Rewalsar Lake

Rewalsar lake is sacred to Buddhists, Sikhs and Hindus . For Tibetan Buddhists, Rewalsar is one of the places visited by Acharya Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) on his mission to spread the dharma, while for Sikhs it’s associated with the life of Guru Gobind Singh. Shiva temple is holy place for Hindus

Rewalsar Monestry

Rewalsar is very important place in Tibetan Buddhism and this place is famous for the temple of Great Guru Padmasambhav or Guru Rinpoche who occupies a highly respectable place in Tibetan Buddhism as the second Buddha . The story of Rewalsar lake is like this - In the beginning of 8th century AD Acharya Padmasambhav was teaching dakinis and his devotees on how to achieve the liberation through the supernatural power at the bank of the lake called Dhanakosha in Odiyana. Through his eyes of Dharamkaya , he saw that Sahor , the prosperous kingdom in the western Himalayan region could be developed into a centre for yogas . One day , he in order to initiate the princess of the kingdom into Buddhism reached Sahor . But , then the king simply relying on the rumours , burned Acharya Padmasambhav alive at Rewalsar in Sahor .However Acharya transformed the raging flames into a clean and deep lake and he manifested himself seating on the lotus petals. The king who was extremely impressed by his supernatural power came with his minister and public and accepted his divine teaching .

It is firmly believed that those who visit this holy lake and pays reverence towards Acharya Padmasambhav , his or her life certainly become meaningful by gaining wisdom, and eventually the state of Enlightenment.

Rewalsar Gurudwara

Rewalsar Zoo

Great Himalayan National Park

I recently visited remote areas of Great Himalayan National Park. Here are some photographs of these areas.

Wildlife of Himachal Pradesh

The Himachal Pradesh provides spectacular and magnificent diversity of wildlife and it is an integral part of Himachal's culture and landscape .Varying altitudinal forests of Himachal harbour several rare and threatened faunal and floral species . Prominent species found in Himachal are Snow leopard , Brown bear , Black bear , Himalayan ibex , Himalayan tahr , Serow , Musk deer , Western tragopan , Monal , Cheer pheasant etc .

Bio- geographically Himachal Pradesh can be divided into three distinct regions , the trans himalayas , the greater himalayas (high and middle mountains ) and the semi arid zone . Thses all four zones support very rich wildlife .

Avifauna - About 383 birds species are found . Of these 324 are terrestrial habitat birds and remaining 59 are wetland habitat birds

Mammals- About 74 species of mammals are found in Himachal Pradesh

In addition to above Himachal forests and rivers are home of numerous insect , reptiles and fish species .

In Himachal Pradesh there are nuber of Protected areas ( 2 National parks and 32 wild life sanctuaries ) and these areas are the keystone for biodiversity conservation .

Wildlife in Great Himalayan National Park