Yilhun Lhatso Lake has located 10km from Manigango town. The town was once an important trading hub of Kham Derge which was a trading route between Chengdu city of China and Lhasa, Tibet. Manigango town lies at the junction of three important roads, Derge lies 100 km to the southwest, Jegudo 360km to the northwest, and Garze 84km to the southeast.
Yilhun Lhatso Lake is situated next to the G317 national highway to Derge County. The grassland region to the northeast of Tro La pass is known as Yilhun. On the descent, take a turn off on the right to visit the sacred glacial lake of Yilhun Lhatso situated some 30 kilometers below the pass.
This lake is one of the most beautiful in all of Tibet. Its shores are bedecked with carved Mani stones. The mountains and rocks surrounding the lake are said to assume the divine form of the Cakrasamvara mandala to those who have the pure vision to perceive them as such.
Legend says when the wife of Ling Gesar, Dukmo camped here at the lake and she named this lake Yilhun Lhatso which means the fallen love of god’s lake because she had been fall in love with the lake.
There is a famous Yogi Lama Troja also known as Mad Saint, who is looking after this lake for over two decades. He built a hanging bridge at the lake so that pilgrims can do circumambulation around the lake but nowadays it’s like a photo shoot site for tourists. The local government is building a bridge, footpath, and viewpoint at the slope on the left side of the lake for the tourists.
The best things to do here are camping and hiking along the lake shore. A lakeside retreat house and pavilion have recently been constructed; it became one of the most famous tourist destinations in Kham Derge.
