Pakistan is home to many natural and man-made lakes and reservoirs. The largest lake in Pakistan is the Manchar Lake. The lake is spread over an area of over 100sqmi.[1]
The highest lakes in Pakistan are the Paristan Lake and Shimshal Lake, which both are at an altitude of over .[2] The second-highest lake in Pakistan is the Karambar Lake, which is located at an altitude of, is the 33rd highest lake in the world. A recent Google map analysis revealed more than 500 lakes in northern Pakistan (mainly Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral region), many of these lakes are still nameless and even undiscovered to even local population.
| Name | Image | Elevation | Location | Description | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attabad Lake | Hunza Valley, Gilgit-Baltistan36.3368°N 74.8675°W | With the area of about 13.5 square km it the largest lake of Gilgit-Baltistan. Also known as Hunza Lake the lake was created in January 2010 due to massive landslides blocking Hunza River. | [3] | |||
| Barah Lake | 4512m (14,803feet) | Barah Valley, Ghanche District, Gilgit-Baltistan35.096°N 76.2332°W | Barah lake referred to two lakes in the mountain of Barah town. The area of this lake is 0.21 km2 | |||
| Batura Lake | 2900m (9,500feet) | Batura valley, Hunza District, Gilgit-Baltistan | The Lake lies in the Upper Hunza region of Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan. It is just north of the massifs of Batura, at 7,795 metres (25,574 ft), and Passu, at 7,500 metres (24,600 ft). The glacier flows west to east. | |||
| Borith Lake | 2600m (8,500feet) | Hunza, Gilgit–Baltistan | Borith Lake is a saline water lake, located to the north of Ghulkin Glacier in a village near Hussaini, Gojal, in the upper Hunza. | [4] [5] | ||
| Dakholi Lake | 4771.1m (15,653.2feet) | Khaplu Valley, Gilgit–Baltistan35.0642°N 76.3782°W | Area of Dakholi Lake as calculated by QT at ArcGIS Esri is 0.07 km2 as of September 2020. | |||
| Ghanche Lake | 4599.9m (15,091.5feet) | Khaplu Valley, Gilgit–Baltistan35.0746°N 76.2937°W | Ghanche lake is the source of ghanche stream that waters khaplu town. The area of Ghanche Lake calculated by Arc GIS as of September 2020 by QT is 0.16 km2. | |||
| Ghorashe Lake | 2862.2m (9,390.4feet) | Kharmang Valley, Gilgit–Baltistan34.9849°N 76.2096°W | ||||
| Handarap Lake | 3285m (10,778feet) | Ghizer Valley, Gilgit–Baltistan36.068°N 72.546°W | Also known as Shandoor Lake. | |||
| Hasanabad Lake | 2750m (9,020feet) | Hassanabad Valley, Hunza District, Gilgit-Baltistan | Hasanabad lake also known as Shispare lake, located in Hassanbad valley off Hunza, formed due to blockage of Shispare Glacier, thus forming a lake having 1.4 km in length. The area of this lake is 0.35 km2(growing day by day). It is 2 hours hike from hassanabad bridge, from where you can go to Batura (7795m), Shispare (7611m), Muchu Chhish (7452m) and many other 7000m mountains. | |||
| Hrkolong Lake | 4126m (13,537feet) | Khaplu Valley, Gilgit–Baltistan35.0844°N 76.3565°W | Hrkolong lake is the source of Hnajuluba stream that waters khaplu, Surmo and youchung broq (high steppes fields). | |||
| Khalti Lake | Khalti, Ghizer District36.2479°N 73.3634°W | [6] | ||||
| Paristan Lake | Skardu, Skardu District | |||||
| Katpanah lake | 2190m (7,190feet) | Katpanah, Skardu Valley35°18'57.8"N 75°34'42.5"E | The only lake in downtown of skardu city. | |||
| Naltar lakes | Naltar Valley, Gilgit-Baltistan | These are three lakes. | [7] | |||
| Lower Kachura Lake | 2500m (8,200feet) | Skardu District, Gilgit–Baltistan35.4278°N 75.4544°W | The lake is also known as Shangrila Lake and is located at a drive of about 20 minutes from Skardu town. Shangrila was named after a book titled Lost Horizon by James Hilton. Shangri-la is a Chinese word meaning "Heaven on earth". | [8] | ||
