About Place
Stretched over an area of 90 sq km, Sambhar Lake, is India’s largest inland salt lake. It touches three districts of Rajasthan namely- Jaipur, Ajmer and Nagaur. The lake is a 200 sq km area which is a mix of desert soil and salt making it look exotic. Sambhar Lake is not actually a lake but is a saline wetland. It produces about 196,000 tonnes of salt yearly. Heritage buildings, cenotaphs and temples, old salt museums, salt trains and circuit houses make up the infrastructure of the lake.
The lake is surrounded by Aravali Hills on all sides. The beauty of the place is best witnessed on a full moon night where the land gives the feel of land of silver. The sambhar lake is also famous for shooting many Bollywood movies like PK, Super 30, Delhi-6 and more. The history of Sambhar Lake states that the lake came under the rule of a demon king ‘Brishparva’. The locals believe that the protector goddess of the Chauhan Rajputs- Maa Shakambari Devi, transformed the forested area into a plain land of precious jewels. The people around the area feared the permanent dispute and prayed to the goddess to withdraw her curse.
The goddess then converted the area into a jewel of a different kind ‘Salt Lake’. This is how Sambhar lake was believed to come into existence. The sunrise and sunset at the lake are surreal and bring the feeling of calmness.
Image credits: Scroll.in, Renok Adventures (Thumbnail image)
