For the winter sports and skiing enthusiasts Spain currently offers some 1.000 Kilometres of quality marked trails and slopes situated in over 36 superb ski resorts half of which are proud owners of the Q awards for their quality tourism facilities and services offered. And all this set in a country that is second only to Switzerland with the greatest number of mountains.

The main skiing regions of Spain are located in Aragon and Catalonian Pyrenees, the Cantabrian, Iberian and Central mountains and the Penibetico mountain range in the south.

The Aragon and Catalonian Pyrenees in Northern Spain are the home of most of the countries leading ski resorts although the Sierra Nevada located in the heart of Andalucia in Southern Spain ranks amongst one the most popular. Sierra Nevada although the southern most ski resort in Europe has the longest winter season with skiers enjoying snow for almost 5 months a year. There is also a good selection of Ski resorts near Madrid, Galicia, Leon and Cantabria in the northwest and La Rioja and Teruel in the mid north.

Spain may not presently be in the league of the some of the Swiss, Austrian French and even some Italian resorts however the tide is definitely turning as Spain becomes one of the best value ski destinations in the EEC. Value for money with resorts offering quality slopes, trails, facilities, snowmaking equipment, ski schools, winter sports activities, accommodation and food are slowly making this country a hot spot.

Winter sports in Spain are managed by the Real Federación Española de Deportes de Invierno which manages the resorts across the country and ensures that skiers in Spain comply with the rules and regulations for mountain conduct of the International Ski Federation (FIS, Fédération Internationale de Ski)

For information on the FIS 10 rules of conduct: Click here 

The Spanish ski season runs from December to April, depending on snow conditions.

Many of the resorts offer a combination of pistes for downhill (esquí de descenso) and cross-country (esquí nórdico) skiing. Other mountain sports commonly available are paragliding, parasailing, hang gliding, ice-skating, snow shoe walking, sleigh riding and skidoo trips.

Heli-skiing is available in Spain, although illegal in France. It is a sport for the more advanced skier or snowboarder - a helicopter drops you at the top of a mountain and you ski down.

On the Slopes

Ski slopes - or pistes - are graded by difficulty:

Moguls are the bumps created by skiers as they turn on the snow. Although many people dislike the bumps some runs are left "un-pisted" so they turn into mogul fields where the experts can brush up their technique.

Snow parks, also known as terrain parks, board parks, freestyle parks, slide areas (or simply, parks) are areas on the mountain which are specially designed to cater for the freestyle skier or boarder. There are rails, jumps, slope-style, big-air and a half-pipe for the more daring to try their skate inspired acrobatics.

A lift-pass (forfait) is needed to ski in a resort.  Passes are available bought per day or per week.  Photographic identity may be needed when buying a lift pass.  Most resorts offer accomodation: hotels, apartments or chalets, and have shops selling or renting equipment.  Most resorts also have ski schools for all levels.