Gorg Blau Reservoir

The water lies at the bottom of a limestone valley, with Puig Major, the island's highest peak, on one side and Puig de Massanella on the other. The drive in runs through the mountains, and when the reservoir comes into view its colour explains the name: gorg blau is Catalan for "blue pool".

Before the reservoir, Gorg Blau was a gorge where water, a road bridge and sheer rock met. The Romantic poet Pablo Piferrer found "quietude and sadness" in its waters. Miquel Costa i Llobera wrote his poem El Gorg Blau here, and Joaquim Mir made a stained-glass triptych of the same name, now in the National Art Museum of Catalonia. The bridge went when the valley was flooded.

Today there are picnic areas and hiking trails around the reservoir, and the valley is quiet enough for long walks.

• Water: there is no drinking water nearby — fill up before you come.
• Toilets: free public toilets stand about 621 m away.
• Weather: the view is the whole visit; when cloud sits on the Tramuntana there is little to see.
• Layers: mountain weather turns faster than on the coast, so bring a jacket even in summer.

Gorg Blau lies on the mountain road to Sóller, and the last stretch is the drive through the Serra de Tramuntana itself. When the reservoir was built, the old bridge over the gorge was removed and the road was sent through a tunnel.

Two asphalted car parks lie about 455 m and 956 m away. Without a car, the nearest bus stop is Gorg Blau, about 657 m away; a second stop, Cúber 1 (Escorca), is about 2.3 km away.

Best: a clear morning or late afternoon in spring or autumn. Low sun picks out the rock faces above the water, and the cooler months suit the trails in the valley.

Avoid: days of low cloud, and the middle of a summer day if you plan to walk. In cloud the peaks disappear and the view that justifies the drive goes with them, while a summer midday in the mountains is hot going on foot.