It was a beautiful Indian summer day, so our little family decided to walk to the Estany de Font Viva lake in the Pyrenees. The bluest sky and the colourful fall foliage made this an extraordinary hike. I was completely blown away by the most amazing landscape! Once at the lake in Font Viva, the scenery was even more picture-perfect. It looked like autumn reflected in the lake.
Autumn palette
Normally this hike takes about 45 minutes to the lake and the same time to walk back. Apparently, it is also possible to do a circular trail, walking around Estany de Font Viva. We took a bit longer as we also walked up and down the lake. The changing colours of the leaves painted the landscape in an autumn palette. And I just couldn’t stop taking pictures.
Sunniest part of France
L’Etang de Font Vive, as it is called in French, is situated in the Porté-Puymorens valley of the Massif Carlit, part of the Cerdagne area. Known as the sunniest part of France, La Cerdanya belongs to both France and Spain. The first part of the hike gave us a great view over the Lac du Passet. A promising start!
Tingling bells
The Estany de Font Viva hike only got better. There was a bit of climbing to do, but not too much. All of a sudden we heard the ringing of bells. Which made me burst into song “The hills are alive…”. It all fitted so perfectly. The kids, however, weren’t so thrilled. Then, suddenly we were surrounded by cows. A lot of cows. Luckily, these gentle animals continued on their way peacefully.
Scenic panorama
We continued at a leisurely pace. The children did twice the distance I guess, as they ran, clambered over rocks, came back to us and went off again. Tireless energy! As we climbed higher, we were surrounded by the most scenic panorama. Everywhere we looked, we saw green and yellow dots in the landscape, ringed by the mountains of the Massif Carlit. What an amazing view!
Mirror-like lake
Then we saw the lake in the distance. The water was so crystal clear that the trees reflected in the mirror-like still water. Truly breathtaking. And the perfect picnic spot. While eating our lunch, we humbly absorbed all of nature’s beauty.
