 Namtzo Lake
纳木错
Namtso Lake's touching beauty should not be missed by any traveler who visits Tibet. Its purity and solemn are symbols of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The water here is a storybook crystal-clear blue. Clear skies join the surface of the lake in the distance, creating an integrated, scenic vista. Soul of every visitor who has ever been here seems to be cleansed by the pure lake water.
In Tibetan, Namtso means 'Heavenly Lake'. Namtso is famous for its high altitude and beautiful scenery. Being the second largest saltwater lake in China only after Qinghai Lake, Namtso Lake is the biggest lake throughout Tibet, also one of the three sacred lakes in Tibet. With 4,718 meters (15,475 feet) above sea level and covering 1,900 square kilometers (735 square miles), the lake is the highest saltwater lake in the world.
Namtso Lake, located in the broad prairie of north of Tibet, is surrounded by a tremendous dike - Nyantsentanglha Mountain. In the local legend, Namtso Lake and Nyantsentanglha are a pair of beloved couple, living together and deeply attached to each other. As a matter of fact, Namtso relies on Nyantsentanglha as the melting of snow on the mountain is the source of Namtso. Just because of this pure source, the water is exceptionally clear. When wind roars on the plateau, the lake waves and the blue-green waves are gleaming. Singing streams converge into the clean sapphire blue lake, which looks like a huge mirror framed and dotted with flowers.
Circumambulation around the lake at the right moment equals 100 thousand times of that in normal years. Hence thousands of pilgrims from every corner of Tibet and other places such as Qinghai, Sichuan and Yunnan, cluster to Namtso after long and hard treks. On the four sides of the lake stand four monasteries, which have Buddhist meaning.
Five islets, planting themselves in the vast sapphire blue lake, is said to be the incarnation of the Buddha of Five Directions. Every pilgrim circumambulating the lake will piously worship them. Those islets are famous for their topography, covered by weird but vivid stones. Producing abundant fish and lodging many birds and beasts, the lake is also a heaven for animals and plants.
The most solemn festival in Namtso happens in the Year of the Sheep in Tibetan calendar. Every 12 years, thousands of believers flock here and walk around the lake. According to the tradition, if you circle Namtso Lake on foot, you will get great happiness and comfort.
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