Bhopal is a beautiful city with amazing scenery and is said to be one of India’s greenest cities. Bhopal is also home to 10 lakes and is aptly tagged as “The City of Lakes”.

During my pre-arrival research, I scoured the internet looking for places to see and things to do in this unique city. I stumbled across the look-out at Upper Lake or Bhojtal and decided that it was a place that I needed to go to before I left India.

India Heritage Run’s Website gives the fascinating backstory of Upper Lake:

Bhojtal (Upper Lake) is said to have been built by the Paramara Raja Bhoj during his tenure as a king of Malwa. According to legend, once Raja Bhoj suffered from a skin disease and all Vaidyas or Doctors had failed to cure him. One day a saint told the king to build a tank to combine 365 tributaries and then bathe in it to wipe out the skin disease. Bhoj called upon his engineers to build up a huge tank.

They spotted a place near river Betwa, which was 32 km away from Bhopal. It was found that it has only 359 tributaries. In order to fulfil this shortage, A Gond Commander Kalia gave the address of an invisible river and merged the tributaries of this river. Thus the number 365 was completed.

The lake was known as the Upper Lake or Bada Talab (“Big Pond”), until March 2011 it was renamed to Bhojtaal in honour of the Great King Raja Bhoj who built it. A huge statue of Raja Bhoj, standing with sword, was also installed on a pillar on one corner of the lake to cement the name of Bhopal as the city of lakes.

Our schedule during the two-week visit was VERY strict. Our chaperones did not want us shifting from their plan. On a Saturday, we had a visit to the museum penciled in on our group itinerary, however, for some reason we weren’t able to get in.

After skilfully negotiating with our chaperones, our group secured a free day to explore the city. My course friend group of Judith (Kenya), Rachel (Trinidad) and Nana (Nigeria) hopped in an Uber I booked and made our way to the scenic Upper Lake.

( From Left to Right) Nana {Nigerira} Judith {Kenya} Rachel {Trinidad} and Myself take a Selfie in Bhopal’s Old City

Swans gathered at the boat docks waiting to fight with day trippers

Apart from the gawking of locals who were amazed at the presence of black people and openly taking pictures, the atmosphere was amazing.

We walked around a sort of sculpture park that featured a giant guitar and a train, and battled swans to get to the edge of the lake.

After having some ice-cream from a stall nearby, a local boatman approached us peddling his boat ride business. We all agreed to suit up in some life vests and take a ride on his fishing boat across the lake.

The boatman took us on a smooth boat ride out onto the lake and took us to a Muslim Shrine on a small island in the middle of the lake, which I now know is called Ali Shah’s Island.

The Imam offers Judith some prayer strings on the steps of the Muslim Shrine

Against this picturesque backdrop, I spent time in quiet reflection. I respectfully took off my shoes, took a prayer basket from the Imam and followed along.

On this tiny island in the middle of a lake, home to a Muslim shrine, I said a silent prayer thankful for the day I had enjoyed and for the journey that brought me here.