Palak Dil or Palak Lake is the largest natural lake in Mizoram and is situated near Phura in the southern part of the state. Oval in shape, it covers about 1 sq.km and is surrounded by lush virgin forests rich in flora and fauna. Legends abound about the origin of the lake. One version says that before the lake was formed, there used to be a big village here and a large serpent lived in a cavern in the vicinity and occasionally stole the villagers’ livestock. When it started stealing their children, the men gathered in anger and made a plan to kill the large snake. Using a huge fish hook and a dead goat for bait, they soon managed to catch and kill the serpent and then distributed its meat to every household for dinner. That night strange things began to happen. A widow living with her two children got the serpent’s head as her share and started cooking it in a big pot. After some time she looked into the boiling pot to find the eyes of the serpent blinking, rolling and watching her. Frightened out of her wits, she flung the pot away with the serpent’s head still inside it. Later, she heard strange noises and ran out of the house to find her doorsteps being flooded with water which continued to rise fastly. She took her children and ran away just before the water submerged the whole village, drowned all the other inhabitants who were sleeping and formed a wide lake that has come to be called Palak Dil. Legends aside, nature lovers are attracted by the surprisingly great variety of wildlife to be found in this remote area adjoining the Myanmar forests. It is a home to most of the common wetland birds and hill birds, and is believed to be a winter stop-over for migrating Pintail Duck while a few elephants still roam the surrounding virgin forests. Though a jeepable road connects Palak Lake from Phura, care has been taken to maintain and preserve it in its pristine state and environment.