Valle Nevado is one of those ski resorts that you should go and visit. That is why I have put together this must-read guide to Valle Nevado. Located high in the Chilean Andes, to the west of Santiago, this is the centre of the Tres Valles de Chile (the 3 Valleys of Chile). Here you feel that you are definitely skiing in high mountain.
The ski season runs from late June till early October, but it can be movable depending on snowing conditions.
The Andes are majestic, from whichever side you see them. Valle Nevado counts with the best sunsets you will ever see on the mountains. The pinks, oranges and yellows of the sky are jaw-dropping. This is caused by the smog in Santiago (believe it or not!), but even if smog is awful, up in Valle Nevado you have a spectacle of light. Plus the smog gets stuck down in the valley!
Location – The Must Read Guide to Valle Nevado
Valle Nevado is located 46 km west of Santiago. You need to take the road out of Santiago and the paved road to Farellones for 32 km until the diversion the last portion to Valle Nevado.
How to Get There – The Must Read Guide to Valle Nevado
You do have to be careful driving up (and down!)- the 59 hairpin turns to get to the resort. Read beforehand the timing of going up and down the road, as depending on the time of the year, and during all weekends during the ski season, there are early hours to go up and hours in the day to go down. The road is a bit thin, and when there is heavy traffic, when people finish their ski week, it could be too tricky to have traffic both ways.
As you will not be driving while in Valle Nevado, you might be better off taking a shared or private transfer to get up the mountain and back.
Arriving in Santiago de Chile. The Must Read Guide to Valle Nevado
When arriving at the Santiago airport, note that if coming from Australia and Mexico, you will be charged a reciprocity tax – that needs to be paid prior to passing passport control. Payment is in cash with USD or with credit cards.
The value of the fee as of May 2024 is – for Australia USD 117, and for Mexico, USD 23.
Other countries do not need to have a visa to come to Mexico. Citizens of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay can only show their identity card to travel.
Staying in Santiago before going to Valle Nevado.
Staying in Santiago when you arrive could be a good idea to acclimatise to altitude. Santiago is at 560 meters and has a lovely dry climate. It does suffer from smock, as the city is boxed between mountains, but the days when you have nice visibility, you can see the impressive Andes Mountains on the background. Santiago has very nice restaurants and shops and for me, it looks like if you are in a US city.
I would recommend staying at the Mandarin Oriental in Las Condes or the Ritz Carlton Santiago.
Valle Nevado stats – The Must Read Guide to Valle Nevado
You see Valle Nevado and you think you are in Les Arcs. Valle Nevado was designed by Chilean Architect Eduardo Stern, who also helped to design Les Arcs.
Valle Nevado is located at 3,025 meters (9,924 feet) (that is the location of the hotels), and the skiable area goes from 2,860 m (9,383 feet) to 3,670 m (12,040 feet), with a vertical drop of 810 meters (2,657 feet).
They have an average of 7 meters snowfall per season and 80% of blue-sky days. Usually snowstorms are not too many, but very intense. If you get caught in one, you might have to wait for the lifts to open while the ski patrol makes the security work, bombing on the avalanche prone areas, to open the mountain in complete security.
Valle Nevado is the center of the 3 Valleys in Chile, the biggest ski area in South America. It is connected to La Parva and El Colorado.
Mountain Capital Partners (Power Pass) and Valle Nevado – The Must Read Guide to Valle Nevado
Mountain Capital Partners, the owner of several ski resorts in southwest USA has bought last year Valle Nevado, and just announced they have also bought La Parva. There will be for sure some news regarding their Power Pass and how the guests can ski both areas on one pass.
Valle Nevado and La Parva are super easy to connect as they share their borders. Guests can ski a combined terrain of nearly 5,000 skiable acres, 30 lifts, 84 named pistes and a maximum elevation of 3,670 m (12,041 feet) making its total vertical drop of 1000 meters (3,281 feet) from the base of La Parva to the top of Valle Nevado.
