Lake Man Sagar (Mansagar) is an artificial lake to the north of Jaipur in which the stunning Jal Mahal Palace stands. Lake Mansagar has undergone an amazing transformation over the last 5 years, where once it was a dirty and polluted sewage overspill for Jaipur today the lake is teeming with life and migratory birds are now returning to the fresh waters.

The water palace is only accessible by boat

The area surrounding Man Sagar Lake is starting to become popular with both Jaipur’s residents and visitors as the cooling waters and wildlife are a refreshing break from the pollution and dust of the city. Most travellers experience of Lake Man Sagar is the brief stop to photograph the Jal Mahal but a rewarding afternoon can be spent by the cooling waters of the lake.

The lake volume varies dramatically between the wet season to the dry as the only source of water is rainwater from the surrounding hills and the semi-clean effluent flow from Jaipur. The lake was primary constructed for irrigation and today’s intensive farming strains the water resources, so much so that in 2008 the lake completely dried up. The lake covers an area of 300 acres and has an average wet season depth of 4 meters.

Lake Man Sagar

The Jal Mahal palace at the centre of the lake was originally constructed in the 18th century as a shooting lodge by the Maharaja, as the lake was a thriving home to diverse wildlife that included a large flamingo population. The destructive pollution of the 1990s combined with intensive farming demands significantly reduced the extent of aquatic wildlife and migratory birds found more suitable locations but things are being reversed. Today grey heron, wagtails and blue-tailed bee-eaters are all making a comeback while fish stocks are even increasing.

Lake Man Sagar is easily accessible from Jaipur as the western side of the lake is bound by the main road to Amer and the eastern side is close to the 11C, the Jaipiur-Delhi National Highway. Most visitors stop along the Amer-Jaipur road as this provides the best views over the Jal Mahal palace. The lake is too far to walk from Jaipur and passes through dirty and unattractive districts so all visitors will either need to hire a taxi (50RS), Rickshaw (20RS) or bus (5RS) for the 15 minute ride from central Jaipur. There is plenty of traffic on the Amer-Jaipur road there is no need to tell the taxi to wait.

Jaipur Auto Rickshaw, the best way to travel round Jaipur

Lake Mansagar lies in a natural depression that would, without human interference, be annually filled by the monsoon rains. The natural shallow lake was enhanced by a dam stretching between the two hill ranges of Amer and Amagarh. This initial dam was constructed in the 16th century after a deadly famine in 1596 was caused by a failure of the monsoon rains.

Maharaja Mansingh I constructed the primitive dam in 1610 from soil and rock over the Darbhavati River so as to increase the levels of stored water and prevent another famine. The height of the dam was increased and strengthened in the 18th century by Maharaja Jai Singh II who also constructed the water palace. This later dam was constructed from solid cut rock to provide additional strength and gave the Lake Man Sagar its present maximum depth of 7 meters.

Jaipur India Holiday Travel Guide