Tres Valles Ski Resorts Santiago Chile
The Tres Valles is made up of 3 largish ski areas; Valle Nevado, La Parva and El Colorado, plus the small ski area of Farellones which is really just part of El Colorado. Tres Valles offers skiing near Santiago, so not surprisingly the ski areas are rather popular on the weekends.
Of the Tres Valles ski resorts,
Valle Nevado is the most well known by international skiers and snowboarders.
La Parva is exclusive and trendy and frequented by the local elite.
El Colorado seems to be popular with ski racers and terrain park dudes, whilst the highlight of the little ski area of
Farellones is the village which has some good nightlife and affordable lodging.
Not to be confused with the Three Valleys in France (
Les Trois Vallèes) which has some world famous ski resorts, Tres Valles in Chile doesn’t quite rival its French counterpart, yet by South American standards, it’s impressive.
Pros and Cons of Los Tres Valles de los Andes
Pros
- The ski resorts have proximity to Santiago and the international airport and it’s possible to get to Tres Valles in 60 to 90 minutes if conditions and traffic are good. Santiago receives direct flights from many international cities. Unlike many other South American ski resorts, you don’t need to take an additional domestic flight.
- Tres Valles gets lots of fine weather in between the intense snow storms.
- It offers huge piste and off-piste terrain choice.
- All three ski resorts have great terrain for intermediate riders.
- The resorts have well-developed amenities and infrastructure (especially by South America ski resort standards).
- The region offers some impressive backcountry including the renowned Santa Theresa.
- It’s great to escape the smog of Santiago, which contributes to some amazing sunsets up in the mountains.
Cons
- The resorts don’t cooperate well with each other to make the most of the interconnected terrain by creating a well priced multi-resort lift ticket. You have to buy separate lift passes or a very expensive dual-pass, even if you just want to ride one lift at your “home” resort to get over to another.
- There is no public bus system to connect the ski resorts by road.
- The resorts can get rather busy, particularly on the weekends due to the proximity to Santiago.
- The snow quality (and quantity) can be variable (as with all South American ski resorts). The resorts are above the tree line so the snow can be at the mercy of the wind and sun, and during a snowstorm many of the lifts close.
- The access road is made up of lots of switchbacks and it gains elevation quickly. It is sometimes choked with traffic and it gets a bit scary when there are idiots who don’t know how to drive on steep snow roads.
- The Tres Valles resorts are situated at a high elevation and there’s the risk of getting altitude sickness.
Pro or Con Depending On Your Perspective
- The resorts cater for the elite of Chile and the value for money is not particularly good relative to other parts of Chile, although it’s considerably less expensive than the high profile US ski resorts.
Also see the pros and cons for each of the resorts on the respective overview pages:
Valle Nevado;
El Colorado (and Farellones); and
La Parva. You can also compare the resorts on various factors on our
Chile ski resort ratings.
Tres Valles - Interconnected Ski Resorts
Farellones and El Colorado are interconnected via the slopes with La Parva and Valle Nevado, and it’s possible for strong intermediate riders and above to ski between the three resorts, although sometimes the required lift connections are closed due to weather or avalanche conditions. The combined areas of Tres Valles are large and provide a lot of terrain variety.
A multi-resort lift ticket is required to head over to one of the other resorts, but it costs significantly more than a single resort pass. Subsequently many visitors who want to sample another resort head there by road.
Travel to Tres Valles
Some people choose to self-drive however there are numerous transport companies in Santiago offering transfers to/from the resorts. See the specific getting there pages for each resort for more information about transfers to Tres Valles. Or if you’re really cashed up you could always fly by helicopter from Santiago!
Another option could be to jump on one of the
guided tours that visit Tres Valles along with other Chile ski resorts.
Lodging Tres Valles
Your decision about which Tres Valles village to stay in may depend on your budget, your group size, and what type of ski vacation you want. Our
Tres Valles lodging page provides greater detail on this as well as the various accommodation options. In essence, if you want to have a resort-style hotel vacation with the ease of ski-in/out lodging then stay at Valle Nevado. Farellones offers a range of lodging styles and a more Chilean experience. See more about
accommodation options here >>
| Lodging Tres Valles |
| |
Farellones |
El Colorado |
Valle Nevado |
La Parva |
| Hotels
|
yes |
no |
yes |
no |
| Lodges |
yes |
no |
no |
no |
| Apartments |
yes |
yes |
limited |
yes |
| Backpackers |
yes |
no |
no |
no |
| Flexible Stay Duration? |
yes |
yes |
no |
no |
| Flexible Arrival Day? |
yes |
yes |
no |
no |
| Slope Access |
mostly a short walk |
some ski-in ski-out |
mostly ski-in ski-out |
ski-in ski-out
or close to slopes |
| Budget |
varied |
varied |
deluxe |
expensive unless
you have a large group |
| Book Package |
Tres Valles packages |
n/a |
Tres Valles packages |
n/a |
| Book Lodging |
Farellones lodging |
El Colorado lodging |
Valle Nevado lodging |
La Parva condo |
| |
|
|
|
|
Packages
If you prefer the support of a travel agent, we have several package options available. Lead prices are only a guide because rates vary depending on season, demand and room configuration. See
package options & get a quote here >>
Tres Valles Guided & Hosted Ski Tours
If you are a strong intermediate skier/boarder (and above) and are wanting to experience several ski areas, a guided tour could be ideal, particularly if you are a solo traveler. Guides are generally multi-lingual and know not only the terrain at the ski resorts, but the best restaurants & bars to go to, and take care of transport logistics You can see some of the most popular tours for this area below or
click here to see all tours that visit the Tres Valles area>>