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12:30 PM
Govinda Prasad
Tilicho Lake is
one of the highest lakes in the world. It is 4,949 m high
in the Annapurna range of
the Himalayas in Manang district of Nepal. Another
source lists Lake Tilicho as being 4,919 meters high (16,138 feet).
Mountain
lakes are known to geographers as tarns if they are caused by glacial
activity. Tarns are found mostly in the upper reaches of the Himalaya, above
5,500 meters.
Tilicho Lake
is the destination of one of the most popular side hikes of the Annapurna
Circuit trek. The hike takes an additional 3-4 days. No camping
is required, as new lodges have been built between Manang and the lake. The
final approach to the lake is done in a day hike from the lodge at Tilicho
Base Camp.
Trekkers
attempting the Annapurna Circuit route usually cross the watershed between
Manang and Kali Kandaki valleys over the 5414 meters high Thorong La pass. The alternate route
skirting Tilicho Lake from the north has been gaining popularity. This route is
more demanding and requires at least one night of camping.
There is no teahouses or lodges past the Tilicho Base Camp lodge some
kilometers east of the lake and the next village of Thini Gaon in the Kali
Gandaki valley. Most groups spend two nights between these places. There are
two passes leading to Thini Gaon and Jomsom; Mesokanto La and Tilicho North
pass known also as Tilicho "Tourist pass". These routes via Tilicho
Lake are more often closed by snow than the higher Thorong La.
It
was also the site of one of the highest ever altitude scuba dives. A
Russian diving team consisting of Andrei Andryushin, Denis Bakin and Maxim
Gresko conducted a scuba dive in the lake in 2000.
