Lake Manasarovar (Sanskrit: मानसरोवर), also called Mapam Yutso (;) locally, is a high altitude freshwater lake fed by the Kailash Glaciers near Mount Kailash in Burang County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. The lake along with Mount Kailash to its north are sacred sites in four religions: Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Bön. Etymology The Sanskrit word "Manasarovar" (मानसरोवर) is a combination of two Sanskrit words; "Mānas" (मानस्) meaning "mind (in its widest sense as applied to all the mental powers), intellect, intelligence, understanding, perception, sense, conscience" while "sarovara" (सरोवर) means "a lake or a large pond deep enough for a lotus". Geography It is located about 50 kilometers to the northwest of Nepal, about 100 kilometers east of Uttarakhand, and in the southwest region of Tibet. The lake lies at above mean sea level, a relatively high elevation for a large freshwater lake on the mostly saline lake-studded Tibetan Plateau. It freezes in the winter. According to Brockman, it is one of the highest freshwater lakes in Asia (with the highest being the Tilicho Lake in Nepal at altitude of 4919 m). Lake Manasarovar is relatively round in shape with the circumference of . Its depth reaches a maximum of and its surface area is . It is connected to nearby Lake Rakshastal by the natural Ganga Chhu channel. Lake Manasarovar is near the source of the Sutlej, which is the easternmost large tributary of the Indus. Nearby are the sources of the Brahmaputra River, the Indus River, and the Karnali, an important tributary of the Ganges. Lake Manasarovar overflows into Lake Rakshastal which is a salt-water endorheic lake. When the level of Lake Rakshastal matched that of Lake Manasarovar, these (very narrowly) combined lakes overflowed into the Sutlej basin. Lake Manasarovar and Mount Kailash are visible from the Lapcha La pass, located above the Limi valley in district Humla, Nepal. In May 2020, India inaugurated a new 80 km long motorable road from Dharchula to Lipulekh Pass along the India-China border under the geostrategic India-China Border Roads project to the Kailas-Manasarovar in Tibet. Climate Access Lake Manasarovar lies near Mount Kailash, and is an integral part of a Kailash-Manasarovar pilgrimage. History and texts There is no mention of the lake (or its location) in Vedic literature or ancient Sanskrit and Prakrit texts. Though colonial era and modern texts state Manasarovar to be among the most sacred sites of