Babacashee
A beautiful lake that's hard to reach
Montargil is a well-known lake destination, mostly for people who like water sports. On paper, it's exactly the kind of place we usually love. The lake is beautiful. There's forest, soft hills and lots of water. But access was more limited than we expected. Many of the easiest spots on the lake seem to belong to campsites, hotels or other private facilities. We found only a few public access points, and two of them meant driving a while on a very bumpy dirt or forest road.
For walking, we only found one fairly short hike. Compared with other lakes we've visited, this didn't feel like a place for long walks along the shore.
Insects, ticks and warm water
In many places the forest comes right down to the water. It looks stunning and gives some natural shade on the walk. But at the end of May we were eaten alive. We wore strong insect repellent, and the mosquitoes and other biting insects still went for us. Aba had tick protection, and we still pulled several big ticks off him after each walk. If you come here with your dog, check them carefully afterwards.
The water already felt very warm at the end of May. Aba had a fantastic time anyway. He had a forest full of smells, muddy warm water to swim in, and the odd fish jumping out of the water. For us, the bites, the ticks, the limited access and the state of the water made Montargil beautiful to look at, but not much fun to spend time at.
Birds, then the walk itself
If you like birds, bring a big lens. Montargil is known for birdwatching. I saw black kites hunting and lots of other interesting forest and lake birds. So it's a beautiful lake, great for birding and probably great for water sports, which we didn't try. As a place to walk and swim with a dog, it wasn't one of our favourites. The rest of the video is the walk with its original sound.
Good to know
- Bring something to remove ticks. Check your dog carefully after every walk, even if they have tick protection.
- Bring strong insect repellent for yourself. At the end of May it only helped so much.
- Check the water quality before you let your dog swim.
- Some of the public access points meant driving a while on very bumpy dirt or forest roads.
Barragem de Montargil with a dog: questions
Are there ticks at Barragem de Montargil?
Yes, in our experience. Aba was wearing tick protection and we still had to pull several big ticks off him after each walk at Barragem de Montargil. If you bring your dog, check him carefully afterwards.
Are the mosquitoes bad at Barragem de Montargil?
They were for us. At the end of May we were eaten alive at Barragem de Montargil, even with strong insect repellent. Bring repellent for yourself anyway.
Is the water at Barragem de Montargil good for a dog swim?
Aba loved swimming in the muddy, warm water at Barragem de Montargil. The water already felt very warm at the end of May, and we'd check the water quality before letting your dog swim.
Is there shade for a dog walk at Barragem de Montargil?
Yes. In many places at Barragem de Montargil the forest comes right down to the water, and it gives some natural shade on the walk. We also didn't find any glass shards on the ground.
Are there long walks and easy public access at Barragem de Montargil?
Not in our experience. Many of the easiest lake spots at Barragem de Montargil seemed to be connected to campsites, hotels or private facilities. Two of the few public access points we found meant driving a while on a very bumpy dirt road, and we found only one rather short hiking option.