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About Andorra Grandvalira ski resort
Elevation 1300m to 2528m
205 km of ski area
70 ski lifts
18 green pistes
38 blue pistes
32 red pistes
22 black pistes
Scroll down to bottom of this page page for Grandvalira Andorra hotel bookings, webcams, pistemaps, snow reports, weather forecast, ski rental and other useful links
Grandvalira Andorra is the biggest ski area in Andorra and a good choice for great skiing near Barcelona with 70 lifts servicing 18 green pistes, 38 blue, 32 red and 22 black pistes bring the total to 110 pistes on a skiable area of 205km.
Andorra is a small country entirely situated in the eastern Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain. From Barcelona skiing in Andorra is just a 2.5 hour drive north west so it is a perfect destination for ski day trips from Barcelona.
Andorra has two big ski areas called Grandvalira and Vallnord. Grandvalira is the biggest of the two areas. See a map of all the Andorra ski areas. These two massive areas were created by combining many small and previously unconnected ski areas in Andorra. By creating Grandvalira and Vallnord, Andorra now has one of the biggest combined ski areas in Europe.
Andorra has two big skiing areas called Grandvalira and Vallnord and has also invested in modern lifts and new facilities making this tiny country a great alternative to the Alps and a very popular skiing area near Barcelona. A big difference between Grandvalira and many ski resorts in the Alps are short lift queues. Even at the weekend you can often ski for hours in Andorra without having to queue for more than a few minutes. Grandvalira Andorra will undoubtedly grow in popularity in the coming years and is ready in every way to cater for many more guests.
Of the two large ski areas in Andorra, Grandvalira is the biggest ski area and also one of the largest ski areas in the Pyrenees with 205 kilometers of pistes with 70 lifts servicing 112 ski slopes. Grandvalira also boasts the longest ski trail in the Pyrenees of 9.6 km with a vertical drop of 850m from Tossa de Llosada in the El Tarter sector at an altitude of 2,560 m down to the village of El Tarter at 1,710 m. The six ski areas in Andorra that are connected to form Grandvalira are called Pas de la Casa, Grau Roig, Soldeu, El Tarter, Canillo and Encamp. The lowest of the five villages is Encamp at 1300 m above sea level, and the highest village is Pas de la Casa at 2100 m. Most of the mountain peaks in the Grandvalira area reach an altitude of 2500 metres, so many runs are long and wide with spectacular mountain views. Ski resorts at this altitude are almost guaranteed snow from December to Apri and all the Grandvalira ski sections are seamlessly connected by a modern express lift system to give you over 200 kilometres of alpine pistes. Grandvalira can definately compete with Europe's top ski resorts and is among the top twenty ski resorts in the world.
The 110 pistes include 22 black runs and 32 red runs and many wide and inviting blue and green runs. Almost all runs are above the tree line. Many of the slopes have skiable freeride areas near the many prepared pistes, so the off-piste and freeriding possibilities are big and easily accessible, even to beginners. The area also offers 3 snowboard/freestyle parks and many exciting activities near the pistes. In the Soldeu and El Tarter basins you can enjoy trying or watching Audi 4-wheel drive cars accelarate up a steep mountain car piste, or 4-wheel drive buggies doing tight turns in the snow. Other activities at Grandvalira include dog-sledging, snow scooters, ice scuba diving, freestyle parks, speed skiing courses, mogul pistes and more.
The skiing in the Grandvalira area is comfortably varied. There are relaxed family runs in the Soldau area, and steeper and more challenging slopes over towards Pas de la Casa. There are red and black runs across the whole area and with fast lifts you can quickly ski to your favourite slopes. There are five freeride off-piste areas in Grandvalira. Three of the free areas - Canal de Encampadana - Canal de Les Solanelles - Bosc del Commellar - are accessible with the Encampadana ski lift in the El Tarter sector. In the Grau Roig sector there is a freeride area from the drag lift TK Pic Blanc and in the Canillo sector there are several freeride areas.
Andorra's main revenue comes from the 10 million tourists that visit Andorra every year and Andorra is careful to re-invest some of that tourist income on the ski slopes to make sure the skiers and snowboarders keep coming. The lift system is new and fast and offers both express chair lifts and 4 person gondola cabin lifts. The longest gondola lift is an impressive 6.2 kilometre ride from the village of Encamp to the heart of the Grandvalira ski area, making it one of the longest gondola lifts in Europe.
All the restaurants in the Grandvalira area are modern and functional with both fast food and a la carte choices and stunning views. The quality is good and prices are reasonable. Andorra is not in the EU and has yet to pass any serious smoking laws. But it appears that a number of restaurants and other public areas are starting to impose non-smoking areas – or prohibit smoking indoors altogether. But this is still on a voluntary basis and you will probably at some stage during your stay see people smoking in places that are now banned in the rest of Europe.
Where to stay? The fashionable areas to stay are Soldeu and El Tarter. The biggest village is Pas de la Casa, which is also popular due to the high altitude and many British tourists, whereas smaller villages like Canillo are quieter and perfect for families. Grau Roig only has one hotel so a bit isolated but the hotel is excellent and by the pistes. The entire Grandvalira area is family friendly, with plenty of activities and ski schools for children and beginners.
You can book hotels directly in Grandvalira on the links below via our partners booking.com and Barcelonayellow.com. There are no extra commissions. To reserve use your credit card which will not be charged until you check out.
NB! Barcelona Ski Tours only offer 1 day ski tours from Barcelona and back. We do not offer multiple day tours with accommodation. To organise multiple day stays contact your travel agency or organise yourself online. For transfers directly to the Andorra from Barcelona airport by bus visit Novatel bus company
Hotels Grandvalira ski resort Andorra
> Hotels in sector Pas de la Casa
> Hotels in sector Grau Roig
> Hotels in sector El Tarter
> Hotels in sector Soldeu
> Hotels in sector Canillo
> Hotels in sector Encamp
Website Grandvalira ski resort Andorra
> Website Grandvalira Andorra
Grandvalira Pistemap/Trail map
> Big piste map Grandvalira Andorra
> Interactive pistemap Grandvalira
Ski rental shops and equipment.
There are many local ski rental shops in Grandvalira area. Average price per day for full rental of skis, boots, sticks and helmet is about € 23
Ski pass prices Grandvalira, Andorra
2014 price high season 1 day ski pass adults is €44 for adults / €37 for children
> Ski pass pricelist
Webcams Grandvalira, Andorra
> Webcams of Grandvalira ski areas and villages
> Webcams Grandvalira ski areas
Weather forecast Grandvalira Andorra
> 5 day weather report Grandvalira
> Infonieve snow report and weather forecast
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