Siliserh Lake, Alwar

The Siliserh Lake was built on the orders of Maharaja Vinay Singh in the year 1848 A.D. The king dedicated the beautiful lake to his queen Sheela. The Siliserh Lake in Alwar is circumscribed by the magnificent slopes of the Aravalli range. Two earthen dams had been constructed in order to collect the waters of a small tributary of River Ruparel in the Siliserh Lake.
The location of the - Siliserh Lake is picturesque and it is a home to a large number of migratory birds. The tranquil waters of the Siliserh Lake twined with the Arcadian ambiance moisten the bareness of the golden deserts. A number of sprawling gardens had been constructed by the Alwar Kings around the Siliserh Lake which adds to the glamour of the place. Tourists can enjoy motorboat rides in the lake but they must be very cautious as the lake is infested with crocodiles.

Silserh Lake and reservoir is a huge man-made lake made by the King Vinay Singh in 1845 to cater to the water needs of the Alwar town and the water channels are still intact from that duration. I am not sure though if the water is still supplied from this lake to Alwar or not. I stayed at the Siliserh Lake Palace Hotel run by the RTDC which is the only accommodation available right next to the lake itself. I will specifically write about the Siliserh Lake Palace Hotel in a separate post though. The Lake is spread over ten square kms in area surrounded by the Aravalli hills on three sides.

The advantage of staying at this site is that if you come otherwise during the day then sometimes there are many tourists but in the mornings and evenings you can have the place to yourself and enjoy the tranquility of the place is serene surroundings. The sunsets are not very spectacular as the sun sets behind the hills but the sunrise are definitely worth getting up early in the mornings. The place also has the facility of boating which includes pedal boats, motor boats as well as speed boats but the prices for hiring these are steep as there is a monopoly here. The pedal boat can be hired for Rs 200 for half an hour whereas the motorboat costs Rs 600 and the speed boat can be taken for Rs 1000 for a 15 minute ride.

There is a great potential for the water sports to be developed here. The lake also generates revenue in the form of fishing rights that are auctioned every year and a local told me that this year the contract was for sold for 8 million rupees. Lot many local people do come here during the day and feed the fish. The feed is brought either with them or bought at the local tea shop. At the reservoir bund there are now too many monkeys and langurs and the government should take measures to shift them elsewhere. I also saw couple of big crocodiles in the lake which made me think twice about the boating in the lake but still ended up boating nonetheless. There is an entry fee to the hotel area for the tourist (not if you are staying at the hotel) which seemed silly to me as to why charge some money when no facility is being provided