Yamdrok Lake
One Of The Three Holy Lakes Of Tibet · Nagartse, Tibet
A long, twisting turquoise lake at about 4,440 metres in the mountains south of Lhasa, one of the three great holy lakes of Tibet. Yamdrok Yumtso, the Turquoise Lake of the Upper Pastures, curls for more than 70 km through bare brown hills in a shape often likened to a scorpion or branching coral, its colour shifting from jade to deep blue with the sky. Tibetans believe the lake is the life-spirit of the nation and a dwelling place of protective deities, and pilgrims come to its shores to pray and leave prayer flags. Most visitors see it first from the Kamba La pass, where the road from Lhasa crests at nearly 5,000 metres and the whole lake suddenly spreads out below, strung with fluttering flags and often with the snow peak of Nojin Kangtsang beyond. The road then follows the shore past the town of Nagartse and climbs toward the Karo La glacier on the way to Gyantse and Shigatse, making Yamdrok a highlight of almost every overland Tibet itinerary. Like all of Tibet, it is visited by foreigners only on agency tours with a Tibet Travel Permit.
Yamdrok Lake shore, Nagartse County, Shannan (Lhoka), Nagartse, Tibet, China
Viewpoints and shore accessible in daylight on agency tours; open year-round, with winter ice possible on the passes.