| Phander Lake | Gupis-Yasin District, Gilgit-Baltistan36.1731°N 72.9473°W | |||||
| Rama Lake | 2600m (8,500feet) | Astore Valley, Gilgit–Baltistan35.3308°N 74.7856°W | Rama Lake is located nine kilometers away from the valley of Astore in Northern Areas. | [9] | ||
| Rush Lake | 4693m (15,397feet) | Nagar Valley, Gilgit–Baltistan36.1306°N 74.9325°W | Rush Lake is a high altitude lake located near Rush Pari Peak. At over 4,694 meters, Rush is the highest lake in Pakistan and one of the highest alpine lakes in the world. It is located about 15 km north of Miar Peak and Spantik (Golden Peak), which are in the Nagar valley. | [10] | ||
| Satpara Lake | 2636m (8,648feet) | Skardu Valley, Gilgit–Baltistan35.2339°N 75.6314°W | Satpara Lake is located in Skardu Valley and is one of the (Area=4.5square km, 2nd largest of gilgit baltistan)largest fresh water lakes in Pakistan. It supplies water for the town of Skardu. | [11] | ||
| Sheosar Lake | 4142m (13,589feet) | Deosai Plains, Gilgit–Baltistan34.9918°N 75.2454°W | Sheosar Lake is situated in the Deosai Plateau, which is one of the highest plateaus of the world. | [12] [13] | ||
| Shimshal Lakes | 4755m (15,600feet) | Hunza District, Gilgit–BaltistanShimshal Lakes, Hunza | There are 2 lakes having a height of 4,755 metres (15,600 ft), making it the highest lake in Pakistan. These lakes are almost 3 hours hiking from Shimshal valley in Hunza, Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan. | |||
| Upper Kachura Lake | 2500m (8,200feet) | Skardu District, Gilgit–Baltistan35.4467°N 75.4456°W | The lake is surrounded with wild apricot gardens and has a depth of around 70 meters. Due to rough terrain of the surrounding area, this lake is not well explored. | |||
| Zharba Lake | 2500m (8,200feet) | Shigar Valley, Gilgit–Baltistan | The only lake in Shigar valley. |
| Name | Image | Elevation | Location | Description | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ansoo Lake | 4126m (13,537feet) | Kaghan Valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa34.8149°N 73.6759°W | Ansoo Lake is a high-altitude lake (4126m (13,537feet)) located in the Kaghan Valley in Mansehra District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is near Malika Parbat in the Himalayan range. | [14] | ||
| Baghsar Lake | 975m (3,199feet) | Samahni Valley, Bhimber District33.045°N 74.1972°W | The lake is nearly half a kilometer long and overlooks the Bandala Valley. | [15] | ||
| Bashkargol Lake | 3652m (11,982feet) | Chitral Valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa35.9127°N 72.3333°W | Bashkargol Lake is a high-altitude lake (3652m (11,982feet)) located in the Laspur Valley in Upper Chitral District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is near Thalo Zom in the Hindukush range. Roughly 22 kilometer hike from the village of Sor Laspur. | [16] | ||
| Chitta Katha Lake | 3962m (12,999feet) | Shonter Valley, Azad Kashmir34.9189°N 74.5214°W | Chitta Katha Lake is located in Shonter Valley of Azad Kashmir. | [17] | ||
| Drigh Lake | Qambar Shahdadkot District, Sindh | Drigh Lake is Located in Qambar Shahdadkot District in Sindh, Pakistan, It is 29 km away from Larkana city and 7 km away from Qambar town. | [18] | |||
| Dudipatsar Lake | 3800m (12,500feet) | Kaghan Valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa35.0185°N 74.0895°W | The lake lies in the extreme north of Kaghan Valley at a height of 3800m (12,500feet). The term dudi in Urdu means white and sar means lake. | [19] | ||
| Dudibach Sar | Kaghan Valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa35.0167°N 74.0833°W | [20] | ||||
