India’s best-kept secret is Lonar Lake, which lies tucked away on the Deccan Plateau. Lonar Lake is the only one of its sort in the world and is situated in the Buldhana district of the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra (about 500 km from Mumbai).

Its creation may be dated to roughly 52,000 years ago when an asteroid collided with Earth and left behind a crater that was 1.8 kilometres wide and 450 feet deep. The Lonar lake is a naturally salty lake that was created in this “impact” crater and nourished by monsoon rain and natural springs. This unusual saltwater lake, which is nearly round in shape and has no outflows to rivers, has a high alkalinity (pH greater than 10.5) that renders the water unusable for drinking, agriculture, and manufacturing.