IKON Pass and Valle Nevado – The Must Read Guide to Valle Nevado
Valle Nevado is also offered under the IKON Pass and Mountain Collective. They have different levels of participation depending what kind of IKON pass you have- 7 days for the Ikon Pass without blackout dates and 5 days for the Ikon Base Pass and Ikon Base Plus Pass without blackout days. For the Ikon Session Pass you get up to 4 days in snowy valley (out of 4 days total) without blackout dates. You need to have the Ikon Pass 24/25 for it to work in Valle Nevado for the 24-ski season.
If you book a whole package in Valle Nevado, that includes lodging, breakfast, dinner, and lift ticket, by presenting your IKON Pass at the time of booking, you can get an additional 10% discount on the price for the days that the Ikon Pass is valid. The promotion applies over other promotions.
To book contact Valle Nevado at reservas@vallenevado.com
You also get the following benefits:
- 15% discount on hiring a guide for the day at the Ski & Snowboard school.
- 25% discount on office ticket for 10 days tickets for friends and family (the Valley Plus card is not included, you get it at the box office). The Ikon Base Plus has 8 tickets available.
The Mountain – The Must Read Guide to Valle Nevado
Green Runs (beginners) 10%
Blue Runs (intermediate) 36%
Red Runs (Advanced) 33%
Black Runs (Expert) 21%
Lifts – The Must Read Guide to Valle Nevado
- 1 x 6 persons gondola
- 5 chairlifts (one quad high speed, one fixed grip quad, 1 fixed grip triple, and 2 x fixed grip doubles
- 1 t-bar
- 7 x J-bar (or what I call Poma surface lift)
- 3 tapis roulant (or magic carpets)
Valle Nevado is connected to La Parva and El Colorado, on what is the Tres Valles, the biggest skiable domain in South America.
Lodging – The Must Read Guide to Valle Nevado
Valle Nevado has three hotels and many condominiums apartments. The hotels are managed by Valle Nevado itself, and the apartments are owned by private owners.
Hotel Valle Nevado:
The most deluxe mountain option in Valle Nevado, with only 51 rooms, all with balcony and options of views towards the ski pistes or the mountain behind. Ski in/out from the lobby. The hotel has suites and double rooms.
Breakfasts and dinners with no drinks are included. Breakfast is at the restaurant of the Hotel Valle Nevado. Dinner can be at the Restaurante La Fourchette, Mirador del Plomo, Monte Bianco or Restaurant Sur. All restaurants need to be pre-booked.
All packages include lift tickets to Valle Nevado. If you check out by 10 AM, you get the last day lift ticket for free.
Heated outdoors pool, kindergarden (for kids between 3 and 7 years old), games room, pubs and animation activities are offered. Access to fitness centre, ski storage and Wi-Fi in all rooms and common areas.
Hotel Puerta del Sol
This is more a family hotel with 121 rooms and options of connecting rooms. There are some rooms with balcony and pistes view. You get out directly to the heated pool and you are 50 meters from the ski slopes. It offers double rooms with different views, double-double rooms or quad rooms, and attic rooms.
Meals are offered in the same restaurants as Hotel Valle Nevado, but breakfast is taken at the Hotel Puerta del Sol. All the resorts’ facilities are offered for this hotel.
Hotel Tres Puntas
The most conveniently priced hotel located 150 meters from the pistes. It has 82 rooms, double, triple and quads. Some of the rooms can connect. Some double and quad rooms offer balconies.
Breakfasts for guests of the Hotel Tres Puntas is at the Restaurant of the Hotel Tres Puntas. Dinners can be served at the Restaurante Sur or Mirador del Plomo. All dinners need to be booked in advance.
Same amenities are offered to guests of the Hotel Tres Puntas.
Check in and check out from the hotels.
You can check in at any time, but the room will be available at 4 PM. You can just go and leave your backs, change to your ski clothes, and go skiing. Check out is at 10 AM.
Apartments
If you want to be cooking at home and take the option of dine in or eat out, maybe you should think of staying in an apartment.
There are lots of apartments in Valle Nevado to rent, but they are all private owners. Here is a selection of three apartments.
Apartment 1 for six adults maximum (or up to 2 adults and 4 kids)
Apartment 2 – for up to six adults with great views
Apartment 3 for up to 8 guests (with two sleeping on a sofa bed in the living room).
