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Suraj Tal, also called
Tso Kamtsi or Surya Tal, is an long lake that lies just below the high Bara-lacha-la pass in
/ref> Suraj Tal Lake is just below the source of the Bhaga River that joins the Chandra River downstream at Tandi to form the Chandrabhaga River in Himachal Pradesh. The Chandrabhaga River is known as the Chenab as it enters the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir. The other major tributary of the Chandrabhaga, the Chandra, originates and flows south-east of the Bara-lacha La.
It remains inaccessible during the winter months of November to April since the pass becomes totally snowbound during this period.
The glaciers and nullahs (streams) that from the Bara-lacha-la pass feed the lake. The pass is 8 km long and is also called the "Pass with Crossroads on Summit" since roads from
Lahaul-Spiti Valley is a common destination for Indian and foreign tourists on road trips, trekking, and motorcycling. The NH 21 route from Manali to Leh covers the Suraj Tal Lake and the Bara-lacha-la pass.
Darcha Baralacha Pass Trek Lahaul
/ref>
Suraj Tal Lake
Surya Taal photos on Trek Earth
{{Lahaul and Spiti Lakes of Himachal Pradesh Tourist attractions in Himachal Pradesh Sacred lakes of India Glacial lakes of India Geography of Lahaul and Spiti district
Lahaul and Spiti district
The Lahaul and Spiti district is a high-altitude district in Himachal Pradesh, north India. This entirely mountainous district consists of two geographically distinct as well as formerly separate political-administrative units, called Lahaul ( ...
of the Indian state
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
of Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...
. It is the third-highest lake in India and the 21st-highest in the world.Lakes/ref> Suraj Tal Lake is just below the source of the Bhaga River that joins the Chandra River downstream at Tandi to form the Chandrabhaga River in Himachal Pradesh. The Chandrabhaga River is known as the Chenab as it enters the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir. The other major tributary of the Chandrabhaga, the Chandra, originates and flows south-east of the Bara-lacha La.
Access
Suraj Tal is from Keylong, the district headquarters of the Lahaul Spiti district. It is accessible by National Highway NH 21, also known as the Leh-Manali Highway. The road skirts Suraj Tal, which is just short of the Bara-lacha-la pass.Sharad V. Oberoi & P. Mathur, "Training Report on Feasibility Study of Existing Manali-Darcha Highway and Proposed Darcha-Padam Road Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques", SASE, Chandigarh, India, (pages 11-13), 22 Jun 2004It remains inaccessible during the winter months of November to April since the pass becomes totally snowbound during this period.
Physical description
Terrain
The glaciers and nullahs (streams) that from the Bara-lacha-la pass feed the lake. The pass is 8 km long and is also called the "Pass with Crossroads on Summit" since roads from Zanskar
Zanskar, Zahar (locally) or Zangskar, is the southwestern region of Kargil district in the Indian union territory of Ladakh. The administrative centre of Zanskar is Padum. Zanskar, together with the rest of Ladakh, was briefly a part of the kin ...
, Ladakh
Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory and constitutes an eastern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a Kashmir#Kashmir dispute, dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and India an ...
, Spiti, and Lahaul meet at this pass. In addition to the Bhaga River that originates from it and flows through Suraj Tal, Bara-lacha-la Pass is also the source of the Chandra and Yunan Rivers in the southeast and north, respectively.
The lake is situated in the Upper Himalayan Zone, or High Latitudinal Zone part of the Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...
which has very sparse population with climatic conditions akin to polar conditions. Snowfall in this zone, though scanty, is reported to be spread throughout the year. Rainfall is rare in the region. Snow
Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes.
It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...
precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...
from snow storms is reported to be less than of snow in nearly 50% of the storms, even though one observatory in the region has reported of snowfall. The precipitation starts melting in May. Snow on slopes is generally slackly bonded, with the wind
Wind is the natural movement of atmosphere of Earth, air or other gases relative to a planetary surface, planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heatin ...
redistributing it. The average total snowfall recorded in a year is reported to be , with the highest temperature at , the mean highest temperature at , the mean minimum temperature at , and the lowest temperature at . The ground in the zone is covered with scree and boulders.
Geology
The lake'sgeology
Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...
is similar to that of the nearby Bara-lacha-la Pass, which is reported to be an early rifting event on the northern Indian passive margin, and the Basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
s which are emplaced along the trans–tensional faults indicate that.
Bhaga Valley
The Bhaga River originates in Bara-Lacha La and flows north-west through Suraj Tal to Tandi, the confluence point with the Chandra River. The Bhaga Valley (Tod or Stod Valley) is long. The valley, which is a narrow gorge, is devoid of any vegetation up to Darcha, and thereafter it widens up to its confluence with the Chandra River at Tandi. There are terraces between Darcha and Tandi which are under cultivation in the lower slopes, with the middle slopes having grasslands. Plantations of trees and shrubs to meet fuel wood and fodder requirements have been done on the hill slopes.Tourism
Lahaul-Spiti Valley is a common destination for Indian and foreign tourists on road trips, trekking, and motorcycling. The NH 21 route from Manali to Leh covers the Suraj Tal Lake and the Bara-lacha-la pass.
Trekking
Trekking tours are common. One trek route is the Zingzingbar–Suraj Tal–Bara-lacha-la. This involves trekking along the Bhaga River for , crossing a bridge to the north bank, then a further climb of from the bridge, followed by a steep foot trail up to Suraj Tal./ref>
References
External links
Suraj Tal Lake
Surya Taal photos on Trek Earth
{{Lahaul and Spiti Lakes of Himachal Pradesh Tourist attractions in Himachal Pradesh Sacred lakes of India Glacial lakes of India Geography of Lahaul and Spiti district