Panch Pokhari

Panch Pokhari — literally 'five ponds' — is a group of five glacial lakes at about 4,100 m in the high north of Sindhupalchok, in the Bhotang area near the peaks of Dorje Lhakpa (6,966 m), Madiya and Phurbi Chhyachu. Set among some of Nepal's many high-altitude wetlands, the lakes are not a Ramsar site but are widely regarded as one of the highest wetland pilgrimage destinations anywhere.

The five lakes are sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists. They are most thronged during the August full moon of Janai Purnima, the festival at which Hindu men renew the sacred janai thread and pilgrims bathe at holy lakes; small shrines stand by the water and the site is associated with Shiva. The Government of Nepal's postal service issued a stamp featuring Panch Pokhari in 2011.

The lakes lie north of the Kathmandu valley in a district that was among the worst hit by the April 2015 earthquake, which destroyed the great majority of houses in Sindhupalchok. The trek to the lakes — usually begun from Chautara or the Bhotang roadhead, climbing through forest and high pasture over several days — has since become a quieter alternative to the busy Langtang and Helambu routes nearby.

Frozen for much of the year and surrounded by alpine meadow and bare rock, Panch Pokhari rewards the effort with isolation and big mountain views, a pilgrimage and a wilderness trek combined.