This was a quick panaroama I took on 17th April 2010 at the end of the last day of Grandvalira ski season, Pas de la Casa is a great little town, suitable for all grades and for those seasoned skiers and boarders you can link up here with the entire slopes that Grandvalira has to offer.

This panorama was taken on the debutant slope just near the childrens ski school. The snow was ok for a couple of hours in the morning but by lunchtime it was just to hot and wet to ski. It is a great place for kids, the instructors are patient and professional and nearly all speak good english, the area is beautiful, snow cats and kiteskiing are available here also.

As we live only a couple of hours from here by car we go several times a year. This is a nice safe little resort which can be a little noisy at times, hotels are basic but ok, food, well its not great but you dont come here for that, parking is ok on the streets but you have to move your car sometimes in the height of the season to allow the 'snowmen' to clear the snow off the buildings and this can be up to twice a day, there is also a huge multi-storey parking block, shops, a few, boutiques mainly, mostly perfume shops or electronic shops selling mostly last years models and mini markets selling the biggest bottles of whisky and vodka you will ever see. For the non-smokers there is no such thing as no smoking here, even the hotels that say they are no smoking are not, same goes for restaurants.

Beware customs they are very very strict on taking items in and out of Andorra, there is no real industry here apart from tourism so they have to raise revenue as best they can, but if you want to drink and smoke yourself silly its the place to be, just remember not to take it away with you, it will get confiscated and dont think that if you clear the frontier posts safely that you are in the clear, they are waiting down the road a little further into France and Spain and you WILL get pulled there!

Remember you will need travel insurance, Andorra is not europe and always get insurance when you buy your skipass without exception, the costs for not having it are enormous.

Having said all of this, dont let me put you off, its a great place and we come here at least 5 or 6 times during the season and have done so for the last 10 years.

For more info on the Grandvalira region please see

http://www.grandvalira.com/en__inici.html

The following is a description taken from

http://www.pasdelacasa-andorra.com/winter/en/index.html

This lively resort (referred to locally as Pas) is situated just a few hundred metres from the French border in the parish of Encamp. The resort sits at an altitude of 2050m with the highest lift at 2640m making Pas the highest resort in the Pyrenees. Due to its superb location (and heavy investment in artificial snow making) Pas enjoys an excellent snow record complimented by plenty of blue skies and sunshine.

The first mechanical ski lift in Andorra was opened at Coll Blanc, Pas de la Casa in 1957 by the Andorran ski pioneer Francesc Viladomat, this is where the first Andorran ski resort Pas de la Casa Grau Roig was born. The area was developed rapidly over the years, most notably in recent years being the link up of Pas de la Casa Grau Roig with the neighbouring resorts of Soldeu, El Tarter, Canillo and Encamp during the 2003-04 season to create the impressive Grandvalira ski area, which now offers 193km of piste, forming the largest skiable domain in the Pyrenees.

Grandvalira has a very modern and efficient lift system to transport skiers and snowboarders around the large variety of slopes it has to offer. The slopes at Grandvalira - Pas de la Casa cater very well for aspiring intermediates with plenty of top to bottom red and blue runs. There is also a beginner area with some more gentle slopes, endorsed by an excellent ski school with lots of English speaking instructors. For those of you looking for more of a challenge there are also a few feisty black runs to be found.

Snowboarding is very popular amongst the young crowds that descend upon Grandvalira each year, with a small board park and half pipe located on the Grau Roig side of the mountain.

Apres ski is another thing that Pas does very well, with the resort being famous for it's youth orientated nightlife. Some refer to it as the Ibiza of the Pyrenees, although we're not quite sure that this is the most appropriate comparison! There is a huge array of bars, nightclubs and restaurants bars in the resort and you will find many places open until the early hours. Many find it difficult to resist the temptation of the bars and nightclubs and end up having to forego a day on the slopes to recover from the night before; although you should take it easy in order to be able to enjoy the fantastic skiing, snowboarding and scenery that the slopes of Grandvalira - Pas de la Casa enjoy, as well as heaps of other activities such as ice driving, skidoos, shopping and paintballing to name just a few.