Swim, climb, cycle, or park your camper van. The natural refuge in Coimbra district.

This article is part of the series about wild swimming in central Portugal.

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A billboard, with a picture too good to ignore, next to the IC8 road towards Pedrógão Grande whizzed by my car window. Not a brand or a product, but a place. The blue lake surrounded by steep rocky peaks resembled those in Catalonia. I repeated the name from the ad a few times to memorise it. As soon as I could, I tried to find the lake on the map, but puzzled, I couldn't - it was an area. "Look, we have this lake and those mountains, come and find it yourself," it was the hidden ad message, but the area is too big to simply drive around trying to find that lake, I thought, and I ignored it.

Then, in October last year, on my way back from Serra da Estrella via Covilhã, I saw the rocky peaks and the lake in the distance - it looked astonishing and strangely outstanding in the landscape around it. Later that week, I came back there to investigate it, and it turned out to be my new favourite place in the Coimbra district. The rocks are high, the lake is crystal clear, and the nature around is calming.

The nearest to the lake village welcomes camper van travellers, cyclists, swimmers, climbers, via ferrata enthusiasts, and even skaters. Tennis courts and organised forest paths hint that the place can get busy in the holiday season, but before and after it, everything is closed.

There is one main beach with a floating swimming pool (where in the season lifeguards are) and all standard amenities: cafe, BBQ stations, kayak rental, toilets, and so on. Beyond that, access to less organised beaches is possible and surprisingly easy. One downside is that the beaches aren't sandy, only rocks.

getting there.

The journey from Lousã or Coimbra's side to the lake is one of the most scenic in central Portugal.