Lake Rakshastal

Lake Rakshastal is a lake in Tibet, lying close to the west of Lake Manasarovar and Mount Kailash. The Satluj River originates at Rakshastaal's northwestern tip. Despite its close proximity to Lake Manasarovar—over the road to Purang County, Lake Rakshastaal does not share the lore of worship with its east neighbor.

The name of the lake literally means "lake of the rakshasa" in Sanskirt (Sanskirt: राक्षस ताल; Tibetan: ལག་ངར་མཚོ།, ZYPY: Lagngar Co; Wylie transliteration: lag-ngar mtsho; Chinese: 拉昂错, Pinyin: Lā'áng Cuò) . It is also known as Ravana Tal, as it is considered to be the place of severe penance tapasya by Ravana, the ten-headed demon-like egoistic King of Lanka in Hindu mythology. In Buddhism, Lake Manasarovar, which is round like the sun, and Rakshastal, shaped as a crescent, are respectively regarded as 'brightness' and 'darkness'. Its salty water, a stark contrast to the fresh water of Lake Manasarovar, produces no aquatic plants or fish and is considered poisonous by locals.

There are four islands in Rakshastal: Topserma (Dose), the ] (the two biggest), Lachato (Nadzhado), and Dosharba. . Islands are visited by local peoples only during the winter period on ice and used as winter pastures for yaks.