Rewalsar Lake is primarily a Holy place for Tibetan Buddhist pilgrims. There are two Tibetan monasteries and one Bhutanese monastery here. But it is also is a pilgrimage centre for Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs. It was from here the great Indian Tantric Master Padmasambhava spread his teachings. It was under this great Spiritual Beacon that the Mahayana Buddhism spread over Tibet. The Tibetans call Him Guru Rinpoche.

But also a Hindu, the Sage Lomas, did penance here in order to please Shiva.

Finally the great Sikh warrior Guru Gobind Singh has stayed here for one month to meditate on his war strategy against the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb. So here in Rewalsar you will also find a Sikh temple, a Gurudwara from 1930.

According to the Tibetan belief the Spirit of Master Rimpoche is still present in small islands of floating reed on the lake. I spoke with a high ranking Indian government official who claimed that he many years ago had seen Dalai Lama stand at the lake side and through prayers and chanting make the floating islands come to Him. When the flouting reeds were close to Him, the Dalai Lama went out on the reeds and took a little trip on the lake as were the reeds a boat.

You can take a peaceful stroll around the lake and thus walk in the footsteps of many Tibetan Saints, like for instance the 17th Karmapa who was here in 2001.

Or you can visit the friendly Drikung Kargyu Monastery.

The Tibetan religious culture is still very much alive - especially here in India. Nobody can combine candy eating with strict religious practice like the Tibetans!

Take care of the monkeys! They are very clever...

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