Holiday visit - Boadella i les Escaules dam and lake

The area north of the city of Figueres is sadly often overlooked by some holiday makers who are making their way south to the delights of Catalonia and Spain, or those heading north to explore the Langdoc region of France. They don't know what they are missing.


Pictured above is the Hydroelectric dam at Boadella i les Escaules here the dam governs the waters of the River Murga as it flows through the Alt Empordà towards the Costa Brava coast and the blue waters of the Mediterranean sea.


Behind the dam is a fresh water lake providing water sports opportunities and swimming. If you have never swam in fresh water you will find this a very pleasant experience. Please remember you may be drinking this water later in your holiday!


The shores of the  River Murga are covered with sweet smelling Fir pine trees and the spectacular Cork Oak trees. If you explore a little on foot you will see evidence of the stripping of cork from those trees, to supply the wine trade with traditional cork bottle stoppers. It is unsurpassed as a material.

The stripping of the cork bark is a summer occupation, in the winter the trees are exploited for charcoal production. The pine tree's resin is used in the paint and varnish manufacturing sector.


Walking in the foothills of the Pyrenean mountains above the dam it is on rare occasions to spot the rare Pyrenean bear. If you meet the bear you may need those cooling waters below.

The Alt Empordà district of Catalonia

This map shows the air routes used by Ryanair to connect with Girona airport just 35 kms away from your holiday villa.




The Alt Empordà district of Catalonia is in the far north-eastern sector of Spain, where the Pyrenees tumble down the Albera sierra to meet the eastern shoreline of  the blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea. It marks the beginning of the Costa Brava and the peninsula of Cap de Creus.  Here the pretty villages of Portbou, Colera, Llançà, El Port de la Selva, Cadaqués and Roses; cling to the ‘wild coast’ (Costa Brava) around the Cap de Creus natural park. 

The rivers of the Muga and the Fluvià flow from the highlands of the Alt Empordà into the wide basin that is the Gulf of Roses. Over the centuries silt carried by the rivers has formed a vast alluvial plain framed by a mountainous backdrop and craggy coastline. The resulting rich waters of the Gulf of Roses are justly famous for producing high quality seafood which is proudly served in local restaurants along the Costa Brava. 

Castelló d'Empúries former capital of the area and its Romanesque-Gothic church of Santa Maria dominates the marshy coastal area which forms the Aiguamolls de l'Empordà Natural Park wetlands, which are the breeding grounds for many bird species. Empuriabrava a modern and vibrant tourist resort was carved out of the marsh land at the mouth of the Muga River it boasts more boating canals than Venice. South of the gulf are to be found the Greco-Roman remains of the mediaeval county once known as Empúries; and the once small fishing village of L’Escala, home of the popular L’Escala anchovies; now a busy tourist destination in its own right.