This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)

The Lake of the Fairies (“Lago delle Fate”) is near Macugnaga, at the entrance to Val Quarazza, at 4.265 ft, on Mount Rosa.

It is actually an artificial basin dug when the dam to retain the waters of the Quarazza stream and produce electricity was built. This beautiful pool of water offers small beaches, wide soft meadows, and the awesome sight of Mount Rosa reflected in its emerald waters – unfortunately, the lake is not suitable for swimming.

Visitors can reach the lake after an easy one-hour walk along a dirt road, starting from the village of Macugnaga or the hamlet of Isella. The latter offers a large parking lot. Two are the actual path to follow: the Great Walser Path of Mount Rosa and the Italian Path.

The lake takes its name from one of the many local legends: in the moonlight, fairies walk on the water, while the gnomes, called “Gut Viarghini”, collect stones from the underground: if they hear someone coming, they’ll immediately freeze, turning into statues.
According to another legend, the gnomes look for gold in the ancient “Guia” abandoned mine – they want to bring it to the fairies who live around the lake, in exchange for blackberries and blueberry jam; the fairies would eventually use the gold to embroider their garments and prepare some magic dust for flying with the leftover.

Worth seeing nearby: before the lake, there’s the abandoned “Guia” gold mine; past the lake, there’s the dead village of Crocette, at 4.593 ft, and the waterfalls of Alpe Pissa.
Around the lake, there are two restaurants: Lanti and L’Alpino.

Lake of the Fairies is also mentioned on www.laghettialpini.com

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)