Beach in Manipur

Loktak Lake and Sendra Island 48 km. from Imphal. A huge and beautiful stretch of water, this lake is like a miniature inland sea. From the Tourist Bungalow, set atop Sendra island, visitors can get a bird's eye view of the lake and the life on it, the fisherman and their families who live in neat huts on its shores and who make full use of their watery environment.

They cast their nets on it, rear fish farms in it using nets as floating walls, harvest it for the water chestnut known as Heikak, and even build their houses on the islands of floating weed that dart around the lake

There are buses and cycle rickshaws to cover the last 3 km. to Sendra. The lake is rich in minnows and carp. And water chesnuts. Fisherman cruise in and out of the hummus floats on graceful flat-bedded boats and net the fish and singhara (water chestnut). Their main occupation is fishing.

The fisherman and their families living in neat huts on its shores make full use of their watery environment. They cast their nets on it, rear fish farms in it using nets as floating walls, harvest it for the water chestnut known as Heikak. They even build their houses on the islands of floating weed that dart around the lake.

Its vast expanse of water with both resident and migratory birds offers scope for shooting, fishing and boating. The importance of Loktak Lake is the little Islands Thanga and Karang in the centre of the lake, labyrinth of boat routes amidst the floating marshes. This is a saucer shaped fresh water lake attracting many species of birds. Part of it forms a rare ecosystem.

It joins the mainland by a low causeway. Giant mats of reeds and weeds dot Loktak lake. The reeds, which are covered with soil, support large populations of Manipur's world famous brow-antlered deer. The hog deer, wild cats, boar, panthers and an interesting population of migratory birds that arrive in November and December inhabit the sanctuary.