Umiam Lake, Reservoir 15 km north of Shillong, Meghalaya, India

Umiam Lake is a reservoir 15 km north of Shillong, formed by damming the Umiam River in the early 1960s. Its grey-green water lies below a sloping bank of pale tan and orange-brown earth, with a strip of dry vegetation along the top. A single row of tall, slender trees with dark green foliage stands behind the shoreline, against a forested hill.

In the early 1960s, a dam was built here to generate electricity, flooding parts of the Umiam Valley. Around 200 families left their villages and resettled in other areas.

The name Barapani, or Bara Pani, means "big water" in the local language, while another reading of Umïam gives "water of tears", tied to a story of two sisters who came down from the sky and one wept without stopping. The lake is used today for kayaking, water cycling, scooting and boating.

Boat rentals are available on site, and you can hire paddle boats or faster watercraft to explore different parts of the lake. For families with small children, the shallow shore areas are better suited than the deeper zones farther out.

The lake is fed by the Wah Umkhrah and Wah Umshyrpi, which become drains carrying household and market sewage from Shillong. An estimated 40,000 cubic metres of silt enters every year, lowering storage. In 2023 a solar-powered AI boat began collecting up to 15 litres of oil and 200 kg of floating refuse daily.