Karna Lake near NH-1, Karnal, Haryana || A great place to stretch your legs and charge to electronic vehicle

Because of our frequent travels to and from Himanchal, we often find ourselves searching for interesting places to explore en route. And more often than not, these places tend to be in and round Chandigarh. However, this time, we made a stop near Karnal, and it turned out to be a good decision for several reasons. 

While this wasn't really the first time that we had visited Karna lake, before this, we hadn't been able to explore it as well. The lake is right on the highway, so it isn't much of a detour and there are clean restrooms and also a restaurant here. Earlier, overnight Volvo buses used to stop here for dinner or tea, but they have now chosen other stops. 

As per the legends, Karn (the legendary character from Mahabharat) used to bathe here and it was here that he have away his kavach to Indra, Arjun's godfather. The city of Karnal is apparently named after this lake, which is also referred to as Karn-taal. 

Another interesting fact about Karna lake is that the lake is 125Kms from both Delhi and Chandigarh and that is why it often serves as a midway halt between the two cities. The premises are clean and well maintained and you often find couples and families roaming around and enjoying. It seems good place for a picnic. 

We had reached here in the afternoon and the place was quite empty at that time. We parked our car right in front of the restaurant, as directed by the security guard and started exploring the premises. At that time, 90s bollywood music was playing on a speaker near the lake, which we found could either be for the benefit of the couples around or generally to make things lively. But we would have preferred it to be quieter.  

Some waterfowl were about and we could see some catfish in the water as well. One can also choose to do boating if they so wish. Otherwise, just a walk around the lake can be a good exercise for people who are travelling long distances by cars. We found it really refreshing. 

We did not try anything at the restaurant, even though it did seem like you could enjoy a cup of coffee here at a window table, overlooking the lake. It would have been a good experience may be. But since we had already had a heavy brunch and it wasn't yet time for tea. 

If you are on a long car journey that takes you through Karnal and are looking for a good place to take a break and stretch your legs, this place is highly recommended. Water does calm you down and since this place is clean and well-maintained, it will also help in destressing. 

Another motivation to stop here is that Karna Lake resort also boasts of a solar-powered EV charging station. While comfortable, anxiety-free interstate travel on an electric vehicle is still quite some distance away, it is comforting to know that steps are being taken in this direction: https://www.spinny.com/blog/index.php/ev-highway-delhi-chandigarh/. 

And steps are even being taken to support EVs in remote regions, such as on the Manali-Leg highway: https://www.autocarindia.com/car-news/manali-leh-highway-now-electrified-422275. It is interesting to see how this infrastructure is coming about in India.