The lakes sit at an altitude of 1370 metres below lush orchards in the Mehragaon valley.
Set amongst dense forests of oak and pine trees, Sattal is one of the few unspoiled and unpolluted freshwaterbiomes in India. These lakes are a paradise for migratory birds. It is home to a few camps being operated mostly by local people catering to tourists looking for outdoor vacations.
Sattal is an ecologically fragile mesotrophic group of lakes and under the impact of heavy environmental degradation. Extensive deforestation, dumping of non-biodegradable waste, uncontrolled urbanization of the catchments and nearby forest is harming the ecology of the area. This results in scanty rainfall, a decrease in the number of plant and animal species and rapid drying up of perennial springs. The lakes also suffer from a reduced oxygen content and high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus. Poaching has eliminated many wild animals. Khudariya Tal became Sukha Tal (Dry Lake) due to the leakage of water from its western extremity. An extensive growth of invasive plants such as Lantana, Parthenium and Eichhornia is also endangering the ecological survival of the lakes.
Flora and fauna
Biological diversity
Sattal is unique for its biodiversity and ecological amplitude. It is known to be a birding paradise and supports a number of local and migratory birdlife. It has 500 species of resident and migratory birds, 20 species of mammals, over 525 species of butterflies and over 11,000 species of moths, beetles, bugs and other insects. The flora covers a wide and diverse range of plants ranging from Bryophytes, orchids, rare climbing plants, ferns, lichens, fungi, medicinal herbs and shrubs. Each individual lake has its own unique Diatom index. The Trophic Diatom Index uses the composition of freshwater diatom assemblages to assess water quality and ecological status.
Sattal has many different varieties of fish. Mahseers (Tor tor and Tor putitora) are found here in large numbers. Labeo rohita, Cirrhinus mrigala, Schizothorax richardsonii and Catla catla are some of the other fish found in the lakes.
There is a butterfly museum built by Frederic Smetacek Sr at Jones Estate, now Peter Smatacek is continuing the research, which has over 2500 butterfly and moth specimens and 1100 species of insects that are found in this region.
Sattal Mission Estate and Methodist Ashram
The Sattal Christian Ashram was established by E. Stanley Jones (1884-1973), the evangelist and missionary. This Christian Ashram is situated on the banks of Sattal lakes, on a former tea estate. St. John's Church is part of this ashram and showcases a mixed colonial architecture. There is also a Sattal Christian Ashram chapel situated nearby. It was established in 1930 to introduce Christianity into the Kumaun region of Uttarakhand.
Subhash Dhara
There is a natural spring of fresh water arising out of dense oak forest west of Sattal that leads to a waterfall beyond the Sukhatal also known as the Bharat tal.
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