Sierra Nevada

Sierra Nevada: snow, sun and much, much more! The Sierra Nevada ski resort and mountain range is the southernmost ski resort and mountain massif in Europe, located in Andalusia, 30 minutes by car from Granada and 90 minutes from the Costa Tropical coast. This superb location guarantees not only mild temperatures and long hours of sunshine but also the chance to combine skiing in the morning with time on the beach or sightseeing in beautiful historic Granada in the afternoon. The Sierra Nevada is home to Mulhacén, the highest peak on the Iberian Peninsula at 3,478.6 m, and Pico Veleta at 3,392 m. Thanks to these peaks, Sierra Nevada is the highest ski resort in Spain (from 2,100 m to 3,300 m). This altitude guarantees good skiing conditions and plenty of snow. The resort has a total of 105 km of pistes made up of 118 marked runs: 18 green, 40 blue, 52 red and 8 black. The longest run, from Veleta down to Pradollano, is 6 km long with a vertical drop of 1,175 m. The lift system is well developed, with 21 lifts, including 2 gondolas and 15 chairlifts. Lift capacity is more than 44,000 skiers per hour. The resort has hosted many international competitions, including the 1996 Alpine World Ski Championships, and has also bid for the Winter Olympics. Sierra Nevada was chosen to host the 2015 Winter Universiade. At 2,100 m lies Pradollano, a superbly organised base offering everything skiers need: rental shops, ski service points, hotels, restaurants, plenty of bars and cafés, and places to unwind to chill-out music. Sierra Nevada: snow and a good climate. Thanks to its position in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, Sierra Nevada has more hours of sunshine than any other European ski resort, while the high altitude of its pistes (around 3,000 m) keeps snow conditions excellent until April or even May (as long as temperatures allow the resort's 390 snow cannons to be used). Plenty to do besides skiing. As well as large leisure and shopping complexes aimed not only at skiers, the resort offers a snow park, a cross-country trail, night skiing on Saturdays (weather permitting), snow golf, a car test track, a mini Olympics, games of skill, igloo building, sledging, night snowmobile rides and skating on artificial ice. Sierra Nevada for children. Childcare is available in Sierra Nevada. The resort has schools for learning to ski and for fun in the snow: snow slides, snow bikes, ski chairs, mini skis, mini snowboards, archery and other activities. Skiing in the morning, the beach in the afternoon. Yes, really, the beach! Sierra Nevada is less than 100 km from Motril on the Granada coast, and since the drive takes just over an hour, you can ski and swim in the sea on the same day. In addition, most of the ski resort lies within the Sierra Nevada National Park, dominated by Mulhacén at 3,481 m, the highest peak on the Iberian Peninsula; the park is full of forests, lakes and valleys that together form an unrivalled landscape rich in flora and fauna. For this reason it was declared a biosphere reserve and a national park, which today covers more than 86,000 hectares and invites all kinds of activities, such as mountain biking, hiking and walks through river gorges. As if all that were not enough, the Sierra Nevada ski resort is just 27 km from the city of Granada. A must-see!