Imphal: floating lakes in India's northeast

Capital of Manipur, a northeastern Indian state culturally closer to Southeast Asia, Imphal houses a lake with naturally floating islands unique in the world.

The center, not far from Manipur's floating lakes, is comfortably explored by auto-rickshaw.

The Loktak Lake, the largest freshwater lake of northeastern India, hosts hundreds of 'phumdi', floating islands of decomposed vegetation unique to the world for their extent.

A few minutes away, the Keibul Lamjao National Park, built on the same floating islands of the lake, protects the last wild population of the sangai deer, endemic to Manipur.

Continuing, you visit Kangla Fort, the former royal seat of the Meitei sovereigns, with temples and archaeological remains within its walls.

As evening falls, the Ima Market, run entirely by women for centuries, sells fish, spices, and traditional textiles of Manipur.

The sangai deer, the world's only hoofed animal adapted to live on the floating islands of Loktak Lake, walks with a peculiar gait to avoid sinking into the unstable vegetation it traverses.

Ima Market, managed exclusively by women since ancient times, is considered according to local tradition among the world's oldest continuously active female commercial institutions.