Sambhar is a small town, located at a distance of
60kms in the west of Jaipur, on Jaipur-Ajmer Highway. Sambhar is famous
for the largest saline lake in India. Due to this fact, Sambhar is also
known as Salt Lake City. Literally, Sambhar means salt and the lake has
been providing salt for over a thousand years. Various rulers of Jaipur
and Jodhpur including Sindhias, Rajputs, Marathas and Mughals have owned
the lake in their ruling periods. In 1870, it was leased to the British.
After independence, the lake was taken over by the government. In the
present day, it is managed by Sambhar Salts Limited, a joint venture of
Hindustan Salts and the Government of Rajasthan. Sambhar Lake elongates
to the length of 22.5 kms. The lake is fed by several seasonal
freshwater streams, two of the major ones being the rivers Mendha and
Rupangarh. The vast lake has been divided into two sections by a 5-km
long stone dam. On the eastern side of the dam, there are reservoirs for
salt extraction where salt has been farmed for a thousand years.
To the eastern part of the dam, you will find a rail trolley system
that was originally developed by the British to get across the dam and
to access various outlying points in the salt works. On the
sand-smothered lanes on the shore of the Lake, you will see reddish-pink
office buildings of Sambhar Salts Ltd. You can also visit the salt
laboratory and the salt museum on the terrain.
Sambhar Lake is a place where horizons stretch to perpetuity, where
water and sky merge in a shimmer of gossamer blue. The waters here are
glacially still, edged with a glittering frost of salt. Sambhar has been
classified as a Ramsar site (recognized wetland of international
importance) since the wetland is a residence for thousands of flamingos
and other birds that migrate from northern Asia in winters.
For bird-lovers, this is the best place to explore. Infact, the lure of
Flamingos brings tourists to visit this salty lake. Myriad tall and
dainty birds with their ballerina tutus come here to enjoy the delicious
spirulina algae that thrive when the water reaches a medium degree of
salinity. You can spot other birds too like pelicans, Storks,
sandpipers, redshanks, black-winged stilts, coots, and shovelers float
relaxing on the water.
There are many regarding the existence of the lake. According to one
reference in the epic Mahabharata, Raja Yayati, emperor of Bharatvarsh
(India) and a descendant of Lord Brahma the Creator, married Devyani,
daughter of Shukracharya (the guru of demons) who lived by the Sambhar
lake. As per another legend, the Goddess Shakambhari bestowed the lake
for the benefit of people around 2,500 years ago. A small sparkling
white temple in her honor stands in a rocky outcrop on the southern bank
of Sambhar Lake.
