Circo de Gredos
Granite walls.
Miguel Ángel Hontanilla Pozo — CC BY-SA 3.0 es · Merzes — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Frayle from Salamanca, España — CC0 · Manuel Velazquez — CC BY 3.0 · Rayodistancia — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Laguna Grande de Gredos is a mountain lake in the Sierra de Gredos, in the municipality of Navalperal de Tormes, province of Ávila, central Spain, about 17 km northwest of Arenas de San Pedro in a straight line. It fills a glacially carved basin in the Circo de Gredos. Great masses of ice in the last glacial period shaped the basin the lake fills, at about 1,940 metres. Its water is clear, it freezes in winter, and it is poor in nutrients. Sharp rocky ridges wall it in, and the summit of Almanzor, the range's highest peak, rises to the south. The average height difference between the lake and the surrounding peaks is more than 450 metres. Tourist pressure has led to calls for protective measures, and a mountain hut stands beside it. The clear blue lake lies at the bottom of a wide rocky basin, ringed by towering grey granite walls, with huge boulders and small green meadows around it. On calm days the peaks mirror on the water. Visitors reach it on foot along a long mountain trail. The path is rocky and steep in places and the mountain weather changeable, so start early, bring water and warm layers, and keep the place clean.
Granite walls.
The highest peak.
Freezes in winter.
Circo de Gredos, Navalperal de Tormes, Ávila, Spain
On foot along a mountain trail.
Yes, in winter.