The Yamdrok Lake or the Yamdrok Yumtso Lake is a famous freshwater lake in Tibet. Spread over 72 kilometres, it is regarded as one of the three largest sacred lakes in the country. There are numerous small streams that feed this water body that is surrounded by beautiful snow-capped mountains.
The city of Lhasa lies a hundred kilometres to the northeast of Yamdrok Yumtso and the town of Gyantse is around 90 kilometres to its west. The Yamdrok Hydropower station that is set up just north of the lake is the largest in the country.
In addition to this, there are reasons why the Yamdrok Yumtso is important to the Tibetans. As said earlier, the people consider it a sacred place with special spiritual powers. Like mountains, lakes are also believed to be the dwelling places of protective deities.
The famous Sam-ding Monastery is situated on the peninsula jutting into the lake.
