Lac Bleu de Lesponne

Bagnères-de-Bigorre

Below the Pic du Midi de Bigorre, at nearly 1,950 m above sea level, the Lac Bleu fills a stern cirque at the head of the Lesponne valley. Its 52 hectares and its depth — 120 to 135 m according to the measurements cited — make it the deepest lake in the Pyrenean chain, which accounts for the density of its blue. As early as 1831 it was fitted with a diversion tunnel to regulate the flow of the Adour, making it one of the very first Pyrenean lakes harnessed for that purpose. The legend attached to the site, widely circulated in collections of Pyrenean tales, tells that a village of wealthy shepherds once occupied this valley: a beggar asked for hospitality there and was turned away everywhere, except by a poor cowherd who killed his only beast to feed him. In the morning the beggar had vanished; the cowherd found an immense herd at his door and, in place of the village, a vast lake of deep blue water. The story belongs to the very widespread type of the drowned city that punishes selfishness and rewards charity, of which the Pyrenees offer other versions, notably at the lake of Lourdes. It should be noted that this legend is attested chiefly by anthologies and regional popular websites, with no early scholarly source consultable online: it belongs to a transmitted oral tradition, not to any identified medieval text.

Lacs des Pyrénées — Légendes des lacs ↗

Getting there : Hike from the Chiroulet car park (around 1,060–1,090 m), at the head of the Lesponne valley above Bagnères-de-Bigorre: around 2 h 30 of ascent for 900 m of climb, on a sustained and in places steep path. Coordinates taken on the lake itself. Note: the lake's administrative attachment differs according to the source (Bagnères-de-Bigorre, Campan, or the communes of the Lavedan, which hold it in collective ownership); the usual approach is by the Lesponne valley.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound