From the man-made pokhari of the Kathmandu Valley to the great natural lakes of the mountains, water runs deep in Nepal's geography and faith. The sacred kundas — Gosaikunda, Panch Pokhari, Bhairav Kunda — draw thousands of pilgrims to bathe in icy water at over 4,000 metres each Janai Purnima. Glacial jewels like Tilicho and the Gokyo Lakes sit among the highest lakes on earth, while Rara, Phoksundo, and the Ramsar-listed lakes of the Pokhara Valley anchor some of the country's most beautiful landscapes.
Rara Lake
Nepal's largest and deepest-blue lake at 2,990m in remote Mugu — the 'Queen of Lakes', ringed by pine forest and silence, with the Murma Top panorama above its western shore.
Mugu
Shey Phoksundo Lake
Nepal's deepest lake in remote Dolpa, a turquoise jewel surrounded by Himalayan peaks and ancient Bon monasteries in a pristine trans-Himalayan landscape.
Dolpa
Taudaha Lake
A small, myth-laden crater lake south of Kathmandu where the serpent king Karkotaka Nag is said to dwell — a peaceful birding haven surrounded by farmland and valley legend.
Free entry
Kathmandu
Begnas Lake (Begnas Tal)
The second-largest lake in the Pokhara valley, a quieter alternative to Phewa — ringed by terraced farms and forested hills, with swimming, rowing and homestay villages away from the tourist crowds.
Free entry
Kaski
Gosaikunda
A sacred alpine lake at 4,380m in Langtang National Park — the holiest of a basin of 108 glacial lakes, where pilgrims bathe each Janai Purnima.
Rasuwa
Saraswati Kunda
A small sacred lake in the Gosaikunda basin, named for the goddess of learning — the first kunda pilgrims reach on the climb from Lauribina.
Rasuwa
Surya Kunda
A high glacial lake above Gosaikunda dedicated to the sun god Surya, passed on the route toward the Laurebina La.
Rasuwa
Bhairav Kunda
A sacred high-altitude lake below the Jugal Himal in Sindhupalchok, reached on a quiet teahouse trek northeast of Kathmandu.
Free entry
Sindhupalchok
Panch Pokhari
Five sacred high-altitude lakes at 4,100m below the Jugal Himal — the ninth-highest wetland on earth and a major Janai Purnima pilgrimage site.
Free entry
Sindhupalchok
Tilicho Lake
One of the highest lakes in the world at 4,919m, a turquoise glacial basin on the Annapurna Circuit ringed by ice walls.
Manang
Gokyo Lakes
A string of six turquoise glacial lakes near 4,700–5,000m in the Everest region — a Ramsar wetland and a quieter alternative to Everest Base Camp.
Solukhumbu
Rupa Lake
The smallest and quietest of the Pokhara Valley lakes — a birdwatching and fishing lake ringed by forested hills east of Pokhara.
Free entry
Kaski
Nagdaha
A small natural lake in Dhapakhel, Lalitpur — a serpent-revered pond and an easy green escape on the southern edge of the Kathmandu Valley.
Free entry
Lalitpur
Mai Pokhari
A sacred forest lake at 2,100m above Ilam — a Ramsar wetland fringed by orchids and a Hindu shrine in eastern Nepal's tea country.
Free entry
Ilam
Phewa Lake
Pokhara's iconic lake at 742m, where the Annapurna and Machhapuchhre reflect on calm mornings and the island temple of Tal Barahi draws a steady stream of boat-borne worshippers.
Free entry
Kaski
Ghodaghodi Tal
A Ramsar-listed lowland lake system in Kailali sacred to the Tharu — lotus-covered oxbow lakes where clay horses are offered to the goddess Gauri and rare birds winter in the Siwalik forest.
Kailali
Surma Sarovar
Bajhang's 'Mini Kailash' — a remote alpine lake at about 4,300m where the goddess Surma Devi is worshipped, reached by a hard multi-day trek from Chainpur over a high pass.
Bajhang
Damodar Kunda
A trio of sacred glacial lakes at ~4,890m in the Damodar Himal of Upper Mustang — held to be the spiritual source of the Kali Gandaki and the birthplace of the shaligram, with a great Janai Purnima pilgrimage each August.
Mustang
Ramaroshan
Achham's fabled 'twelve lakes and eighteen meadows' — a highland amphitheatre of tarns and grazing pastures wrapped in legends of Rama and of Shiva and Parvati.
Achham
Syarpu Lake
A sacred mid-hill lake in Rukum West ringed by Magar villages — homestays, rowing boats and shoreline shrines on the quiet road between the Bheri valley and the high Karnali.
Rukum West
Dhumba Lake
A small turquoise sacred lake below Nilgiri near Jomsom — fishing is forbidden, the water feeds village rituals, and the walk from the airstrip takes barely two hours.
Mustang
Dudh Kunda
The sacred 'milk lake' at ~4,560m beneath Numbur, Solu's guardian peak — a Janai Purnima pilgrimage where milk is poured into the water and shamans drum through the night.
Solukhumbu
Markhu and Indra Sarobar
Kathmandu's one-night water trip — the Kulekhani reservoir at 1,530m, wooden boats by the hour, fried fish on the shore and a working dam at the far end.
Free entry
Makwanpur
Timbung Pokhari
The 'gunfire lake' of the far east at 4,335m on the Taplejung–Panchthar divide — a Limbu and Hindu pilgrimage site said to crack like rifle shots and to turn away the impure of heart.
Taplejung
Explore more of Nepal's natural landscapes
Many of Nepal's lakes lie within national parks and conservation areas. Discover the protected wild places — and the historic royal ponds of the valley.