Rakwa Tso (Tibetan: རག་ཝྭ་མཚོ, Chinese: 然烏湖) is a lake located in Baxoi County (八宿縣), Chamdo Prefecture (昌都市), Tibet, China. The lake was created by a landslide dam and it is the source of the Parlung River (帕隆藏布).
Rakwa Tso covers an area of 27 square kilometers and has an elevation of 3,850 meters, it has long been a popular tourist destination in Tibet.
Surrounded by magnificent snow-capped mountains and forests, Rakwa Tso is just by the Sichuan-Tibet Road, the only way from Sichuan to Tibet.
Arza Gongla Glacier (阿扎貢拉冰川) is standing to the north of Rakwa Tso. Every time when the ice melts, water flows into Rakwa Tso, keeping the lake abundant.
Rakwa Tso is composed of three cascade-shaped lakes, which are divided into three areas. The three lakes are Yangcuo Lake (陽措湖), Pangcuo Lake (傍措湖) and Lenganjiabu Lake (冷安佳布湖).
Next to the parking lot, there is a hawker selling Mahua (麻花; Fried Dough Twist), but those Mahua look very old, Choumeizai doesn’t dare to buy them.
Wild azaleas blossom in a valley near Rakwa Tso, the scenery is amazing.
