Legend has it that Tibet’s Yamdrok Lake, according to local mythology, is the result of a transformation of a goddess.  If you have ever visited this sacred site, you’d quickly realize why Tibetan culture could see the logic in this.

The sheer beauty of the turquoise waters, fast changing weather, and location of the site (sitting only 240 miles Northeast of Mt. Everest base camp) suggests that there is much spiritual energy in the area.

Even as my group & I arrived at the top of the pass overlooking the lake, the weather had changed so dramatically that within 15 minutes we had seen it sunny, windy, rainy, snowy, hail and then become sunny again.  

The weather, in short, was quite intense!

But we were ever so grateful that, in the end, the sun came out and returned to be on our side giving us plenty of time to explore not only the overlook but the lake itself as well! 🙂

Exploring Yamdrok Lake in Tibet

As we rounded the corner and drove over our last mountain peak before arriving at our next destination, Yamdrok Lake shown bright as day in all her beauty.  Even from the elevation, we were sitting at, we could see the turquoise blue waters shimmering against the sun’s rays.

Sure, it may have been cloudy for the time being, but from my prior knowledge of living in the Rocky Mountains of Aspen, I knew that mountain weather is very unpredictable and could easily change on a dime.  

Parking the Land Rover at the first scenic overlook, we stepped out of the car and were welcomed with a very, very cold wind followed by some snow.  All the local Tibetans had stepped inside the makeshift building to take cover giving us an opportunity to take pictures without being haggled by anyone.  It was quite nice, for a change, although the pictures didn’t come out quite as great as I would have liked.

Although the view was spectacular, we couldn’t bare taking in the view as after it snowed the weather changed yet again to where the Yamdrok Goddess starting throwing hail at everyone in the area.

Glancing out over the lake and seeing blue skies in the distance, I quickly motioned for everyone to return to the car so we could get a chance of possibly enjoying the Lake with optimal weather conditions.  And sure enough, as we passed through the grasslands and down the windy road, the weather cleared up giving us this spectacular view!

The water was extremely cold, similar to the temperature of the glacier melt off while I was whitewater rafting in the Canadian Rockies.  You wouldn’t be able to stay in the water for longer than 5 minutes without getting hypothermia; despite how welcoming it seemed.

What I found most interesting were the piles of rock art alongside the lake bed that seemed to stretch for hundreds of yards.  Entangled within these little structures were Tibetan Khata (a traditional ceremonial white cloth that shimmered against the light) along with different variations of Chinese currency.

All in all, the Yamdrok Lake Goddess certainly blessed us with beautiful weather and an even better experience.  Who knew you could travel halfway around the world and become truly mesmerized by something as simple as a lake.

Would you like to visit Yamdrok Lake in Tibet?