Most national parks bring to mind dense sal forests, rocky canyons, or open grasslands anchored firmly to bedrock. In Manipur, however, one protected territory defies that mold entirely. At Keibul Lamjao National Park, the terrain beneath an animal’s hooves shifts with the current, forming what Manipur Tourism recognizes as the world’s only floating national park.
The sanctuary rests on Loktak Lake in the Bishnupur district, roughly 50 to 55 kilometers south of the state capital, Imphal. Loktak ranks as the largest freshwater lake in Northeast India, but its defining feature is not simply open water. Instead, vast stretches of the surface are blanketed by spongy, floating landmasses known locally as phumdis.
A Foundation of Floating Biomass
A phumdi is neither solid ground nor a simple weed patch. Over decades, aquatic vegetation, organic silt, and decomposing plant matter bind together into thick, buoyant mats. These living rafts can range from a few inches to several feet in thickness, buoyant enough to bear the weight of heavy mammals and small human settlements.
Because the roots of the vegetation do not anchor into the lakebed year-round, the landscape undergoes constant micro-movements depending on water levels and wind patterns. During drier periods, portions of the mats settle toward the bed to draw nutrients, only to float back up when water levels rise, maintaining a self-renewing wetland cycle.
The Last Refuge of the Sangai Deer
This shifting marshland serves as the final natural refuge for the endangered Sangai, or brow-antlered deer. Found natively only in this pocket of Manipur, the Sangai has evolved specifically to traverse the unstable ground. Its hooves are adapted to distribute weight across spongy vegetation without breaking through the surface.
Beyond the Sangai, the wetland sustains a broader wildlife community. Hog deer move through the taller reeds, while smooth-coated otters navigate the channels separating the vegetative islands. Between November and March, Loktak Lake also transforms into a haven for migratory waterfowl, drawing birdwatchers who track seasonal flocks arriving from northern latitudes.
Life on the Water: Phumsangs and Local Livelihoods
The ecological boundary between the park and human activity on Loktak Lake is narrow. For generations, local fisherfolk have built traditional thatched huts directly on the sturdier phumdis. Known as phumsangs, these floating dwellings allow fishermen to stay near their nets and fish traps for days at a time, forming transient communities anchored in the middle of the lake.
For travelers exploring the region, the elevated vantage point of Sendra offers a panoramic view across the lake’s patchwork of circular vegetation rings and open channels. State tourism itineraries typically recommend exploring the sanctuary at daybreak, when visitors can hire local canoes to glide quietly through the narrow waterways before wildlife retreats into the thicker brush.
Keibul Lamjao remains one of India’s most unconventional conservation experiments—a park defined not by stone and soil, but by living, floating turf.
