Yamdrok Tso (Yamdrok Lake)

Sacred turquoise lake at 4,440m, 100 km south of Lhasa. Visited via the Khamba La pass (4,800m) on the road to Gyantse.

Yamdrok Tso is one of the four sacred lakes of Tibet — a 638 km² turquoise body at 4,440m. Visitors typically encounter it from the Khamba La pass viewpoint at 4,800m on the road south from Lhasa to Gyantse. The colour shifts dramatically with the light and weather; on clear days it photographs as a flat sheet of turquoise framed by snow peaks. Standard inclusion in Lhasa-Shigatse-Everest itineraries.