Andorra's lakes, which deserve a morning and which a whole day

Ask me what’s most beautiful about Andorra in summer and I’ll say the lakes without thinking. They’re glacial lakes, gouged out by ice, scattered across the high cirques and mirroring the peaks around them. There are dozens, and the best part is that several of the finest are less than an hour from a car park.

How many lakes, and where?

It depends on whom you ask. The fact sheet from Spain’s foreign ministry says about 60, Andorra Turisme says more than 80 lakes and tarns, and the Madriu valley’s own site counts over thirty in that valley alone. I say dozens, which is the honest answer. Nearly all sit above 2,000 m, in the cirques of Canillo, Encamp, Ordino, La Massana and the head of the Madriu.

Andorra Turisme picks out six groups, and they match the ones I’d walk to. Engolasters, the Juclar lakes, the three at Tristaina, the Pessons cirque, the Estany de les Truites in the Comapedrosa and the Estany de la Nou in the Madriu.

Lakes for a morning

Start with the short approaches. The three Tristaina lakes are at Ordino Arcalís, above 2,300 m, on a moderate 4.39 km circuit, with the first lake some 40 minutes’ walk from La Coma. The first Pessons lake lies 1.5 km from the Cubil car park at Grau Roig and opens the door to the whole cirque, covered in Pessons lakes.

For anyone who’d rather not walk at all, there’s Engolasters lake above Escaldes-Engordany. Andorra Turisme calls it the most accessible in the country, at 7 ha, and the only big lake below 2,000 m. You can drive up, or climb 1.9 km from Encamp. At Pas de la Casa, the Abelletes lake is 808 m from the bottom station of the Coll dels Isards chair, and it has the quirk of lying half in Andorra and half in France.

Lakes that need the whole day

The Juclar lakes in the Incles valley are my favourites in this group. The first is the largest lake in the country, at 21 ha, and you reach it in 4.57 km with 465 m of ascent, with a staffed hut on the shore. In summer you ride an electric train up the valley, which gives the day an outing feel from the start.

In the Comapedrosa natural park, Andorra Turisme suggests walking up to the Estany de les Truites as the best way to see its high-mountain plants and wildlife. The staffed Comapedrosa hut is right beside it, with beds and meals in summer, so you can do it as a day out or stay the night.

Up at the top of the Madriu valley, the Estany de l’Illa is the second largest and takes its name from a small island. From Grau Roig it’s 8.66 km, which Andorra Turisme reserves for experts. The Estany de la Nou, also in the Madriu, has an oddity, its water isn’t icy because it’s fed by groundwater. And in the Comapedrosa, the Més Amunt dels Forcats lake, at 2,714 m, is the highest in Andorra according to La Massana council.

Where can you swim?

It’s the question I get most, and the answer is short. At Engolasters swimming is strictly banned because of the water intake and sluice for the FEDA power station. At Tristaina, the official route sheet says swimming is allowed in summer around the Més Amunt lake, the largest of the three, beneath the Tristaina peak.

I haven’t found an official rule for the others, so I wouldn’t claim one. What I do know is that these are high-mountain waters, very cold even in August, and several feed hydroelectric schemes or have a dam, like l’Illa. I’d settle for dipping my feet.

When to go and how to plan it

The high lakes belong to high summer. Andorra Turisme’s window for anything above 1,700 m opens at the end of June and closes at the end of September, and in June there can still be snow on the way to the highest ones. At Tristaina the road also closes to traffic in the middle of the day in summer and you go up by gondola, so check the route sheet before you set off.

My approach would be one lake a day, always in the morning, when the water is still and the cloud hasn’t built up yet. With three summer days, Tristaina, Pessons and Juclar, in that order of effort. And if you have a spare one, a night in a hut beside the water. My pick of landscapes, lakes included, is in most beautiful places in Andorra.