| Karambar Lake | 4272m (14,016feet) | Boroghil Valley, Chitral36.8842°N 73.7122°W | Karambar Lake is the 33rd highest lakes in the world. The approximate length of the lake is 3.9 km, width is 2 km and, average depth is 52m. | [21] [22] | ||
| Ganga Lake | Bagh District, Azad Kashmir | |||||
| Hadero Lake | Thatta District, Sindh24.8283°N 67.8603°W | Hadero is a brackish water lake in Sindh. The lake was declared wildlife sanctuary in 1977. The lake has a surface area of 1321 hectares. | [23] | |||
| Haleji Lake | Thatta, Sindh24.8028°N 67.7772°W | The lake is located at about 70 km from Karachi and is the largest water fowl reserve in Asia. | [24] [25] | |||
| Hamal Lake | Qamber Shahdadkot District, Sindh | Hamal Lake is located in Qamber Shahdadkot District in Sindh, Pakistan. | [26] | |||
| Hanna Lake | 1898m (6,227feet) | Quetta, Balochistan30.25°N 73°W | Hanna Lake is located 10 km from Quetta, near Urak Valley in Balochistan. | [27] | ||
| Jahlar Lake | 828m (2,717feet) | Soon Valley, Punjab | Jahlar Lake is part of Uchhali Wetland Complex in Soon Valley | |||
| Kallar Kahar | Chakwal District, Punjab32.7833°N 114°W | The salt water lake is located near Salt Range in Chakwal District, 125 km from Rawalpindi. | [28] | |||
| Keenjhar Lake | 21m (69feet) | Thatta, Sindh24.95°N 71°W | The lake is also called Kalri Lake and is one of the largest freshwater lakes in Pakistan. The Sindhi legend of Noori Jam Tamachi took place around the lake, and to this day there is a shrine in the middle of the lake marking Noor's grave. | |||
| Khabikki Lake | Khushab District, Punjab32.6219°N 72.2136°W | It is a salt water lake located in the southern Salt Range. The lake is named after a nearby village, Khabikki. | [29] | |||
| Kundol Lake | 2743m (8,999feet) | Utror, Swat Valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa35.3325°N 72.4972°W | This lake is located in the north of Utror via Ladu valley. | |||
| Lulusar Lake | 3410m (11,190feet) | Naran Valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa35.0022°N 73.1507°W | The lake is the main source of the Kunhar River and has a baby lake beside it. The word "sar" means "lake" in Shina. | [30] | ||
| Mahodand Lake | 2900m (9,500feet) | Kalam Valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa35.7138°N 72.6502°W | The lake is located 40 km from Kalam Valley in the valley of Ushu. | [31] | ||
| Manchar Lake | 34m (112feet) | Sindh26.4166°N 67.65°W | Lake Manchar is the largest freshwater lake in Pakistan and one of the largest in Asia. It is located west of the Indus River in Sindh. The area of the lake fluctuates with the seasons from as little as 350 km2 to 520 km2. The lake collects water from numerous small streams in the Kirthar Mountains and empties into the Indus River. | [32] | ||
| Namal Lake | Mianwali, Punjab32.6896°N 71.8068°W | Namal Lake is located in Namal Valley, in Mianwali. The lake is spread over an area of 5.5 km2 and was built in 1913 after the construction of Namal Dam. | [33] | |||
| Payee Lake | 2895m (9,498feet) | Kaghan Valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa34.6153°N 73.4867°W | Payee Lake is located near Shogran in Payee, surrounded by the Makra Peak, Malika Parbat, and the mountains of Kashmir. | [34] | ||
| Pyala Lake | 3410m (11,190feet) | Kaghan Valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa35.0077°N 73.9414°W | Pyala Lake is a very small lake besides the Kunhar River at Jalkhad. Since the lake looks more like a bowl Urde:Pyala (پیالہ) hence it is called Pyala Lake. | [35] | ||
| Ratti Gali Lake | 3700m (12,100feet) | Neelam Valley, Azad Kashmir34.8302°N 74.0613°W | The lake is accessible from Dowarian by a 19km (12miles) hiking trek. Dowarian is the base camp to this lake. | [36] | ||
| Saiful Muluk | 3224m (10,577feet) | Kaghan Valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa34.877°N 73.6938°W | [37] | |||
