La massana

Transfer Time

2.5 Hours

Best For

Beginners & Intermediates

Skiing

63km / 32 lifts

Ideal For

Families, Groups & Schools

LA MASSANA AT A GLANCE

La Massana is a vibrant resort town situated in the valley below the Pal ski area. The ski area is connected by a fast gondola ski lift from the centre of the resort. The resort has grown quickly over the last few years and now has a wide range of shops, bars and restaurants - The Bar Telecabine offers a relxed vibe with some live music. The capital town of Andorra La Vielle with its vast range of duty-free shops and wonderful spa Caldea is just 15 minutes away.

la massana SKI HOLIDAYS

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Duncan's Quick guide to Pal - Arinsal

There are plenty of small cafes and bakeries in La Massana for a quick coffee and croissant before taking the bubble lift from the centre of the resort up to the ski area. The top of the bubble is where the ski school meets and there are a couple of ski hire shops here as well. The blue piste down to the Serra quad chair is a nice warm up. Fromt he top to the chair i take one of the red pistes down (there is a blue alternative) to the El Cubil 6 man chair. At the top, take a few minutes to walk up to the peak - not far at all - for some stunning views over the whole of Andorra. Then its on down to La Botella the race piste is particularly good! A cable car links the Pal ski area with Arinsal. Arinsal offers open skiing whetre are most of Pal's pistes are tree lined. In good conditions the off piste underneath the cable car back to La Botella is fabulous though it always involves a little push along the old smugglers road! My favourite lunch spot is La Botella, then its up the chairlift and a a run down La Comellada which is one of the steepest black runs in Andorra. The runs back from the top of Pic del Cubil back to the base station at Pal is a lovely cruise along the ridge starting with a red then ending on a blue. 

WHY WE LOVE La Massana


  • Vibrant traditional Andorran working town
  • Perfect for family holidays and groups
  • Lots of other activities available like snow-showing, horse riding and fat biking

Beginners

The Vallnord ski school meets at the top of the bubble lift with group lessons starting at 10am. Lessons are taught by English speaking instructors in small groups. The nursery area is gentle, wide and open and this helps to quickly build confidence allowing you to tackle the green and blue runs nearby.

Intermediates

Intermediate skiers will thrive in Vallnord. Start the week cruising blues and red runs in Pal – try the FIS Slalom run down to Coll de la Botella . Take the cable car up to Pic Negre to access Arinsal. Let the skis run down La Solana which links in to Les Marrades - over 5kms dropping 1000m to the Joseph Serra chair lift.

Arinsal offers a range of blue, red and from La Capa a steep but open black run which all end at the mid station.

Your ski pass covers 1 day in Arcalis which is served by a free ski bus from La Massana.

Advanced

First things first, don't be put off by the piste map! We were and it is something that we regret. While Pal and Arinsal are generally better known as beginner/intermediate resorts you will be surprised at the technical level of some of its runs. Let your skis carve up the long perfectly groomed reds; Corpalance, Fontanals and Cubil in the trees over in Pal are fabulous. Heading over to Coll de la Botella opens up longer reds and the FIS race piste. Have a crack at La Comellade, a steepish black through the trees down to Els Fontanals.



You'll need to spend a few days up at Arcalis. Arcalis is fast becoming a freeride mecca of European skiing and the ski area has won all sorts of awards as well as hosting a round of the Swatch Freeride tour (other rounds are held in Chamonix, Alaska and Verbier) which just shows what high regard the freeride community have for Arcalis.

Family Skiing

Val Nord is perfect for skiing with the family. British run ski schools, wide open slopes with some technical slopes to keep the faster skiers happy. Over at Arinsal all runs come back to the Comallemple so there is no chance of anyone getting lost even if they take a different run down. Pal offers the protection of skiing in the trees so even on snowy days you can enjoy wide gentle runs served by fast chairlifts.


Ski Schools

Vall Nord has three ski schools - one in each sector and employs over 250 instructors. Many are British and the influence of BASI (British Association of Snowsport Instructors) is very apparent throughout the ski schools. Class sizes are no more than 10 and all levels are catered for. Private lessons, guiding and off piste freeride are also available.


Ski Hire

We use eSport Rossell for all our guests' ski hire. They have shops in La Massana and at the top of the bubble lift in Pal .


Free Ski Bus

Vall Nord operates a free ski bus that connects Andorra La Vielle (the capital of Andorra) with La Massana (to ski in Pal) and Arinsal. The ski bus runs every 15 minutes between Andorra La Vielle, La Massana and Arinsal. There is also an evening bus down to and from Andorra La Vielle - for shopping and to visit Caldea - the fabulous spa swimming pool. 17:15pm.

In the Snow >

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