Palak Dil or Palak Lake is the largest natural lake in Mizoram located near Phura village which is about 391 kilometers to the south of Aizawl. Oval in shape, it covers about 1 sq km and surrounded by lush virgin forests, rich in flora and fauna.
Legends abound the origin of the lake. The popular being, there used to be a big village in its place before the lake was formed. A large serpent lived in a cavern in the vicinity and occasionally stole the villager’s livestock. When it started stealing their children, the villagers decided to kill the serpent. Using a huge fish hook and a dead goat for bait, they managed to catch and kill the serpent and distributed its meat to every household for dinner. That night strange things began to happen. A widow living with her two children got the serpent’s head as her share and started cooking it in a big pot. After a while when she looked into the boiling pot, she found that the eyes of the serpent were blinking, rolling and watching her. Frightened and horrified, she threw out the pot with the serpent’s head still inside it. Later on, she heard strange noises and ran out of the house to find her doorsteps being flooded with water which continued to rise. She took her children and ran away much before the water submerged the whole village. All the inhabitants drowned while sleeping. The water subsequently formed a wide lake that has come to be called Palak Dil.
Legends aside, nature lovers are attracted by the surprisingly great variety of wildlife found in the remote area adjoining the Myanmar forests. It is home to most of the common wetland and hill birds, and is believed to be a winter stop-over for migrating Pintail Duck while a few elephants still roam the surrounding virgin forests. Though a jeepable road connects Palak Lake from Phura, care has been taken to maintain and preserve the area in its pristine environmental state.