Where to eat in Valle Nevado – The Must Read Guide to Valle Nevado
La Fourchette.
Located in the Hotel Valle Nevado. This restaurant serves gourmet French food at nights. If there is good weather conditions on weekends a BBQ is offered.
MonteBianco
Located in the Plaza del Sol.
Offers lunch, bar, sandwiches, light bites, pizzas, and salads. During the dinner it offers Italian gourmet à la carte.
Mirador del Plomo
Located at the Hotel Puerta del Sol. It serves breakfast, dinner with a buffet- antipasto, pasta, meats, and desserts.
Sur
Located at the Hotel Tres Puntas.
Offers dinner with Chilean gourmet meals, and dishes typical of Southern Chile. À la carte.
**La Leñera
Offers international food, gourmet sandwiches and pizza. On weekends and public holidays they offer BBQ if weather permits. As it is not operated by Valle Nevado, you need to pay at the site.
Fast Food to eat on the slopes
- Bajo Zero. Pizza, sandwiches, burgers, drinks, on the pistes.
- **BBQ Rincón La Leñera – located in the Bajo Zero section. Only opened Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays if the weather allows.
- **Food truck Plaza La Gondola, in the section of the La Leñera deck.
- **Quiosco Creperie, **Quiosco Paninis & Waffles = with hot and cold drinks.
**All these last spots are not operated by Valle Nevado, so you cannot charge your bill to your room.
Bars/ Pubs
- Bar Valle Nevado- opened only when the hotel is opened. Note the Hotel Valle Nevado tends to open a week later than the rest and is the first one to close in the season.
- Valle Lounge, at the Terraza del Sol, in the north side
- Bar Valle – with meats, fish, prepared dishes, snacks, pizzas, and sandwiches.
- Sushi Bar
- Bar Puerta del Sol in the hotel
- Bar in the Pool: depending on weather, there is a bar service, music and entertaining.
- Pub Tres Puntas, in the hotel bar, games and music.
Room service is only available for Hotel Tres Puntas and Hotel Puertas del Sol.
There is a mini-market next to the Domo, opened daily from 9 am till 9 pm.
Ski/Snowboard School – The Must Read Guide to Valle Nevado
The Ski and Snowboard School has more than 100 instructors of all nationalities. Please book your instructor and request the language you need when you reserve. They offer private and group lessons. There is a Snow School for kids from 4 years old. You can book half day or full day for your kids to play and learn on the snow.
You can also hire an instructor for a day and ski at the area or go to other ski resorts with him.
Heliskiing -The Must Read Guide to Valle Nevado
Valle Nevado has heliskiing which is not expensive, compared to what you pay in the Northern Hemisphere. The helicopter is an AS30 B3 that takes you to heights over 4,200 meters of powder snow, getting between 1000 and 2,500 m of vertical drop. In one day, you can do more than 5000 m vertical drop, always accompanied by a mountain guide with all the security equipment.
Rentals – The Must Read Guide to Valle Nevado
With more than 1,500 ski and snowboard equipment, for adults and kids. They also offer rentals for freeride, freestyle, All Mountain, etc.
A ski day in Valle Nevado – The Must Read Guide to Valle Nevado
Valle Nevado is a very comfortable resort, where you have all there, so you just wake up, go to the restaurant at your hotel for breakfast, and then go to the ski storage to get your equipment and go out skiing. You either take a ski or snowboard lesson, or you go skiing on your own. If you want to have a quick lunch, you can go to Bajo Zero for a quick burger and enjoy the views from this lodge and keep on skiing in the afternoon.
When you are back from skiing, it is the time to get a quick soak in the pool, to then have a shower and get ready to go to the bar for an aperitivo (a cheeky aperitivo before dinner to open your appetite) – maybe there you can have the views of the amazing sunset over the mountains, with all kinds of colours of pink in the sky. Then you go to the restaurant you have booked for a lovely dinner, and if you are like me, go back to sleep to get ready for the next day, or back to the bar if you are more die-hard.
More information Vallenevado.com
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Features Image: Valle Nevado at dusk. Photo Courtesy Valle Nevado.
