The Laguna Grande de Peñalara is a lagoon of glacial origin located in the Peñalara cirque, in the Sierra de Guadarrama, just over 2,000 meters above sea level. It presents a small sheet of water embedded in a high mountain landscape modeled by ancient ice, with cliffs, wet meadows and rocky slopes that change a lot with the snow and the seasons. Its maximum depth is around 4.7 meters and is part of the set of wetlands of high ecological value of the Peñalara massif. From the immediate surroundings you can see the bottom of the cirque, the slopes that close it and, depending on the chosen route, the succession of the Laguna Chica and other glacial features of the massif. It is an interesting place both for its geomorphological reading and for the natural value of the whole, included in the National Park of the Sierra de Guadarrama and cited as a wetland of international importance within the Ramsar site of the massif. The visit fits especially well in spring and early summer, when the lagoon usually has a better water level and the environment shows more plant contrast. In winter and after snow episodes, the landscape gains visual strength, but access may require more caution and the terrain may be more demanding. In guidebooks and hiking routes it appears as one of the best known landmarks of Peñalara, both for its relative ease of access and for the quality of the high mountain landscape that surrounds it.
