Yamdrok Lake Travel Guide

Brief Introduction
Yamdrok Lake is one of four such holy lakes, the others being Lhamo La-tso (mentioned above), Namtso and Manasarovar. It is revered as a talisman and is said to be part of the life-spirit of the Tibetan nation.

The lake has nine islands, of which one houses the famous Samding Monastery. This monastery is interesting, as it is the only Tibetan monastery to be headed by a female re-incarnation. Since it is not a nunnery, its female abbot heads a community of about thirty monks. Since the mid-1980´s, when the local government decided to build a hydroelectric plant here, Yamdrok Lake has been a source of controversy between traditional Tibetans and the energy department.

A six km tunnel, built 10 meters below the water´s surface, is already being used for power generation to supply the growing city of Lhasa. Traditionalists fear that the lake will dry out. While Chinese scientists emphasize that all excess water is pumped back into the lake, there is still some animosity from Tibetans who consider that the sanctity of the lake has been compromised.

Features
As the largest lake in southern Tibet, Yamdrok Lake is said that if its waters dry, Tibet will no longer be habitable.