Mookaneri lake

While looking for a nice spot to visit, I stumbled across Mookaneri lake. What's more, it was easily reachable and promised great views all around.

Mookarnei lake

As per the Mookaneri Lake wikipedia entry:

It is located to the south of the Shevaroy Hills, and is a major water body of Salem. The lake is fed by rainfall from the surrounding area, including the hills surrounding Yercaud, which flows into the lake via the Puthu Yeri and Kothukaran Odai streams.

There are 47 man-made islands in the lake. Each island was created by excavating and piling lakebed clay about 10 feet high, and covers and area of a few thousand square feet. Initially, millet was planted on the islands to arrest erosion and help build a soil layer, before saplings of neem, banyan, jambul, peepal, and vetiver trees could be planted. The lake islands were populated by nearly 12,000 trees as of 2013.

I surprised to know that so much effort had been made to avoid erosion. And that it was formed via streams from Yercaud, which I had visited just the previous month.

 

Armed with directions to reach the lake, I decided to walk about 1.5 kilometers from a bus stop. In hindsight, that was a mistake as I got sore feet while returning.

Anyway, the place wasn't crowded despite being a weekend. Perhaps because I had reached about an hour before noon? I took pictures and videos and relaxed a bit in the narrow park along the lake boundary. Some of the locals were fishing and some were taking a nap.

 

Some of the man-made islands

 

After about three months, I went back for another visit. This time, it was way too crowded due to a local festival (I hadn't known though). And thanks to the monsoon rains, the water level had risen too. Learning from previous visit, I had taken a bus ride much closer to the lake and thus was able to spend a lot more time walking along the lake. Looking forward to going there again next year.

 

Mookaneri lake