Damdama reservoir in Sohna, near Gurugram city in Gurugram district in the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 districts and smaller administrative divisions by the respe ...

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

.Rajiv Tiwari
"Delhi A Travel Guide"
. Damdama Lake is a small lake in Haryana and was formed when a stone and earthen dam constructed by the British was commissioned for rain water harvesting in 1947. The lake, held by an embankment, is fed mainly by monsoon rain pouring into a trough at the base of the Aravali hills. The lake greets visitors with a water level down to . During monsoon the water level reaches up to - . It is an important

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

area within the Northern Aravalli leopard wildlife corridor stretching from Sariska Tiger Reserve to Delhi. Historical place around sanctuary are Badkhal Lake (6 km northeast), 10th century ancient Surajkund reservoir (15 km north) and Anangpur Dam (16 km north), Tughlaqabad Fort and Adilabad ruins (both in Delhi), Chhatarpur Temple (in Delhi).ASOLA BHATTI WILD LIFE SANCTUARY
, Department of Forest, Delhi Government It is downstream from the seasonal waterfalls situated in the villages of

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

, Dhouj and Kot near

Faridabad Faridabad () is the most populous List of cities in Haryana by population, city near NCT of Delhi in the Indian state of Haryana and a part of National Capital Region (India), Delhi National Capital Region. It is one of the major satellite citie ...

., the scared Mangar Bani and the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary. There are several dozen lakes formed in the abandoned open pit mines found across the area. The lake dries up during summer and is awaiting a government sponsored renewal process.Govt plans 10-acre lake in foothills of Aravallis
Hindustan Times, 19 August 2019.

Geology and climate

As it is located in a hilly region, the

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

of this area is not even. Damdama Lake is spread in the shape of an amoeba and has many branches. The lake has a moderate climate and is good for a visit any time of the year. The best time to visit the lake is from October to March, late summers and monsoons. The climate is typically hot during summer, temperature reaching up to 45–47 °C.

Ecology

Damdama lake is a natural home for birds, & more than 190 species of birds, migratory as well as local, visit here during summer, monsoon and winter season, i.e. all throughout the year a variety of birds from different places flock to Dream Island. Some of the major birds seen here are water fowl, cranes, cormorants, terns, egrets, kingfishers etc. While driving to Damdama Lake, you can also catch a glimpse of India's national bird peacock and blue bulls.

Damdama Biodiversity Park

In February 2021, Haryana government initiated the 5-year development plan to convert 420 acre land on the slope of aravali mountain, including a 5 acre plant nursery, between Damdama and Kherla in the north as the biodiversity park by Gurujal, an NGO called Centre for Biological Development and Research and the Kherla panchayat. The team has collected the data about the flora and fauna of the area as well as the wild seeds from the forested areas of aravalli hills to grow in the nursery for the propagation of the diverse range of native plants. In 2021 the Chief Minister had declared Gurugram as the "forest cover area" under which four forested biodiversity areas will be created at Damdama, Shikohpur, Naurangpur and Kasan, which will also boost the tourism.Gurgaon the fragrance of colorful flowers in the mountain of Damdama
Jagran, 5 Feb 2021.

Leisure

Surrounded by the Aravali Mountains, it is one of the popular picnic spot to spend the weekend away from the city in a quiet and scenic atmosphere. In the serene location, one can enjoy boating in row boats, paddle boats and motor boats. Damdama is known for its splendid adventure sports facilities such as para sailing,

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

, cycling,

angling Angling (from Old English ''angol'', meaning "hook") is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated with a fishing rod, although rodless te ...

, rock climbing, valley crossing. One can also go for nature walks in the nearby Aravali hills.

Attractions nearby

Hot springs

The

Sulfur Sulfur ( American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur ( Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms ...

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

of Sohna Sulphur Hot Spring at Sohna is a religious and tourist attraction with medicinal value for skin diseases. According to a legend, one of the pandav, Arjun, dug this well when he was thirsty.

Ancient Shiva temple

An ancient Shiva temple is located in Sohna and was built by the Raja of Bharatpur/Gwalior. Every year on the occasion of Shiv Chaudas & Shiv Ratri, the residents of Sohna offer their special prayers to Lord Shiva & Maa Bhagwati for the new born babies and newly married couples.

References

{{Hydrography of Haryana Lakes of Haryana Gurgaon district Reservoirs in India
Damdama Lake Website