| Nilnag Lake | |
| Other Name: | Blue water lake[1] |
| Settlement Type: | Rural |
| Image Alt: | A view of the blue waters of Nilnag Lake |
| Pushpin Map: | India Jammu and Kashmir#India |
| Pushpin Label Position: | right |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Jammu & Kashmir, India |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  India |
| Subdivision Type1: | Union territory |
| Subdivision Name1: | Jammu and Kashmir |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Budgam |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Elevation M: | 2390 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Languages |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Official |
| Demographics1 Info1: | Kashmiri, Urdu, Hindi, Dogri, English[2] [3] |
| Timezone1: | IST |
| Utc Offset1: | +5:30 |
| Postal Code: | 191112 |
| Registration Plate: | JK04 |
Nilnag[4] (; in Urdu pronounced as /niːlnɑːɡ/ ; in Kashmiri pronounced as /nilɨnaːɡ/) is a freshwater lake away from Yousmarg in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, India.[5] It is around away from Srinagar, the summer capital of the union territory.[6] The lake is famous for its turquoise water. The route from Yousmarg is rather difficult and unmotorable and goes through a dense forest. The lake's crystal-clear blue water gave it its name: nag stands for lake (or a spring) and nil for the blue colour.[7] The location is a great for picnic spot.
The lake was Eric Biscoe's favourite destination. Biscoe (died in 1949), who was the founder of Tyndal Biscoe school in Jammu and Kashmir, wanted to be buried by the lake side. To honour his wishes, his ashes were brought and buried there.[8] Hugh Tyndale-Biscoe in his book states:[9]
Nilnag is easily accessible from Srinagar or Srinagar Airport (SXR), in under 2–3 hours from car or bus. The routes of Nilnag are from Srinagar to Chadoora, and then to Buzgu via Nagam. The total distance is about .[10]
Nilnag can be reached in from under 2 hours by car or taxi from Srinagar. The roads have recently been reconstructed, however, at certain places, the roads may be uneven. Another route is from Yousmarg to Nilnag, however, it is only pliable by motorbikes.
The nearest airport is the Sheikh-ul-Alam International Airport (Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir). Nilnag is at a distance of from the airport, and it takes about 2 hours by car.
The lake basin in going through shallowing owing to siltation, an indicator of which is the emergent vegetation cover "in the lake littorals".[11] In 2017, Yousmarg Development Authority (YDA) undertook dredging of the lake basin. The boundaries were also widened, and huts were built for monitoring.[8]