Lake Bâlea is a glacial lake (formed in a glacial circus) located at an altitude of 2040 m, in the Făgăraș Mountains, Sibiu County. The dimensions of the lake are: 360 m in length, the surface of 46508 m2 and the depth of 11.35 m. In 1932 the lake Bâlea and an area of about 180 ha around the lake were declared scientific reservation.
Lake Bâlea is located about 77 km from the cities of Sibiu, 68 km from Făgăraș and 85 km from Curtea de Argeș. During the summer you can get there by car, on the Transfăgărășan road, and the rest of the time by cable car, from the Bâlea Cascadă chalet near the Bâlea waterfall. In the Făgăraș Mountains there are also the lakes Capra, Podrăgel, Podragu, Avrig, Urlea, etc.
In 2006, the first ice hotel in Eastern Europe in the form of a 16-seat igloo was built near Lake Bâlea.