It covers 190 sq km in extent at full capacity, and located some 60 km west of Jaipur, just outside prosaically named Salt Lake City . Sambhar is India 's largest saline lake; this vast body of glacial saline is on average just 0.6 cm deep and never more than 3 m even just after the monsoon. It stretches in length for 22.5 km, its width varying between 3 and 11 km. Several seasonal freshwater streams, two of the major ones being the rivers Mendha and Rupangarh, feed it. The vast, roughly elliptically shaped lake has been divided into two sections by a 5-km long stone dam. The eastern section contains the reservoirs for salt extraction, canals and saltpans. Water from the vast shimmering western section is pumped to the other side via sluice gates when it reaches a degree of salinity considered optimal for salt extraction.

The best time to visit is from October to March.

Reaching there is easy enough for Jaipur-based visitors; Sambhar Lake is within a day's trip. One can take National Highway 8 to Dudu and then head north to Sambhar. Alternatively, one can take NH 8 to Malhan and then ask for Phulera, which is just short of Sambhar.

For those wishing to stay overnight, hotel accommodation is available at Salt Lake City , from where jeeps can also be hired. There are some lake resorts also available and they provide good accommodation options.