Bala (Welsh: Y Bala) is a market town and community in Gwynedd, Wales. Formerly an urban district, Bala lies within the historic county of Merionethshire. It lies at the north end of Bala Lake (Welsh: Llyn Tegid), 17 miles (27 km) north-east of Dolgellau, with a population taken in the 2001 and 2011 census' of 1,980. It is little more than one wide street, Stryd Fawr (High Street, literally "Great Street").