Bâlea Lake

GPS Coordinates:
45.60365 N, 24.61730 E

Situated at 2034m altitude, the 46508sq.m and 11.35m deep lake Bâlea dates back to the ice age. It is part of a 180 hectare reservation which is surrounded by the following peaks: Vânatoarea lui Buteanu (2507m), Capra peak (2496m), Paltinu Mare peak (2398m), Muchia Buteanu and Piscul Bâlii. The reservation is the home of many rare plants, for e.g. the edelweiss, and many protected animals, e.g. the chamois, lynx and bald eagle.

The lake is populated by trouts. In 1904 a hostel was built on a peninsula in the middle of the lake. Later it burned down. A bigger building was erected on its place which became the most popular tourist lodge in the Făgărășan Alps. In the winter of 2006 Eastern Europe's first ice hotel was built on the side of the lake, having a reception, a bar, and rooms with French beds. The hotel was illuminated by fluorescent lamps. In the winter of 2007 the first ice church was built next to hotel. The ice blocks for the buildings were taken from the lake.

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