Walk around Puigcerdà lake

Puigcerdà lake is a few minutes' walk from the central square, surrounded by a flat path, trees and summer houses. It is the short afternoon stroll after skiing, or the morning for those who do not go up to the slopes. There is no entrance fee or schedule: it is a public space in the town, open all year.

An eight-century-old lake

It is not a natural lake. The first document that names it is from 2 December 1260, when the monastery of Sant Miquel de Cuixà, owner for centuries of the plain of Rigolisa, ceded a plot of land beside it. It is fed by the irrigation channel that brings water from the River Querol, and for centuries it was the town's great reservoir: water for the home, for irrigation, for cleaning ditches and sewers and for putting out fires.

It was also fished, the mud was used as fertiliser and the sand for building. In winter ice was cut in blocks and stored in the ice well built nearby in 1642. At the end of the 19th century the first summer visitors arrived and the lake became a place for strolling; in 1956 Puigcerdà's first ice hockey match was played on its frozen surface. Its present shape, with curved banks instead of the old hexagon, comes from a renovation that began in 1991.

What to see on the walk

The whole circuit takes twenty minutes or half an hour, with no slopes. What entertains children are the animals: swans have lived here since 1928, there are ducks and, among the trees and hedges, squirrels. With luck you may see a grey heron or a gull. All around are the towers and summer houses of the late 19th and early 20th century, which are a good part of the charm of the walk.

In July and August boats are hired out for a turn on the water; the jetty is marked on the Puigcerdà tourist map. The official leaflet does not publish prices or hours for the boats: ask there or at the tourist office.

In August, the Festa de l'Estany is held around the lake, a festival over a hundred years old presided over by the Vella de l'Estany, which grew out of the Venetian-style night parties of the first summer visitors. Dates and programme change each year: check them with the Town Council before you go.

How to get there

From the centre of Puigcerdà, walk down to the north; the path goes round the water and can be done with a pushchair. Without a car, the Rodalies R3 train runs from Barcelona to Puigcerdà. In the depth of winter the lake can partly freeze: do not step on the ice. Dogs can do the circuit on a lead.

If you want to sleep with the water in front of you, the Hotel del Lago is on the same bank. And if you are looking for another plan without skis for the same day, the La Molina gondola to the Tosa d'Alp takes pedestrians up to the roof of the resort.