Yashwant Sagar

Yashwant Sagar is a large reservoir on the Gambhir River located about 26 km west of Indore in Madhya Pradesh. Created by the Yashwant Sagar Dam built between 1936 and 1940 under Maharaja Yashwant Rao Holkar II to supply water to Indore city, it is now one of the city's main water sources. Designated as a Ramsar wetland in 2022, it is recognized as an Important Bird Area and known for its biodiversity and scenic waterscape.

Visitors can expect a large, open reservoir surrounded by agricultural fields and scrubland with a dam structure at one end. The site offers wide water views, embankments and shallow wetland edges that attract migratory and resident birds in winter. There are no developed tourist promenades; the experience is primarily nature-based sightseeing, birdwatching and photography from the dam and reservoir banks in a quiet, rural setting.

Yashwant Sagar Dam was constructed on the Gambhir River between 1936 and 1940 under Maharaja Yashwant Rao Holkar II of the Holkar dynasty to provide a reliable drinking water supply for Indore city. It remains one of the two major reservoirs supplying water to Indore.

The reservoir is significant for its role in water security for Indore and for its ecological value as a wetland supporting local biodiversity and migratory birds, recognized nationally as an Important Bird Area and internationally as a Ramsar Site.