Lacs du Carlit et la légende du miroir de Satan

Angoustrine-Villeneuve-des-Escaldes

The Lacs du Carlit are a dozen natural ponds of glacial origin, between the Lac des Bouillouses and the pic Carlit (2,921 m), in a listed site. Their altitudes range from about 2,137 to 2,330 m. Two legends explain their origin. The first, which Wikipedia cites without naming the author, says that the mountain people saw in these basins the remains of the sea of the flood; on the puy de Prigue, they showed where the ark had come to rest and where the mooring ring had been fixed. The second is reported by Marcailhou d'Aymeric in 1913: Satan, wounded when falling onto the dent d'Orlu, found at the Carlit a mirror forgotten by Venus. Furious at seeing himself ugly in it, he threw it towards the sky; the mirror fell back in eighteen pieces, which became the eighteen lakes, and its handle, planted in the ground, became the sanctuary of the Virgin of Saint-Romeu. These are legends, and their count of lakes does not match the present survey. Another human trace: at the end of the 19th century, the estany Llat was the centre of a fishery leased to the Aymar brothers, whose hut survives.

Getting there: From the Lac des Bouillouses: waymarked loops of 9 or 12 lakes (2 h 30 to 5 h) and the ‘désert du Carlit’ circuit (about 5 h) according to Wikipedia. Mountain hike, check the weather. Coordinates: ‘Lacs du Carlit’ marker from Wikipedia, at the centre of the group.

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

Ambient sound