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From Spain/Portugal for Visitors:
Skiing
in Spain (and Andorra)
An article of mine describing the possibilities for skiing
in Spain and Andorra, the highlights being the Pyrenees and
the Sierra Nevada.
Andorra
A dedicated page of annotated links for this miniscule
principality.
Huesca
The northernmost of the three provinces of Aragón occupies
more of the Pyrenees than any other. A complete article about
Huesca: what to see, where to go, eating and drinking...
Sierra Nevada
The Sierra
Nevada's combination of southernness (warmth) and altitude
(cold) means it is often said you can ski there in the morning
and sunbathe on Granada's Costa
Tropical in the afternoon, and that is often literally
true.
Pyrenees - Aragón
There are two skiing regions in Aragón, the mountains
of Teruel and the Aragonese Pyrenees, contained in the province
of Huesca. The two ski stations in Teruel,
Javalambre and Valdelinares, are only worth visiting as an
excursion, perhaps from the Valencia region, but Huesca's
ski resorts are nearly first class, and good value for money.
Candanchu is the cream of the crop, here, but you could also
consider Astun, Formigal or Panticosa.
Pyrenees - Andorra
Andorra's
sources of revenue are duty-free shopping, smuggling, money
laundering and tourism, particularly related with skiing and
other winter sports, and its ski stations and resorts are
of a French level but with Spanish prices. Possible choices
include Pas de la Casa / Grau Roig, the oldest skiing station,
Pal -Arinsal, more suited for families, and Soldeu el Tarter.
Selected
external links:
General and Miscellaneous:
GoSki
- Spain
Brief information on the main Spanish ski resorts.
Infonieve
A Spanish-only site with very comprehensive information on,
apparently, all the ski resorts in Spain and Andorra. The
Swiss chocolate sponsor has disappeared, but Spain's Olympic
skier Paco Fernández-Ochoa continues to answer questions
from here.
Pyrenees
- Catalonia
Baqueira
Beret
Baqueira Beret is the largest ski resort in Spain, recommended
for serious skiers. Spanish-only site, though.
Boí
Taüll
Boí Taüll offers skiing nearly as difficult as its spelling.
It also has a descent from 2,750 metres, all the way down
to 2,000 metres. There is no English-language version of this
site.
Espot
Esquí
A minor resort, "set deep within the Parc Nacional d’Aigüestortes
i Estany de Sant Maurici, the only national park of Catalonia."
If it can have an English-language version, why can't Boí
Taüll and Baqueira Beret?
La
Molina
A ski resort near the Vall de Nuria, less picturesque, but
more serious. No English-language version yet.
Masella
Catering to ski aficionados from Barcelona. The English-language
version is not available.
Port-Ainé
A minor resort in Lerida, next to Aigüastortes, which
would seem to cater mainly to day trippers. No English-language
version and even more curiously, no Catalan version, either.
Port
del Compte
Another resort in Lerida, so local in interest its site is
only in Catalan.
Rasos
de Peguera
Yet another resort in Lerida with a Catalan-only website.
Vall
de Nuria
In winter, this very lovely nature reserve becomes "a
cozy ski resort for the entire family."
Rest of Spain
Alto
Campoo
A small resort in Cantabria, in most attractive surroundings.
La
Covatilla
A small, new ski resort in Salamanca, in the Sierra de Béjar.
When I say "small," I mean the town of Béjar
has three hotels. Perfect for ski addicts on their way to
or back from Portugal.
La
Pinilla
A ski resort in Segovia province catering to daytrippers from
Madrid, but much less frequented than Navacerrada and Valdesquí.
Manzaneda
Galicia's only ski "resort" has little to offer
the serious skier, but might be interesting in other ways.
Navacerrada
Navacerrada cannot really be considered a ski "resort" as
such, but it is very close to Madrid, only 60 kilometres away,
and so becomes terribly crowded at times (but it is also a
good place to come just to get a breath of fresh air). Site
under reconstruction, the last time I looked.
Nieve
de Teruel
A little surprisingly, Teruel has two ski centres (resorts
is too big a word), Javalambre
and Valdelinares,
both near the attractive Sierra
de Gudar.
San
Isidro
A ski resort in the north of León province, accessible
from Asturias.
Valdesquí
Valdesquí is another day-trip option (the best) for the folks
from Madrid, so it is not surprising that this site is Spanish
only.
Valdezcaray
The Basque Country's de facto ski centre is actually found
in the beautiful Sierra de la Demanda in La Rioja. Snow used
to be less than reliable, but snow cannons are now in place.
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