MAURITIUS, May 3, 2016 (CNN): Every year on the tiny island of Mauritius a great pilgrimage occurs. Thousands of Hindus make the rugged journey to a volcanic crater that houses the Ganga Talao, a lake raised up high above the Indian Ocean, for a touch of divinity. There are few similarities between the Ganges and Ganga Talao at first glance. One is a vast river coursing through South Asia, the other a placid lake. For Hindus however, the link that binds the two bodies of water is strong; spiritual and essential.
In 1887 a priest claimed to see the waters of Ganga Talao flowing from the Goddess Ganga in a dream — the same Goddess who personifies the holy waters of the Ganges. Word of this revelation spread, transforming Ganga Talao. A simple lake no more, it was now the embodiment of a Hindu god, connected directly to the mighty Ganges situated nearly 4,000 miles away.
Ever since worshipers have journeyed to the sacred lake, a cultural touchstone for the island’s Indian emigrants and a link to their South Asian past. Today it sits at the heart of the island’s most important Hindu festival, Maha Shivaratri.
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