Tilicho Lake

Tilicho is a glacial lake high in the Manang district, fed by meltwater from the northern slopes of the Annapurna range and counted among the highest lakes of its size anywhere — most sources give an elevation of about 4,919 m, with some citing 4,949 m. It is roughly 4 km long and up to 1.2 km wide, with a surface area near 4.8 km² and an average depth around 85 m, set in a stark amphitheatre of moraine and rock with no permanent settlement nearby.

The water is so cold and nutrient-poor that the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology had recorded no aquatic organisms in it as of 2003. The lake freezes over for part of the year and is replenished each season by glacial melt. In 2000 a Russian team — Andrei Andryushin, Denis Bakin and Maxim Gresko — carried out what was reported as one of the highest-altitude scuba dives ever made here.

For Hindus, Tilicho is identified with the Kak Bhusundi lake of the Ramayana tradition, where the sage Kak Bhusundi, in the form of a crow, is said to have narrated the epic to Garuda. That association makes the demanding climb to its shore a quietly sacred journey as well as a scenic one.

The lake sits within the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal's largest protected area at about 7,629 km², and is the most popular high side-trip from the Annapurna Circuit — a route often voted among the best long-distance treks in the world, with its high point at the Thorong La pass (about 5,416 m). Trekkers usually approach from Manang via Khangsar and Tilicho Base Camp before the steep final climb to the lake.