and another following a number of trails through Dolpo region. The nearest airports are Talcha Airport in Mugu and Jumla Airport in Jumla. A public bus also runs from Surkhet to Mugu District headquarter Gamgadhi.

Environmental issues

Due to over-grazing and defecation, the national park conservation officers are facing a challenge to preserve the lake. Local people are found cutting timber wood and fuel wood, which is a problem for conservation of Rara. Also during festivals visitors and local people produce a lot of wastage causing water pollution.

References

References

  1. "Rara Lake".
  2. (2007). "Nepal Biodiversity Resource Book. Protected Areas, Ramsar Sites, and World Heritage Sites". International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, in cooperation with United Nations Environment Programme, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.
  3. "Rara".
  4. (2021-07-16). "Rara Lake".
  5. (2009). "Wise use of Wetlands in Nepal". Banko Janakari.
  6. Thapa, B.. "Rara or Water Nymph! (Photo feature)".
  7. (2009). "High Altitude Ramsar Sites of Nepal". The Initiation.
  8. "Rara: A piece of heaven on the Earth - Tourismmail.com".
  9. (2021). "Rara Lake".
  10. आरके अदिप्त गिरी. "रारा की अप्सरा ! ( फोटो फिचर)".
  11. abc. (2018). "Rara, the Apsara of Heaven (With Video)".
  12. link. (2016-03-04)
  13. "''Schizothorax raraensis''".
  14. "Rara National Park".
  15. Niraula, Sujan. "Rara or Apsara...? (Photo feature)".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

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