To say that Andorra is an El Dorado for skiers is obvious: with 72 peaks rising to over 2,000 m, the principality hardly lacks altitude differences... nor snow.
It even has the largest ski area in the Pyrenees, Grandvalira Resorts Andorra, bringing together three resorts (Grandvalira, Ordino Arcalís, Pal Arinsal) and totaling more than 300 km of slopes – more than roads!
The Grandvalira resort alone has more than 200 km for 140 slopes covering all levels.
This exceptional setting, of captivating purity, adds to the pleasure of a constantly renewed experience: skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, mushing are on offer.
And if you want to indulge in freestyle, the area has three snow parks.
On the family side, children are not forgotten since they have adapted circuits in the Kids Forest areas as well as activities to share with their elders, such as the zip line or the spectacular Magic Gliss slide and its 555 m descent.
Charming villages
In Andorra, everyone will also appreciate the bucolic charm of the traditional villages, centuries-old witnesses of local history.
Nestled under the snow cover, Cal Pal (the venerable stately house of La Cortinada) is reminiscent of an animated postcard;
it equals in picturesqueness the Romanesque complexes of the village of Pal – including the church of Sant Climent, a vestige of the 11th century.
Auvinyà is also worth the detour for its evocation of the Middle Ages... although the building was recreated in the 21st century.
And then there is Ordino, home to the Areny-Plandolit house museum: you cannot miss this marker of Andorran identity nor ignore one of the best tourist villages according to the World Tourism Organization , already labeled a biosphere reserve by UNESCO.
Magical nights
Nightfall does not necessarily mean leaving the heights.
So snow sports enthusiasts can extend their day by skiing at dusk on the La Solana slope, at Pas de la Casa, and hikers can snowshoe in the Incles valley.
The darkness offers lovers of the celestial vault optimal observation conditions... and the opportunity to have an astronomical and gastronomic experience at the table of the Coll de la Botella restaurant, at an altitude of 2,069 m.
La Borda de Sorteny in Ordino offers another unusual one that is well worth it, since you have to reach this refuge on snowshoes or on a skimo.
But its spacious terrace with panoramic view of the valley, its fireside atmosphere and the typically Andorran (seasonal) dishes reward body and heart a hundredfold.
Not all the stars shine in the sky: some light up the eyes of the guests before entering their memory.
We never forget a winter in Andorra…
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