Lake Tovel

The triangle-shaped Lake Tovel is located in the Adamello-Brenta Nature Park and spans a length of 1 km, a width of 500 m and a depth of 38.5 metres. Surrounded by dense forests and the majestic peaks of the Brenta Dolomites, Lake Tovel formed following a landslide in 1300. The Rislà stream, other than being one of the two inlets of the lake, with the rio Santa Maria di Flavona being the other one, creates a little waterfall near the lake. Lake Tovel is famous for its blue and green colour shades, however, it was thanks to its red colour that it gained its fame!

In past times, its water turned red during summertime, a natural phenomenon which has no certain scientific explanation and remains a mystery until today. However, this natural attraction is supposed to having been caused by an unicellular alga during its blooming period. Unfortunately, this unique event ceased to exist in 1964, perhaps due to a significant decrease in the concentration of this alga which still continues to live in the lake but in such a low concentration that it makes it impossible for the phenomenon to occur. Despite having lost its red colour and thus the feature it became famous for, Lake Tovel never lost its appeal and still remains a highly sought-after suggestive spot in the mountains.