Undasa Lake

A large tank beside Undasa village a few kilometres north of the city, which local birdwatchers have come to rate highly for wintering waterbirds; one senior birder quoted in the regional press notes that as numbers around Indore have fallen, Ujjain's waters (Undasa and nearby Matana) have risen. Open banks and shallow water, best from about November to February and best early. It appears on no sightseeing route, and there is no ticket, no facilities and no shade: carry water, bring binoculars and take your rubbish back with you. Cyclists from town use it as a short ride out. The lake is also Ratnakar Sagar, one of Ujjain's seven sacred lakes: during Purushottam Maas (Adhik Maas), the extra month added to the Hindu calendar every few years, pilgrims on the Sapt Sagar Yatra bathe here and make the customary offerings, then take darshan of the Saptarishis, the Seven Sages.

A still winter morning with waterbirds, twenty minutes out of the city