Estany de l'Illa, the Madriu's great lake and its hut

The Estany de l’Illa is one of those places you earn. There’s no road or cable car, and even the shortest route asks for nearly 800 m of climbing and a mountain pass. In return you reach Andorra’s second-largest lake, at the head of the Madriu, with a staffed hut right on its shore. For me it’s the best night in the mountains you can spend in the country.

The country’s second lake

The official website of the Madriu valley lists the Estany de l’Illa as the second-largest lake in Andorra, behind only Juclar. Andorra Turisme says the name comes from the little island in the middle, which you see clearly as you look down from the Portella dels Pessons.

Part of what you see is man-made. The dam was built between 1947 and 1955 by seasonal workers who lodged in the old unstaffed hut, and its water partly feeds the national hydroelectric station. Other lakes lie close by, including the Bova, the Rodó, the Estany d’Encamp and the Forcat.

How do you hike to the Estany de l’Illa?

The shortest route leaves the Cubil car park at Grau Roig, next to a large glass-and-timber building. A path heads west to the first Pessons lake, and behind the restaurant a yellow-dot trail passes Lake Forcat and the Solana lakes. From the third Pessons lake you follow GRP and GR7 waymarks up a steep, winding slope to the Portella dels Pessons, where the lake comes into view. From there it’s downhill on the GR7. That’s 8.66 km, 790 m up and 392 m down, and Andorra Turisme grades it for experts.

The alternative starts at Les Pardines, at km 3 of the CS-220, and climbs the Agols valley before entering the Madriu. It’s 9.18 km but with more than 1,300 m of ascent, so I’d leave it to people who know the area. And from Escaldes, through the Madriu, it’s the first stage of the Coronallacs, 12.6 km and nearly 1,500 m of climbing.

The l’Illa hut

It stands at 2,488 m on the lakeshore, just below the dam, south of the Gargantillar ridges and the Pessons and Ríbuls peaks. It’s staffed and open all year, with about sixty places, 50 in the staffed section and 10 in the free part. Bookings go through refugidelilla.ad. It’s one of Andorra’s four staffed huts, with showers, beds and simple hot food, and the full list is in mountain huts in Andorra.

Staying the night lets you see the lake at sunset and sunrise, when the day walkers have gone. The Coronallacs route sheet notes that with no light pollution it’s a fine place to look at the stars, which makes sense.

Around the lake

If you stay the night, you’ll have half a day to wander without a rucksack. Close by are the Estany Rodó and the Bova lake, named after the bulrush that thrives in it, as well as the Encamp and Forcat lakes. The Coronallacs route sheet notes that the surrounding lakes draw anglers, which the Madriu permits with a licence. From the Pla de l’Ingla, a little lower down, you can see the Estall Serrer, the Port de Setut and the Pic de la Portelleta, the valley’s highest point at 2,905 m.

The Madriu’s buffer zone also has several unstaffed huts within a day’s outing, such as Ensagents, at 2,425 m between the Ensagents and Moreno lakes, or Montmalús, at 2,445 m on the shore of its own lake. On a clear evening, with no towns in sight, it’s the corner of Andorra that feels most remote to me.

Before you go

This is high mountain terrain. Officially, anything above 1,700 m is best left for the window from the close of June to the close of September, with May and October possible only when conditions allow. Carry enough food and water, wear proper boots and check the forecast. Your GHIC won’t help in Andorra, which sits outside the EU, and for a route graded for experts I’d make sure your travel insurance includes mountain rescue. If you’d prefer lakes with less commitment, the Pessons lakes offer shorter outings from the same car park, and they still give you a proper taste of Andorra’s glacial lakes.