Mezuong

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Shillong known for its nature with beautiful places, falls, and lots of other places to visit. It does have a few of the beautiful lakes which attracts a lot of tourist to this place. Following are the lakes in Shillong:

Umiam Lake lakes in Shillong

The Umiam lake is a water body located in the hills 15 km north of Shillong in Meghalaya. The lake is also popularly called Barapani (big water). The landscape of the lake has mesmerizing beauty. The Umiam lake is one of the major tourist spots of the state of Meghalaya because of its ethereal beauty.

The Legend of the Umiam Lake

Umiam lake has a legendary tale associated with it. It is said that two sisters came down to Meghalaya from heaven. Only one of them reached their destination. The other sister could not make it to the destination. The sister who reached her destination cried and a lake was formed with her tears. The lake is called Barapani which literally means vast water.

The Umiam lake was created as part of building a dam. The construction of the dam started in 1965. The dam is the first Hydel Power Project in the Northeast. Umiam lake is managed by the Meghalaya State Electricity Board.

Meghalaya Tourism is responsible for developing the tourism related activity of the lake. Umiam lake is one of the major tourist spots of Meghalaya. The tourism department also runs Orchid Tourist Home overlooking the lake. The lake is surrounded by hills and mountains all around. The lake provides opportunities for water sport and adventure facilities to tourists. It draws large number of tourists for boating, scooting, water cycling and kayaking facilities. The lake has a water sports complex with facilities like rowboats, paddle boats, cruise-boats, sailing boats, river bus and s...

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...lkways and lawns and have different orchids and flowers beautifying them. This lake is surrounded by the Shillong Club, Shillong Raj Bhawan, Hotel Pinewood Ashok, the State Legislative Assemble and the Shillong Botanical Garden. The lake is chock-full of fish. It is enclosed by a winding walk-way and is spread with gently sloping flowerbeds and innovative illumination, bordered in by luxuriant greens.Boating is there in Ward's Lake.

There is also a Botanical Garden located downstream of the Wards Lake. This garden was built in the early 1900 and houses a collection of indigenous plants and trees. The garden also has rare and beautiful species of birds like the Tragopan, Pheasant and Wildfowl. The walkways and the green lawns near the garden make it a good walking path for tourists.

Best time to visit: All year round
Address:
Rita Road,
Shillong, Meghalaya 793001

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