Stopping on the MA-10 mountain road

The mirador sits right on the MA-10, the celebrated switchback highway that links Sóller and the coast with the monastery of Lluc and Pollença, and lies a short drive from the turn-offs for Sa Calobra. Reaching it means crossing the Tramuntana over sinuous mountain roads that are themselves the experience, and the viewpoint—just off km 31.7, at the end of a tunnel—makes the natural rest stop on that drive. There is a roadside parking area at the lookout, including a dedicated space for visitors with reduced mobility, so you can pull over without committing to a hike.↗↗↗↗

Most people make a short pause here: step out, take in the blue water and the peaks, watch for goats, photograph the scene, and move on. Cyclists, drawn to the same spectacular climbs, regularly stream past, so do park with care. As an open roadside viewpoint, the mirador is accessible around the clock and free to visit.↗↗

Beyond the viewpoint: walking the high reservoirs

If you have more than a few minutes, the reservoir is a gateway into the Tramuntana's hiking network. A simple rest area below the road lets you reach the water's edge and stroll among the stones and a small pine-and-oak fringe, and a stone's throw away stands the Refugi del Gorg Blau, a basic mountain shelter built in 1978 (and adapted for walkers with limited mobility) that serves as a trailhead for the public fincas nearby.↗↗

From here, routes fan out across the high lakes: the walk that loops the neighbouring Cúber reservoir, paths over to the Coma des Prat, the longer line down the Biniaraix gorge, or the old stone road that takes you into the sanctuary of Lluc. These trails are part of the island's Dry Stone Route, the GR 221, threading through a landscape the UNESCO World Heritage listing of the Serra de Tramuntana was created to protect—and the Gorg Blau and Cúber reservoirs lie squarely inside it.↗↗↗

A place that inspired painters and poets

Long before the dam, the name Gorg Blau belonged to a deep, gorge-like pool fed by a powerful spring on the old mule path between Sóller and Lluc, a spot whose wild beauty drew Romantic travellers, photographers and artists. It inspired a poem by the Mallorcan writer Miquel Costa i Llobera and the painter Joaquim Mir, and the original stone bridge was swallowed when the reservoir was created and the road rerouted through a tunnel. Today the flooded gorge is still remembered by the Torrent del Gorg Blau—also called Sa Fosca—declared a natural monument in 2003, a reminder that this blue water sits at the heart of the Tramuntana's most storied scenery.↗

Visiting: what to know

The mirador is best enjoyed on a clear, sunny day, when the reservoir's colour is at its most vivid; the lake's level also rises and falls with the rains, so its appearance changes with the season. Bring water, a jacket for the mountain air, and decent shoes if you plan to walk to the shore or set off on a trail, and give the roadside parking a wide, careful berth on busy weekends and in cycling season. Because this is Palma's drinking-water reservoir, the blue water is purely for looking at: keep out of it, and admire the goats from the path rather than startling them.↗↗↗