Velnezers Lake

Velnezers, the devil's lake, is a small kettle hole in the forest of southeastern Latvia, around three hundred metres across and up to seventeen metres deep, with no stream running in or out and water of an unusual clarity and blue-green colour caused by the low nutrient load. Almost nothing lives in it: fish do not survive, plankton is sparse, and that emptiness combined with the colour and the steep wooded rim has produced a body of local stories about the lake being bottomless and connected underground. The water is very cold. A path runs around the rim and down to the shore, and the lake sits within a protected area with other kettle lakes nearby.

What you actually see

• The clear water - the blue-green colour and visibility of the lake.
• The kettle hole - the steep round basin left by melting ice.
• The forest rim - the wooded slope enclosing the water.
• The absence of life - the empty water the folklore rests on.

When to go

May to September for the walk and the colour, which shows best in bright light. The water is very cold for swimming even in August. Autumn colours the surrounding forest.

Honest expectations

The lake is small and the visit takes under an hour. The access track is rough. Swimming is cold and the banks steep. There are no facilities and signage is in Latvian.

Nearby

Kraslava lies southwest; the Daugava loops are west.