About
Cholamu Lake |
Tso
Lhamo lake or Chho Lhamo or Cholamu lake or Cholamoo lake is
the world’s 14th highest lake and India’s highest lake which
is located at an elevation of 5,330 m (17,490 ft). Cholamu
lake is India’s highest lake and world’s 14th Highest lake.
Maximum depth of the lake is around 5.5 meters or 18.3 feet.
Many people believe that Cholamu lake is the source of river
Teesta , which is not completely true, actually river Teesta
originates from a smaller glacial lake Khangchung (some 100 -
200 feet farther from Cholamu lake) . Cholamu lake is very
near to Gurudongmar lake (45 Mins drive).
Cholamu or Tso-Lhamu lake is six km away from Gurudongmar lake
at an elevation of 17400 ft. This could be termed as the main
origin of the river Lachen Chhu, one of the two main
tributaries of the Teesta. The stream from this lake joins the
one coming out of the Gurudongmar Lake to form the Lachen Chhu.
It is the highest lake in India. Just on the southern side of
the Lake is the Dongkia La Pass which stands between the Cold
Tso-Lhamu desert and the Yumthang Valley.
Lake Cholamu is situated in North Sikkim, India, only some 4
kilometres (2.5 mi) southwest of Chinese border. Chola Mu is a
lake which lies on the plateau that extends into Sikkim into
Tibet. From this moderately sized lake, the Teesta River takes
birth as a trickle hardly a foot wide. The water in the lake
flirts with ice before getting frozen in winter. The
reflection of the surrounding mountains doubles the beauty of
the Lake. Everything looks very prehistoric. A flock of birds,
the cranes swims on the serene ice water of Chola Mu. These
birds are migratory from Russia, China and other parts of
India. |
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Access |
Since
the lake is located just 5–6 km from Tibet border, is not easily
reachable to common tourists. Only Indian tourists are allowed
to visit the northern parts of Sikkim and that too is possible
after obtaining necessary restricted area permit (RAP) from
Sikkim police and Indian Army. However, In some exceptional
cases foreign nationals also can get RAP. The best time to visit
is during October - November.
Cholamu lake is just 5-6 kms away from the Tibet border , it is
nearly off limits for commonplace tourists . One needs special
permits, from Army and Sikkim police/administration to visit
Cholamu lake. A normal tourist permit will only be issued to
visit Cholamu Lake only when one has Army’s permit in place.
Normally foreign nationals are not allowed to visit north most
areas of Sikkim (this is unlike ladakh where both foreign
nationals and Indians are allowed to visit tso Moriri Lake which
shares its borders with China). Only Indians can get these
special permits to visit two of the highest lakes in India that
falls in this region, Cholamu Lake and Gurudongmar Lake.
Himalayan range is abode of many of world’s high elevation
lakes, many of these high altitude glacial lakes fall in India.
World’s 14th highest lake and India’s highest lake is Cholamu
lake.A mighty altitude of 18000 feet from the sea level takes
Cholamu lake to the top of the “highest lakes” list . While
coming down the slope around 300 feet from Donkiala pass ( 18300
feet ) , one gets the first glimpses of this rather moderately
sized , almost frozen lake. |
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Geography |
This glacial, fresh-water lake is located northeast of the
Kangchenjungarange in a high plateau area which is linked
with the Tibetan Plateau.The Gurudongmar Lake lies some 5
km (3.1 mi) to the west. British botanists and explorers
of the 19th century Joseph Dalton Hooker mentions cholamu
lake in his “Himalayan Journals” about his 7th November
1849 survey of Lachen Valley. |
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How To Reach Cholamu lake |
Best
time to visit Cholamu lake is October and November, one can
expect clear sky during this season of the year. After monsoon
it is not worth to visit Cholamu lake,at that time most of the
roads would be washed away with rains, and Border road
organization (BRO) must be busy patching up the road as fast as
they can during this time period.
The journey starts from Gangtok , state capital of Sikkim , one
can reach Gangtok from NJP or Siligudi ,these are the nearest
railway station . Nearest airport is Bagdogra (Siligudi). |
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