Maharana Pratap Sagar - District Kangra.
Location- 170 km from Chandigarh, 110 km from Amritsar, 55 km from Dharamshala. Well connected by road.
Named in honour of the Great Patriot Maharana Pratap (1572 - 97 AD), this was once known as the Pong Dam Reservoir.
The lake has an area of about 45,000 hectares at maximum flooding. The Sagar is a declared a bird sanctuary and over 220 species belonging to 54 families have been sighted; these include black-headed gulls, plovers, terns, ducks, water-fowl and egrets - the first sighting of the red-necked grebe was made at the Sagar. The lake's location at the head of the Indian plains has made it a suitable habitat and stopover for migratory birds that enter India from Central Asia. Twenty-seven species and sub-species offish belonging to six families have been recorded in these waters. Some of the important commercial varieties include - Labeo dero (Gid), Labeo rohita, Labeo calbasu, Tor putitora (Mahsir) and Mystus seenghala (Singhara). A branch of the Directorate of Mountaineering and Allied Sports is located at the Maharana Pratap Sagar. Year long activities include swimming, water-skiing, surfing, kayaking, rowing, canoeing and sailing. The Directorate of Tourism and Civil Aviation provides equipment at the Sagar which includes sail boats, paddle boats, life buoys, water scooters, speed boats, rafts, life jackets, water skis and wet suits. Various courses - beginner, intermediate and advanced - are also conducted at the Sagar.
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