Rewalsar Lake, also known as Tso Pema, is a mid-altitude lake located in the mountains of the Mandi district in Himachal Pradesh, India. It is located 22.5 km south-west from the town of Mandi, at an elevation of about 1,360 metres above sea level, with a shoreline of about 735 m. Rewalsar Lake is a sacred spot for Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists, and sacred to Tibetan Buddhists for the Vajrayana practices of Padmasambhava and Mandarava, which are credited for the lake’s creation. There is a Colossus of Padmasambhava, a shrine to Mandarava, and three Buddhist monasteries at Rewalsar Lake. The Rewaksar Lake also has three Hindu temples, dedicated to Lord Krishna, Lord Shiva and to the sage Lomasha. Another holy lake, Kunt Bhyog which is about 1,750 metres above sea level lies above Rewalsar. It is associated with the escape of ‘Pandavas’ from the burning palace of wax—an episode from the epic Mahabharata. After practicing with the local Relwasar king’s daughter Mandarava, Padmasambhava and Mandarava departed for Nepal, from which Padmasambhava travelled to Tibet. Known to Tibetans as Guru Rinpoche, Padmasambhava revealed the teachings of Vajrayana Buddhism in Tibet
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