Sambhar Lake, situated in the Indian state of Rajasthan, is a place where horizons stretch to infinity, where water and sky merge in a shimmer of gauzy blue. Civilization here goes back a long, long time and legends asambhar lake, sambhar lake national park & wildlife sanctuary, sambhar lake tiger reserve, sambhar lake national park, sambhar lake wildlife sanctuary, sambhar lake wildlife park bound. 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 lake.

According to another legend, the Goddess Shakambhari bestowed the lake upon the people of the area some 2,500 years ago. A small glimmering white temple in her honor stands under a rocky outcrop jutting into the lake. The locals will insist that you visit her temple before doing anything else.

Sambar, which means salt, has a long history that goes back to over a century, when the salt was extracted from the lake. Over period of time a number of rulers were in possession of the lake and in 1870 the lake was leased to the British. After independence, the lake came under the control of government and is now managed by Sambar Salts Ltd and Government of Rajasthan. The lake is roughly elliptical in shape and is divided into two sections by a five kilometres long stone dam.

Flamingos are the star attraction at the lake. These beautiful tall birds flock the lake and enjoys the feast of large numbers of algae that swarm the lake. Sambar is believed to be the second most important habitat for flamingos after Rann of Kutch, where they breed. Pelican is another species of birds that one can see at the lake.

Some other birds you can see at the lake are storks, redshanks, sandpipers, coots, black-winged stilts and shovelers.