This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).
Boosted by a growing awareness of the mental and physical health benefits of wild swimming, lakeside adventures have captured the imaginations of people keen to take the plunge. From glacial Alpine tarns to tropical jungle-wreathed lagoons, lakes can boost moods, reconnect us with the elements and help us to press the reset button. They also offer a wealth of options for intrepid travellers. Whether it’s canoeing across a mountain-clasped lake in Canada’s Rocky Mountains, diving down to a ghostly petrified forest in Kazakhstan, fishing in Finland’s Lakeland as ospreys soar overhead or hiking up to the world’s clearest lake in New Zealand, these activities and excursions promise adventure while simultaneously soothing the soul.
1. Lake Louise, Canada
Best for: canoeing
For a taste of Canadian wilderness, few places rival Banff National Park in the Rocky Mountains, where grizzly bears amble through pine and spruce forests, mountains loom overhead and jewel-like lakes dot the landscape — the most scenic of which must be Lake Louise. Hemmed in by rugged, snow-cloaked mountains, this glacier lake sits at 5,200ft, just below Mount Victoria and right on Alberta’s border with British Columbia.
While you can admire the lake’s brilliance from its shores, you’ll get a wholly different perspective by grabbing a paddle and canoeing in silent wonder across its waters, your gaze forced upwards to the parade of towering peaks and pearly shimmer of the hanging Victoria Glacier. The startling azure colour of the water can be attributed to light reflecting off small particles of ‘rock flour’ (glacial silt) carried down from glaciers above.
Canada’s glacier lake sits at 5,200ft, right on Alberta’s border with British Columbia.
Photograph by E+, Getty Images
2. Blue Cave, Greece
Best for: subterranean boating
Carved over time by the erosive force of the sea, the entrance to the Blue Cave, near the tiny island of Kastellorizo in the Dodecanese, appears almost concealed until one enters its confines. The roof collapsed thousands of years ago following an earthquake, and now when the sun is low, light filtering through the ceiling gives the chamber an otherworldly quality, with intense blue hues reminiscent of an Yves Klein painting. With passengers ducking or lying flat on their backs, tiny boats navigate narrow passages in the rock before a vast chamber reveals itself, its roof reaching heights of 115ft.
On hot summer days, the opportunity to swim beneath the cave’s stalactites provides a refreshing escape from the heat. Near the coast of Turkey, the island of Kastellorizo is remote and peaceful, home only to a scattering of dwellings and a few characterful harbourside tavernas.
3. Lake Atitlán, Guatemala
Best for: hiking
With volcanoes, waterfall-filled tropical forests and richly cultured Maya villages hugging its shores, Lake Atitlán in Guatemala’s southwestern highlands is a hiker’s paradise. Measuring 1,120ft at its deepest point, the lake fills the crater of an enormous volcano that blew its top around 85,000 years ago.
The three volcanoes that guard its shores are ideal for trekking enthusiasts, and the oldest, San Pedro, last erupted around 40,000 years ago. The route to its summit is a five-and-a-half-hour hike that passes coffee plantations and avocado farms to enter cool cloud forest alive with exotic birds like the endangered horned guan. More challenging still is Volcán Tolimán, an ascent of 10,361ft that involves starting at dawn and trekking up forested slopes to a shallow crater and the remains of ancient lava flows.
Hardest of them all, however, is 11,598ft-high Volcán Atitlán, one of Guatemala’s most extreme hikes up steep, rugged terrain. The rewards are worth the climb: glimpses of rare birds like the electric blue-green quetzal and phenomenal summit views over Lake Atitlán and a ripple of volcanoes to the Pacific Ocean glimmering in the distance.
4. Lake Kaindy, Kazakhstan
Best for: diving
A drop of turquoise in Kazakhstan’s snow-capped Tian Shan mountains, Lake Kaindy requires an off-road adventure to reach, but it’s worth braving the bumpy ride from the village of Saty, a 35-minute drive away. This 1,300ft-long, 98ft-deep lake was created by a huge earthquake in 1912 that triggered a limestone landslide and formed a natural dam. Fed by a glacial river, this lesser-known star of the Kolsai Lakes National Park looks like something from a Tolkien fantasy. The slender trunks of a submerged Picea schrenkiana (Asian spruce) forest rise from its depths to spear the flawless blue sky.
