Rara Lake

Rara is the largest lake in Nepal, lying at about 2,990 m in the remote Mugu district of Karnali, ringed by the blue-pine, spruce and juniper forests of Rara National Park. It is a deep, oligotrophic mountain lake — roughly 5.1 km long and 2.7 km wide, with a surface area near 10.8 km² (Wikipedia's infobox gives a slightly lower 10.6 km²) and a maximum depth of 167 m, with an average depth around 100 m. Its still water shifts through greens and deep blues with the light and the season, and the lake drains south through the Nijar Khola to the Mugu Karnali.

The lake sits at the heart of Rara National Park, established in 1976 and, at 106 km², the smallest national park in Nepal. The park protects more than 1,000 plant species and a montane fauna that includes red panda, Himalayan black bear and musk deer, and it has recorded around 240 bird species. Rara is best known biologically for its endemic fish, the Rara snowtrout (Schizothorax raraensis), and an endemic amphibian, the Rara Lake frog (Nanorana rarica), both restricted to the lake and its margins.

Recognised as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention on 23 September 2007 (the Ramsar site covers about 1,583 ha including the surrounding wetlands), Rara is one of Nepal's most prized natural sites. Documented pressures include over-grazing, fuelwood and timber collection in the catchment, and pollution from visitor and festival activity, all of which the park works to manage in a region with little infrastructure.

Rara is also one of the hardest-to-reach destinations in the country. There is no road to the lake itself: most visitors fly to the small airstrip at Talcha (about 4 km east, then roughly three hours on foot) or trek several days from Jumla. That remoteness is exactly what has kept the water and the surrounding forest unusually pristine.