Dragsum Tsho (, Pagsum Co ( zh, s=八松错, 巴松措 , t=八松錯 , p=Bāsōng Cuò), literally meaning “three rocks” in Tibetan,; The name is sometimes confused with Basum (''Basong Xiang'' / ''dba’ gsum'' ) in

Tingri County Tingri County (; zh, s=定日县, t=定日縣, p=Dìngrì Xiàn) is a county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Xigazê in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. The county comprises the upper valley of the Bum-chu or Aru ...

Shigatse Shigatse, officially known as Xigazê () or Rikaze ( zh, s=日喀则, p=Rìkāzé), is a prefecture-level city of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Its area of jurisdiction, with an area of , corresponds to the histo ...

, due to the similarity of the Chinese names. is a

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

covering 28 square kilometres in

Gongbo'gyamda County Gongbo'gyamda County (; zh, s=工布江达县) is a county of Nyingchi (or Nyingtri) City in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China, lying approximately east of Lhasa at its central point. Its main geographical feature is Basum Tso, a green lake abo ...

Nyingchi Nyingchi (), also known as Linzhi ( zh, s=林芝, p=Linzhi) or Nyingtri, is a prefecture-level city in the southeast of the Tibet Autonomous Region in China. The administrative seat of Nyingchi is Bayi District. Nyingchi is the location of Buch ...

of the

Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), often shortened to Tibet in English or Xizang in Pinyin, Hanyu Pinyin, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China. It was established in 1965 to replace the ...

, China, approximately east of

Lhasa Lhasa, officially the Chengguan District of Lhasa City, is the inner urban district of Lhasa (city), Lhasa City, Tibet Autonomous Region, Southwestern China. Lhasa is the second most populous urban area on the Tibetan Plateau after Xining ...

. At 3,700 metres over sea level it is about 18 km long and has an average width of approximately . The deepest point of the green lake measures 120 metres. The lake is also known as Gongga Lake.

Geography

Surrounded by dense primary forests of

fir Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...

, and

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the Ericaceae, heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan ...

, the lake hosts 195 native animal species and 242 phytoplankton varieties, including endemic fish like the naked carp (Gymnocypris spp.), which thrive in its oligotrophic waters. The northwestern shore features a 5 m² sacred boulder with a central perforation, believed to cleanse sins and cure illnesses through ritual passage. Culturally, Dragsum Tsho is central to the

Kongpo Kongpo () is a region of central-eastern Tibet, centered in modern Gongbo'gyamda County, Nyingchi Prefecture. It is situated on the Nyang River, a northern tributary of the Yarlung Tsangpo River. Kongpo Drula Gonpa is the oldest and largest mon ...

people, a Tibetan subgroup known for unique traditions like polyandrous marriages and silver-ornamented attire35. The 7th-century Tsodzong Monastery on Drowa Island ( zh, 扎西岛) exemplifies Nyingma school architecture, dedicated to Padmasambhava and adorned with ancient carvings of the deity

Hayagriva Hayagriva ( IAST , ) is a Hindus, Hindu deity, the horse-headed avatar of Vishnu. The purpose of this incarnation was to slay a Danava (Hinduism), danava also named Hayagriva (A descendant of Kashyapa and Danu), who had the head of a horse a ...

. Annually on the 15th day of the fourth Tibetan month, pilgrims circumambulate the lake, tracing routes marked by King Gesar’s legendary arrow strikes and hoofprints of his warhorse embedded in shoreline rocks. The lake's designation as Tibet's first AAAAA-rated scenic area in 1994 underscores its dual role as an ecological sanctuary and living cultural archive.

Climate

Footnotes

{{Nyingchi Prefecture Pagsum Co Nyingchi