Entry No. 33 — the Los Angeles file — filed under: witchy
Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine
A 2.5-acre spring-fed lake — the only one in the City of L.A. — sits a few blocks from the ocean on 10 acres of gardens, ringed by waterfalls, fern grottos, koi ponds, and white swans, with a Dutch windmill repurposed as a chapel. The grounds' centerpiece is a thousand-year-old Chinese stone sarcophagus holding a portion of Mahatma Gandhi's ashes in a brass and silver coffer. The 2025 Palisades Fire burned right up to the property, but the gardens and structures survived; the meditation gardens reopened to the public in August 2025 (free advance reservation required).
The story
You are driving down Sunset Boulevard, just a mile before it hits Pacific Palisades beach traffic, when you pull into what looks like a misplaced fairytale retreat. Dedicated by Paramahansa Yogananda in August 1950, the Lake Shrine centers around a 2.5-acre spring-fed lake—the only natural one within Los Angeles city limits. Long before Yogananda transformed the ten acres, real estate magnate Alphonzo Bell Sr. had cleared the natural bowl in the 1920s, and a later owner dropped a Dutch windmill onto the property to serve as a private home. Yogananda acquired the site and melded these quirky leftovers with waterfalls, fern grottos, and Indian lotus motifs into an open-air sanctuary for all faiths.
The site’s most extraordinary feature sits quietly along the lakeside trail at the Gandhi World Peace Memorial. Inside a 1,000-year-old Chinese stone sarcophagus rests a brass and silver coffer containing a portion of Mahatma Gandhi’s ashes—the only portion of his ashes preserved outside of India. Sent to Yogananda after Gandhi’s assassination in 1948, the relic sits steps away from a converted Dutch windmill chapel and white swans drifting past sunken stone grottos.
When the 2025 Palisades Fire swept down the coastal canyon, burning straight to the edge of the property, the shrine faced immediate destruction. Miraculously, the vegetation, lake ecosystem, and historic structures survived unscathed, reopening to the public in August 2025. It remains one of coastal L.A.'s strangest geographic juxtapositions: a place of intense silence tucked into a canyon crevice right off one of the city's busiest commuter veins.
What it's like
Getting inside requires planning ahead—you cannot just stroll off Sunset Boulevard without a free timed-entry reservation booked through their website. Once past the gate, the roar of coastal traffic vanishes. You’ll follow a gravel and paved loop around the lake, passing sunbathing turtles, floating swans, and quiet hillside benches tucked beneath weeping willows. Because this is an active spiritual retreat maintained by the Self-Realization Fellowship, respect the strict rules: dress modestly, keep your voice to a whisper, leave all food and picnics in the car, and refrain from feeding the wildlife.
The move: Stroll the lakeside loop slowly, feed nothing but your curiosity, and sit by the Gandhi memorial windmill watching the swans drift.
📍 Before you go Reopened after the 2025 Palisades Fire; hours can be limited and reservations may be required. Check the official site before visiting, and dress respectfully as it is an active spiritual site.
- 📍 Pacific Palisades
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: 17190 Sunset Blvd, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
Hours: Added 2026-06-23 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- The Museum of Jurassic Technology — Pair a tranquil afternoon among genuine sacred relics with an evening navigating Culver City's velvet-curtained labyrinth of obscure history and fabricated wonder.
- Mosaic Tile House — Trade Lake Shrine’s manicured, meditative spiritual symmetry for an overwhelming, bright burst of obsessively handcrafted mosaic art down in Venice.
- Center for Land Use Interpretation — Contrast a spring-fed spiritual sanctuary hidden off Sunset with the deadpan, minimalist scrutiny of how humans alter real estate just a few miles inland.
Good to know
Is admission free?
Yes, both admission and parking are completely free, but you must reserve a timed entry pass in advance on their official website.
Are Mahatma Gandhi's ashes actually here?
Yes. A portion of Gandhi's ashes was sent to Yogananda shortly after Gandhi's death in 1948 and consecrated in a brass and silver coffer inside a 1,000-year-old Chinese stone sarcophagus.
Why is there a Dutch windmill in Pacific Palisades?
The windmill was built in 1938 as a private home by a previous owner before Yogananda purchased the land and converted the structure into a chapel.
Can I bring food or picnic on the grounds?
No. Eating, picnicking, and feeding the swans or koi are strictly forbidden to keep the sanctuary quiet and clean.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Time Out · Wikipedia · religionnews.com · Official site
last checked: 2026-06-23