| Saral Lake | 4100m (13,500feet) | Neelam Valley, Azad Kashmir34.9628°N 74.0998°W | This lake can be accessed from Sharda, Neelam valley and Kaghan Valley. | [38] | ||
| Shakoor Lake | Shakoor Lake is situated on the border between India and Pakistan, its area ranges from 300km2 | [39] | ||||
| Shonter Lake | Neelum Valley, Azad Kashmir34.9731°N 74.5128°W | This is a small lake located in the Azad Kashmir. | ||||
| Siri Lake | 2590m (8,500feet) | Kaghan Valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa34.6312°N 73.492°W | Siri Lake is situated near Shogran in Siri, on the way to Payee in Kaghan Valley, Pakistan. | [40] | ||
| Spin Khwar Lake | Swat Valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | [41] | ||||
| Subri Lake | Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir34.324°N 73.52°W | Subri lake, also known as Langarpura Lake, is situated 10 kilometers out of Muzaffarabad, where the Jhelum River widens to form the lake. | ||||
| Swaik Lake (Khandowa Lake) | Khandowa Village Kallar Kahar Tehsil, Chakwal District36.3368°N 74.8675°W | Swaik Lake or Khandowa Lake(ur|{{Nastaliq|کھنڈوعہ) is a lake situated at 10 km from the Tehsil Kallar Kahar, Chakwal District and 30 kilometers southwest of Chakwal along the motorway. | [42] | |||
| Uchhali Lake | 1522m (4,993feet) | Soan Sakaser Valley, Salt Range32.5569°N 72.0253°W | The lake is located in the southern salt range and has brackish water. | [43] |
| Name | Image | Elevation | Location | Description | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banjosa Lake | 1981m (6,499feet) | Poonch District, Azad Kashmir33.8106°N 73.8164°W | Banjosa is an artificial lake and a tourist attraction near the city of Rawalakot in District Poonch in Azad Kashmir. | [44] | ||
| Chotiari Lake | Sanghar District, Sindh | Chotiari Lake is an artificial water reservoir situated 35 km away from the Sanghar town in Sanghar District, Sindh. | [45] | |||
| Hub Lake | Karachi and Lasbela District on Sindh and Balochistan border25.28°N 67.129°W | Hub Lake is an artificial reservoir 56 km away from Karachi on Sindh and Balochistan border. | [46] | |||
| Khanpur Lake | Khanpur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa28°64′91″N 70°65′14″E | It is situated in Khanpur village, from Haripur. Famous for Water sports and Paragliding. | [47] | |||
| Mangla Lake | Mirpur District, Azad Kashmir33.199°N 73.751°W | Mangla Lake is an artificial reservoir near Mirpur city in Mirpur District, Azad Kashmir | [48] | |||
| Rawal Lake | Islamabad 33.7027°N 73.1261°W | Rawal Lake is an artificial reservoir in Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan. The lake is spread over an area of 8.8 km2 and is one of the major sources of water for the residents of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Rawal Lake is located within an isolated section of the Malpur village near Margalla Hills National Park. | [49] [50] | |||
| Simli Lake | Islamabad33.7347°N 73.3347°W | Simli Lake is located 30 km from Islamabad. The lake is formed from the melting snow and natural springs of Murree Hills. Simli Lake is the largest drinking water source for the residents of Islamabad. | [51] | |||
| Tanda Lake | Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa33.5869°N 71.4422°W | Tanda Lake is formed from Tanda Dam in Kohat District on Toi River. | ||||
| Tarbela Lake | Haripur District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa34.133°N 72.808°W | Tarbela Lake is an artificial reservoir in the Haripur District of North-West Frontier Province. It is near Tarbela Township in the Tarbela range. The name of the lake comes from town of Tarbela in which it is located (Hindko Black Forest). | [52] [53] |