Loktak Lake

Loktak Lake, India

A traditional wooden fishing boat sits on the calm waters of Loktak Lake at golden hour with floating phumdi islands in the background.

A lake of drifting vegetation islands, a deer found nowhere else and floating homestays, worth two or three slow days.

The place

Loktak Lake lies near Moirang in Manipur, in India's far northeast, and it is the biggest freshwater lake in that part of the country. The name comes from the Meitei language and combines two words, roughly 'stream' and 'the end', a fitting description for a broad body of water where rivers slow down and settle. The surface rises and falls through the year. In a typical season the lake covers about 287 square kilometres, and it spreads much wider when the rains arrive.

Most visitors come for the phumdi, the floating islands that drift across the water. They are mats of soil, plant matter and decaying organic material at different stages of breakdown, and they carry small plots, shelters and wildlife. The largest one sits on the south-eastern shore. Keibul Lamjao National Park occupies part of this mass, and it is the last stronghold of the Sangai, the brow-antlered deer, the state animal of Manipur.

The lake matters well beyond its scenery. Hydropower generation, irrigation and drinking water all depend on it, and fishing families live along the shoreline and out on the phumdis. Those demands have put heavy strain on the ecosystem, which is why its condition is watched so closely. Time on the water is slow. Boats move between villages, floating homestays and the park edge, and the view changes with the light and the wind.

Its story

The lake's modern story is tangled up with its usefulness. Its water feeds hydropower generation, irrigates fields and supplies drinking water to towns around the shore. People have lived beside it for a very long time. Fishing families build homes on the edge and on the phumdis themselves, and their livelihood depends on understanding how the mats drift and where the catch gathers.

International recognition arrived in 1990. In March of that year Loktak was given Ramsar status, the international treaty that protects wetlands, in recognition of its ecological value and the variety of life it supports. Three years later, in June 1993, it was added to the Montreux Record, the list of Ramsar sites where ecological character has changed, is changing or seems likely to change. That listing reads as a warning as much as an honour: heavy use of the lake has left its mark.

Some 55 hamlets, both rural and urban, sit around the lake. Local observance centres on Loktak Day, held each year on 15 October at the lake's edge in Manipur, when communities gather along the periphery.

The park at Keibul Lamjao grew into the refuge for the Sangai, which feeds and shelters on the floating vegetation there. Conservation here means balancing the needs of people who fish, farm and generate power against a habitat that remains under pressure.

What to see

Culture

Loktak Lake is worked by people for whom it is home, not a backdrop. Fishing families, farmers and boat operators share the water with visitors, and many villages on the edge were there long before the homestays. Manipuri hospitality is unhurried. You will likely be offered a cup of tea, often made from lotus stems, bamboo leaves, ginger or herbs, and it is polite to accept it and sit a while.

Expect curiosity. Some villagers, especially away from the towns, will want to photograph you or join a group selfie. Let them do so, and be generous in return. Attention is far less common in urban areas, where people may simply assume you are local if you look like one. Keep voices and music moderate in villages, and avoid walking into homes without an invitation. Ask before you photograph anyone and do not try to swim the lake, which is wider and deeper than it looks.

What to wear

Loktak Lake sits in Manipur, where the traditional dress is built around handloom textiles. Women have long worn the phanek, a wraparound skirt, paired with an innaphi, a fine shawl or wrap, and both are woven in cotton and, for finer occasions, silk. Patterns and borders differ between communities, and many women still weave at home. Men traditionally wear a wrap with a shirt. These outfits appear most at festivals, weddings and ceremonies rather than in daily life.

In towns and on the lake edge, people now wear jeans, kurtas and ordinary Western clothes, and school uniforms are common. Handloom wear is kept for special days, and a phanek seen on a village woman is usually a sign of an occasion or a family tradition rather than a costume.

For a visitor, loose, light cotton clothing works best in the heat and damp, with a hat and sunscreen for long hours on open water. Cover your shoulders and knees when walking through villages or visiting a shrine. Wear shoes with a good grip, since phumdi edges and landing stages can be wet and uneven, and carry a light layer for cooler evenings on the water.

What to eat

Plan it

Best time. January to March, when rain is lightest and the weather is driest, and November to December, which are also fairly dry. The rainy season swells the lake, which changes the shoreline and makes boat travel wetter and slower.

How long. 2–3

Getting there. Fly to Imphal and continue by road to Moirang. By train, the nearest station is Jiribam, which is linked to Silchar and Guwahati, with Dimapur as another option. The last leg is by road or shared taxi.

Budget. low

Tips

Etiquette

Nearby

Sources