Lake Rara: Lake in Mugu District, Nepal

It is in Rara Village Development Committee, Mugu District, Karnali Zone in the Mid-Western region.

Lake Rara राराताल
Lake Rara, May 2005
Location	Mugu District
Coordinates	29°31′33″N 82°05′25″E / 29.525721°N 82.090211°E / 29.525721; 82.090211
Type	Natural, oligotrophic
Primary inflows	Many small streams
Primary outflows	Nijar khola → Karnali River
Basin countries	Nepal
Max. length	5.1 km (3.2 mi)
Max. width	2.7 km (1.7 mi)
Surface area	9.8 km2 (3.8 sq mi)
Average depth	100 m (330 ft)
Max. depth	167 m (548 ft)
Water volume	0.98 km3 (0.24 cu mi)
Surface elevation	2,990 m (9,810 ft)
Frozen	never
Islands	none
Settlements	none

The lake has a slightly oval shape and is entirely in the Rara National Park, about 300 km (190 mi) north-west of the capital, Kathmandu.

Lake Rara is at an altitude of 2,990 metres (9,810 ft) above sea level covering an area of 9.8 km² (3.8 sq mi). The lake has a length of 5.1 kilometres (3.2 mi) and a width of 2.7 kilometres (1.7 mi) with a maximum depth of 167 metres (548 ft). It flows into the Karnali river via the Nijar river (Nijar Khola).

The lake was classified as oligotrophic (an environment that offers little to sustain life) in limnological terms, meaning that is very slightly polluted.

The climate of the Rara National Park, where the Lake Rara is, is a temperate climate with temperatures between 27 °C (81 °F) in summer and −4 °C (25 °F) in winter.

In the Lake Rara there are three endemic fish species (Schizothorax macrophthalmus, S. nepalensis and S. raraensis), and one endemic frog (Paa rarica).

Many waterfowl spend the winter months in Lake Rara; some of them are gadwall, mallard, northern shoveler, Eurasian teal, tufted duck, common goldeneye, goosander, Eurasian coot and solitary snipe.