Khajjiar Lake is the small, oval pool at the centre of the meadow, fed by springs and lined with reeds. It is shallow — knee-deep in most places — and surrounded by a circle of cedars. The 12th-century Khajji Nag temple stands on its eastern edge, and a footpath traces the full circumference in twenty minutes.
The lake is not large or dramatic by Himalayan standards, but it gives the meadow its quiet, contained character. In the early morning, before the day-trippers from Dalhousie arrive, the surface is still and mirrors the deodars perfectly. Pony rides and zorb balls have unfortunately become a fixture by mid-morning, which is the moment to walk into the forest instead.