Chandubi Lake

Chandubi Lake:

Located just 65 KM from Guwahati town at the foot of Garo hills surrounded by Assam and Meghalaya a earthquake born Chandubi natural lake is blessed with rich flora and fauna. Chandubi is relatively pour and less polluted as it is out of the reach of so called modern civilization. The place is calm and peaceful covered by deep forest, tea garden and small and distinct villages. Chandubi has covered a total of 2000 hectors of land. It is natural sight seeing and one of the best picnic spot for the visitors of the state. This lake attracts sizable amount of migratory birds during winter. The beauty of the lake and its surroundings lays a charm that lures a huge number of tourists who visit the place to relax in the lap of nature. Reportedly, the lake came into being on June 12, 1897 as a result of a devastating quake. It is unfortunate to note that the tectonic beel(lake) reportedly witnessed gradual decreasing of water area from 288.7 ha to about 712.0 ha with its reported mean depth 1.46 meters including maximum FSL depth 4.2 meters. The chief feature of the lake is natural lagoon that has been formed in the lake. The other attractions are the surrounding areas with raw jungles, tea gardens and the unique cultural heritage of the villagers. Chandubi Lake is the home to large number of aquatic plants. The lake also holds the exotic wildlife. It is the breeding ground of both the residential and migratory birds. The lake is bestowed with natural beauty. The lake offers to its visitors the opportunity to go for fishing in the water of the lake. The administrators of the lake have also provided the tourists with the provisions to go rowing in the calm lake waters. The presence of such provisions makes the Chandubi Lake an ideal tourist destination. Many years ago, the bank of the Chandubi was full of Sal trees. But gradually the Sal trees began disappearing as it has high demand in the market. We became very concerned at this development as we forest dwellers are intimately connected to Nature and started protecting the remaining Sal trees. History of Chandubi Lake: 1)The khasis of Meghalaya used to perform religious rituals in the honour of Chan-Ubleis (Ublei-gods) near a dubi (water body). The lake was formerly known as Chan-Ublei-dubi. Later the local Rabha-Kachari tribes of Assam stated of refer of the lake as Chan-dubi omitting the Ublei part from the original name. 2)There was a famous legendary merchant named Chanda Sadagar. It is believed that he used the lake as his transit point and went up through the Kulsi River with his merchandise to the bordering Meghalaya. The lake became famous by his name- water body (dubi) used by the merchant Chanda. 3) Chandubi mesmerized a British officer who came to enjoy the sunset on the lake. So , he desrirbed the lake as the place where the sun sets (set-dub Joa in Assamese). Though there are money other stories related to the origin of the name of the lake, yet the first story mentioned is believed to be more appropriate. Best Season to visit Chandubi Lake: October to April. How to Reach Chandubi Lake: 1) By Air Route : The nearest Airport to Chandubi Lake is Guwahati. Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport at Borjhar is about 20 kms away from the lake, where Air connectivity has improved considerably in the last couple of years and all major domestic airlines fly into Guwahati. 2) By Rail : Guwahati is well-connected to all the major cities of the country by rail. One can easily reach the lake by bus or other vehicles from the Guwahati railhead. 3) By Road : Chandubi is easily accessible by bus. All one need to do is to take a bus from the central bus stand at Adabari in Guwahati. People can also take a ride from Muduki to Chandubi, it is approximately a 10 km-long journey.