Under the water, it gets more otherworldy still. The frigid, oxygen-rich water has frozen the trees in time, protecting them from decay, while branches swathed in thick curtains of algae create an underwater labyrinth so ghostly locals often refer to it as ‘dead lake’. Due to its altitude and the depth of the water, with divers descending to around 30ft, this is a realm for experts only. While swims are tempting, given the temperature, it’s likely to be a quick plunge: temperatures get to a maximum of 6C even in the summer. In winter, meanwhile, the lake ices over entirely.
5. Lake Päijänne, Finland
Best for: fishing
Finland, viewed from above, resembles a tapestry woven from forests and lakes. With almost 190,000 lakes scattered across the country, it’s almost impossible to explore without encountering these sprawling bodies of water. Among them, Lake Päijänne stands out as the second-largest, resembling a fjord nestled within the expansive Finnish Lakeland. Located at the heart of the national park that shares its name, Lake Päijänne stretches for around 80 miles, its waters bordered by ancient spruce, pine and silver birch forests; speckled with islets and sandy esker islands, shaped during the last Ice Age. When the midnight sun burns, Finns come to slip back to nature in lakefront cabins or pitch tents on remote stretches of shoreline.
Birds like herons, ospreys and lesser black-backed gulls flock here for the fish, and whether casting lines from the shore, navigating the waters by boat or venturing out to the lake’s numerous islands, fishing enthusiasts, too, are rewarded with the chance to hook prized species such as perch, zander, pike and brown trout. The lake’s reputation as a prime fishing destination is boistered by its rich underwater ecosystem and the surrounding landscape. Don’t miss the chance to swim, with water temperatures rising to 20C in summer.
New Zealand’s Blue Lake is steeped in Māori history. Rituals and ceremonies were once performed here to honour ancestors and seek guidance from the natural world.
Photograph by 500px Plus, Getty Images
6. Blue Lake, New Zealand
Best for: paddleboarding
Lake Tikitapu in the Rotorua Bay of Plenty region on New Zealand’s North Island is known as Blue Lake thanks to its dazzling aqua hue, created by pumice and rhyolite on the lake bed. Skirted by the native bush and exotic redwoods of Whakarewarewa Forest, this volcanic crater lake is steeped in Māori history. Their spiritual connection to the land is profound, and for centuries Tikitapu has been a place of spiritual reverence, where rituals and ceremonies were performed to honour ancestors and seek guidance from the natural world.
Visibility is excellent, making Blue Lake an ideal place to swim, but hiring a paddleboard will open up remote reaches of the water. Secluded coves dot its shoreline, as do caves that flicker with glow worms after dark. While paddling, look out for native birds like the tui and fantail flitting through the trees along the shoreline.
7. Lake Constance, Europe
Best for: cycling
Straddling Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Lake Constance — or Bodensee, as it’s known locally — is Central Europe’s third-largest freshwater lake, and there’s no better way to see it than by bicycle. The 162-mile Bodensee-Radweg (Lake Constance Cycle Path) makes a spectacular loop of the lake, passing orchards, farms, vineyards, bird-rich wetlands, baroque pilgrimage churches and medieval castles. Stay in historic towns like Konstanz on the northwest shore and break up the pedalling with a swim. Particularly pretty is Hörnle beach; avoid pausing there in July and August, when it’s very crowded.
8. Great Lake of Alqueva, Portugal
Best for: stargazing
Among the olive groves, cork oak forests, vineyards and snow-white towns of rural Alentejo is Portugal’s Great Lake of Alqueva, Europe’s largest reservoir. Sitting close to the Spanish border, this 97sq-mile lake has beaches and islets to explore by kayak, with castle-topped hill towns to hike to afterwards. The world’s first Starlight Tourism Destination and an official dark sky reserve, Alqueva shines at night. With a pair of binoculars, it’s possible to spot constellations, distant galaxies and meteor showers. For more serious stargazers, use the telescopes at Monsaraz observatory, or opt for a starlit canoe tour.
9. Laguna Colorada, Bolivia
Best for: wildlife watching
On the Bolivian altiplano, Laguna Colorada is a sight to behold. This shallow, 23sq-mile lake sits 14,035ft above sea level, the pink-red tint of sediment in the water contrasting with the blue skies and snow-streaked volcanoes. Filled with algae and plankton, its mineral-rich waters draw thousands of flamingos, including three of the world’s six species (Chilean, Andean and the rare James’s flamingo). Watch them skim over the water at sunset, with the Andes towering behind.
Published in the Lakes & Mountains Collection 2024, distributed with the Jul/Aug 2024 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK).
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