Grandvalira: the back story

About Grandvalira: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Ski Resorts Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Grandvalira began with one lift on Coll Blanc above Pas de la Casa in 1956. Today it is the largest ski area in the Pyrenees, seven sectors and 215 km of slopes running from the French border down to the valley towns of Encamp and Canillo, with family hotels, a five-star resort at the foot of the slopes and Andorra’s only MICHELIN star.

A lorry engine on Coll Blanc

In 1956 the businessman and ski champion Francesc Viladomat installed the first ski lift on the summit of Coll Blanc at Pas de la Casa, on the French border. It ran on a lorry engine and carried up to 450 skiers an hour, and from then on the resort added, on average, a new lift every year. Seven years later the first lift went up at Soldeu, on the other side of the Envalira pass, in a project financed by the Baró, Salvans and Torrallardona families.

Two resorts become one

The 1980s brought the first automatic snow cannons to Pas de la Casa–Grau Roig, and the Riba Escorxada sector opened above El Tarter. In 1996 the first eight-seat gondola in the Pyrenees began running and a new sector opened at Canillo; in 1997 Pas de la Casa–Grau Roig introduced the region’s first six-seat detachable chairlift. In October 2003 the two companies that ran the two resorts announced their merger, and the largest ski area in the Pyrenees took the name Grandvalira. In 2019 the new Peretol sector completed the domain.

A lorry engine, a ski champion and a border pass: the beginnings of the Pyrenees’ biggest ski area.

Seven sectors, one pass

Grandvalira today counts 215 km of slopes, 74 lifts and more than 500 certified instructors, with snow cannons covering 66% of the slopes, according to the resort. Each sector has its own character. Encamp is reached by the Funicamp, a 6-km funitel that climbs for 25 minutes to Solanelles at 2,500 metres. Canillo is the family sector, with Mon(t) Magic at the top of its gondola. El Tarter and Soldeu are the classic ski-in villages, Grau Roig is the high, quiet bowl below the Pessons lakes, and Pas de la Casa, on the border, is the liveliest town for shopping and nightlife, with a floodlit slope after dark.

A World Cup resort

Soldeu and El Tarter hosted the FIS Alpine World Cup Finals in February 2019 on the Avet and Àliga slopes, and the World Cup has returned several times since. On 6 and 7 March 2027 the Avet slope at Soldeu hosts the Audi FIS Ski World Cup Andorra 2027, women’s giant slalom and slalom: the seventh time Andorra has staged a World Cup event. Grau Roig is also the Iberian Peninsula’s only approved speed-skiing course.

Every budget

Andorra is strong value for families. Children up to 5 and skiers over 75 ski at no charge with proof of age, the beginner pass covers the green areas in every sector, and a day pass bought online in advance costs up to 15% less. Day prices are dynamic, so check your dates on grandvalira.com. At the top of the scale, the Sport Hotels resort at Soldeu offers a five-star hotel with ski-in access, a 5,000 m² spa and Ibaya, which has held a MICHELIN star since 2021.

Our advice: stay in Soldeu or El Tarter to ski from the door, in Canillo for the family sector and quieter evenings, or in Pas de la Casa for the nightlife. Come in December or March for the best prices, and remember that a pass of two days or more also opens Pal Arinsal and Ordino Arcalís.

Grandvalira in brief

From grandvalira.com (October 2026).

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Grandvalira: the back story before you go.