Wular lake, spread across the distance of bandipore and Sopore, is the largest freshwater lake in india, estimated to have formed due to a shift in tectonic plates. Gurur, 46 km from Srinager, is the closest village to the lake and has a wonderful park atop a small hillock, called Vantage view of the lake. The majestic Wular stretched on as far as the eye can see, against the background of the spectacular countryside.
Fed by the Jhelum, which enters the lake from the southeast and exits from its western shore, the lake varies in size depending on the season, from 30 to 260 sq kms, and often witnesses high, angry waves and storms in the afternoon. Hence it is believed that Wular is a corruption of the Sanskrit word tullolac meaning turbulent. Others trace origin of the word to the Kashmiri word 'wul', meaning fissure or gap.
It is said that Zain-uj-Abidin, the 15th-century sultan of Kashmir, was so enchanted by the beauty of this vast lake that he built an island at its centre, known as Zaina Lank. Wular's deepest point is referred to as Mota Khon or the 'gulf of corpses'.
Wular Lake is listed under the National Wetland Conservation Program as well as the Ramsar Convention, an international treaty that provides the framework for action and cooperation for the conservation of wetlands.
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