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Mirador del Embalse del Gorg Blau

The Mirador del Embalse del Gorg Blau is a roadside lookout in Escorca, high in Mallorca's Serra de Tramuntana, thrown open across a reservoir that seems improbably blue for a Mediterranean island. The lake sits boxed between rocky mountain walls, and in clear sunlight its water shifts through intense emerald and cobalt tones that make the brief pull-off one of the most rewarding stops on the island's great mountain road. What you are looking at is a working water supply, not a wild lake: the Gorg Blau dam was built in the early 1970s to gather rain and meltwater from the high Tramuntana and carry it down to tap the city of Palma's drinking water. That purpose shapes the visit—the colour and the calm mountain air are the draw, but the water itself is reserved, and swimming is not permitted.