Ratera Lake

Ratera Lake or Estany de Ratera is a natural Pyrenean lake located in the Aigüestortes National Park. It is located at an altitude of 2136 m between the Cabana and Sant Maurici lakes in Catalonia, Spain.

Aigüestortes National Park is one of the fourteen national parks in Spain and the only one in Catalonia. Located in the heart of the Pyrenees, together with the parks of Ordesa and Monte Perdido and the French Pyrenees, it is a perfect representative of the ecosystems of the Catalan high mountains.

Ratera Lake

Ratera lake is very close to the beautiful mountain village of Espot. In this village you can take jeep taxis that come and go every hour and will take you up to the lake itself where you will appreciate the green and wild nature, beautiful and crystalline waters, mountains, marmots, and fir trees in an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity.

This is a classic route for Catalan family tourism since the beginning of the 20th century due to the beauty of the landscape and the easy access. To make the family outing more practical, it is best to go up to the lake in a jeep taxi. When you get to Ratera lake, you can decide to walk down to Sant Maurici lake, located about 45 minutes downhill. You can do this route along the path through the forest, not the one used by taxis, so that you can enjoy the incomparable beauty of the power of the Ratera waterfall, the great waterfall of the natural park with a drop of about 8 metres.

You can then enjoy the Mirador de San Mauricio viewpoint from where you can contemplate the beauty of this lake and peaks that are over three thousand metres high. There you can rest, see the landscape and take another jeep taxi to take you back to Espot.

In general, in Aigüestortes National Park you can see beautiful landscapes with rivers, ravines, waterfalls and marshes; 200 ponds of different shapes and colours and a great diversity of animal and plant species that live in this protected natural ecosystem, unique in southern Europe.

The Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park offers various activities throughout the four seasons of the year, including a guide service, snowshoeing outings in winter, nature days, exhibitions, talks and competitions. These activities are aimed at raising visitors' environmental awareness and preserving the area's ecosystem.

The village of Espot, the hub of tourism in the area, is a town with an excellent range of hotels, shops, restaurants and tourist services in the area. In fact, its main source of economic income is tourism thanks to the Espot ski resort and the boom in rural tourism. There are also several hydroelectric power stations in the area, the main ones being Sant Maurici, Lladres and Espot.

The beautiful landscape of the Estany de Ratera awaits you to delight you.