When July hits in the North and you still haven’t had enough of your skiing experience, then it’s time to set off to South America. This is because, as the summer season starts in the Northern Hemisphere, South America slowly transforms into the best spot to prolong your ski season.
Known for its sweeping ski resorts, luxury catered ski chalets, many skiers set off to the South to take pleasure in the most exquisite ski spots between the months of July to October. Whether you want to do this venture for the first time, or you’re an intermediate who wants to have a new spot for a ski, surely you want to be in the best places to make it happen; and this article is what it’s all about.
From the countless ski resorts in this region – Argentina and Chile to be specific – we are trimming down this long list to five of the best places for you to make the most out of your ski experience.
5: La Parva, Chile
La Parva is a fairly small ski resort at only 400 hectares. Despite this, it is one of the preferred ski resorts in Chile for its accessibility (only 50-kilometer distance from Chile’s capital). Skiers can enjoy the exclusive feel of the resort, and the luxury apartments and condos built in the area. Half of the runs are ideal for immediate skiers and a few runs for beginners.
4: Chapelco, Argentina
With just a 20-minute travel from the town of San Martin de los Andes, Chapelco is just another relatively small ski resort in Argentina but with much to offer. It only has 140 hectares of skiable space, even so, its less touristy location, and the various trail difficulties, help skiers enjoy their own space on specific slope levels. It also owns a thrilling 730-meter vertical drop among other enthralling trails.
While at it, skiers will be surrounded by the vivid view of Lake Lacar and Volcan Lanin. All these and its modern amenities, make this place an ideal ski vacation spot.
3: Portillo, Chile
Portillo is one of the famous ski places along the Andean Mountains which dates back from the early 1940s. Known for its steep slopes, it has continuously been visited by many tourists and skiers. But to avoid the crowdedness of its 500-hectare ski area, and for exclusivity, the persons-in-charge in Portillo limits the number of guests on a day-to-day basis. This becomes both an advantage and disadvantage in some way; for you to experience skiing in this resort, you may need to do your reservations early on. This skiing spot is ideal for advanced skiers because of its steep slopes but a few trails for all proficiencies are also available.
2: Valle Nevado, Chile
The grandest ski resort in Chile, and one of the most modern in South America, Valle Nevado spans 2,500 hectares of ski area. This vast area of various runs can be enjoyed by skiers at more than 3,000 meters above sea level. Apart from that, this ski resort is interconnected to neighboring ski resorts of La Parva and El Colorado, which means wider skiable area for the tourists. Similar to Portillo, there is a limit to the number of day skiers to maintain exclusivity of the area. Valle Nevado also ensures they kept up with advanced equipment rolling out; recently they installed new modern chair lifts in the resort among other new amenities.
1: Bariloche, Argentina
Cerro Catedral, or more known to skiers as simply Bariloche (town in Patagonia, Argentina), is probably the most visited ski spot in South America. It is famous for its huge skiable area, spanning 1,200 hectares, with more than 50 lifts around the area. As it is constantly being modernized, visitors can be assured that he resort is complete with the necessary skiing amenities. To top it off, unlike other ski resorts, Bariloche is a good spot for all ski proficiency levels with the various runs in its ski area.
Apart from skiing, tourists can even merge this vacation with side trips like going to bars, restaurants and cafes; and there is a wide array of hotels for accommodation from budget rentals to 5-star hotels.