Baghsar Lake ( ur, باغ سر جھیل) is a
lake
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...
situated at 975 m above sea-level in the
Samahni Valley Samahni valley is a valley situated on the ''LOC'' (line of control) that separates Azad Kashmir from Jammu and Kashmir.
It is 35 km long and about 8 km in width and covers an area of 1270 km2. By covered area, it is the largest valley ...
of
Bhimber District in
Azad Kashmir, Pakistan.
The lake is roughly half a kilometre long and overlooks the
Bandala Valley. The lake is a popular tourist destination.
Many local and migratory birds, especially ducks and geese, inhabit the lake. The lake is habitat to
water lilies
''Water Lilies'' (or ''Nymphéas'', ) is a series of approximately 250 oil paintings by French Impressionist Claude Monet (1840–1926). The paintings depict his flower garden at his home in Giverny, and were the main focus of his artisti ...
, and the surrounding hills are covered by cheerh, or
pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...
trees and
lily flowers.
The area has several archaeological remains since Bhimber fell on the route of Mughal emperors who occasionally visited the
Kashmir valley. The
Baghsar Fort is situated at 3353 feet above sea level.
Mughal Emperor
Jahangir died on his way back from Kashmir near Sarai Sababad in 1627 AD. To preserve his body, the entrails were removed and buried here, and the body was transported to Lahore later.
This four-story structure of
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
has played important roles in history during the times of
Ahmed Shah Abdali
Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahm ...
,
Ranjit Singh and
Gulab Singh
Gulab Singh Jamwal (1792–1857) was the founder of Dogra dynasty and the first Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, the largest princely state under the British Raj, which was created after the defeat of the Sikh Empire in ...
. It is said that the Mughal Emperor
Jahangir, on his way back from the
Kashmir Valley, fell ill and ultimately died in this fort.
References
Lakes of Azad Kashmir
Bhimber District
{{AzadKashmir-geo-stub