Shey Phoksundo Lake

Shey Phoksundo, in the remote Dolpo region of Karnali, is the deepest lake in Nepal and one of its most arresting sights — a brilliant turquoise sheet of water set against barren cliffs at about 3,610 m. It is an alpine, oligotrophic freshwater lake roughly 5.6 km long and up to about 1 km wide, with a surface area near 4.9 km². A 2004 survey recorded a maximum depth of 145 m; a more detailed 2019 survey measured about 136 m, the figure that places it among the very deepest lakes in the country either way.

The lake owes its existence to a landslide dam estimated to be 30,000 to 40,000 years old, on which the Tibetan-Buddhist village of Ringmo now stands. Below that natural dam the outlet drops over one of Nepal's highest waterfalls, about 167 m tall. The intense colour comes from the clarity of the glacier-fed water and the near absence of nutrients and aquatic vegetation.

Shey Phoksundo lies at the centre of Shey Phoksundo National Park, gazetted in 1984 and, at 3,555 km², the largest national park in Nepal, with terrain rising from about 2,130 m to nearly 6,885 m. The park is a stronghold of the snow leopard and its prey the blue sheep (bharal), and the lake and its surroundings carry deep religious significance for the area's Bön and Buddhist communities, dotted with stupas, mani walls and gompas; it featured in the Oscar-nominated film Himalaya (Caravan).

It was listed as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance on 23 September 2007. There is no road: reaching the lake means flying to Juphal and trekking several days up the Suli Gad, which is part of why Dolpo and its lake remain among the least-visited corners of the Himalaya.