I am sure that not many people will be aware of this beautiful lake. Before I start writing my experience, let me put few unique points about this lake.
- It is the largest freshwater lake in North East India.
- The lake is famous for its phumdis – floating islands.
- There is a national park located on this phumdi – Keibul Lamjao National Park, the only floating national park in the world.
- It is the only place for the endangered Sangai deer, which is also the state animal of Manipur.
Travel to Loktak lake
Even before our flight landed at Imphal, we got a glimpse of Loktak lake as the plane had to “hold” for some time before it got permission to land. It was a nice trailer of the beautiful lake.
We headed to Loktak directly from the airport visiting Loukoipat lake and Vishnu temple at Bishnupur. It was just an hour drive from Imphal. Sunset happens at around 4:30 in the evening during winter and hence it was already dark by the time we reached our resort on a hillock next to the lake.
Keibul Lamjao National Park
We started our morning with the visit to Keibul Lamjao National Park. As mentioned earlier, it is a unique park floating on the lake and hence no vehicles can enter. We got the birds eye view of the park from the viewpoint constructed adjacent to the park. Few Sangai deer were peacefully grazing which we could see from binoculars. Sankara, who had a telephoto lens managed to get a closer shot.
Sangai deer was almost extinct in 1953 when only six animals were found. Due to the conservation attempts, their numbers have increased. There were about 260 deer found during census in 2016. They are still classified as “Endangered” as Keibul Lamjao National Park is their only natural habitat.
Boating in the national park
Another way of exploring the national park was to go on a boat ride, an experience completely different from a typical boat rides we had so far. We went through a water body that could just fit a narrow boat. It was an amazing to wade through the tall Elephant grass.
Our guide explained about the national park, the flora and fauna of the place. He also went bit off topic by explaining about some of the traditions in Manipur. Since it was related to how a man proposes a girl in traditional Manipuri way, we were all very interested in the discussion!!
At one place, we got down to experience the “floating islands” ourselves. As we walked, we could feel our feet pushing the ground down!! We had to constantly keep moving else the water would ooze out of the ground!! I must say that it was a unique experience for us.
View from watch tower
While we had seen the lake, we had only got the glimpse of the circular rings from the flight. Hence, we went to a watch tower to view them. What are those circular rings? Circular rings, called as athapums are artificially created phumdis for fishing. Fishing a very big activity in the lake.
Boating in Loktak lake
We went for a boat ride in the Loktak lake to get a close view of the marine life. This was a normal boat ride compared to the one in national park, but it provided the great views of the water and the fishing infrastructure in the lake.
From the watch tower, we had seen some houses floating on the lake. Some of them were being used as home stay. We decided to stop our boat at one of the homestays and have a cup of tea. It was another nice experience!! One can also stay in these houses. The facilities are basic, but it gives a different experience.
Few points about Loktak lake
- Loktak lake is about 40 km from Imphal, capital of Manipur.
- It is possible to visit the lake as day trip from Imphal.
- Options to stay are rather limited. They are few homestays in the lake. The other option is to stay in “Sendra Park & Resort” which is on a hill overlooking the lake. It is bit expensive but a nice place to stay. They also have a restaurant which is just ok.
- We went during Christmas which is the peak season. But in most places, we were the only people!! It is high time that the places in North East get some attention.
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