Lake Engolasters, lake in Encamp, Andorra

Lake Engolasters is an oblong lake in the Encamp parish of Andorra at 1,616 m (5,302 ft), formed in a glacial depression and enlarged by a rock-fill dam at its southern end that gives it a depth of about 10 m. Its deep blue water comes from the East Valira and Madriu rivers, and the shoreline forms a 3.2 km stretch walked by hikers.

Documents from 1162 and 1176 record a settlement near the lake, close to the Romanesque hermitage of Sant Miquel d'Engolasters, whose 12th-century Lombard bell tower still stands above the water. In 1929 Andorra's General Council granted the hydropower concession to Forces Andorranes Societat Anonima, and a rock-fill dam at the southern outlet raised the lake about 10 m deep. The power station below in the Encamp valley was built between 1931 and 1934 and commissioned in August 1934.

Local legend says the lake was formed by a sudden gush of water sent to punish a woman of a nearby village who refused bread to a starving pilgrim said to be Christ. Another tradition holds that witches danced naked on the lake's shores, turning anyone who watched into a dog or a stone.

The lake is reachable via a hiking trail that climbs from the valley and is passable most of the year. Visitors should bring sturdy footwear and supplies, as the elevation and mountain terrain can be physically demanding.

The transmission tower on the lake bank was built in 1938 by journalist Jacques Tremoulet and radio manufacturer Leon Kierkowsky to run Radio Andorra, a station broadcasting amid a dispute over transmission rights. The lake itself is a reservoir held by a rock-fill dam at its southern end, about 10 m deep, and its mineral-rich water was used to generate power from 1934.