Val Gardena – Selva - San Cristina ski resort offers 175kms of fantastic snowboarding and skiing in the remarkable Sella mountain range of the Italian Dolomites. All abilities are catered for on-piste and Val Gardena also has some challenging off-piste and lots of cross-country terrain. Val Gardena also contributes to the mammoth 1,200kms of pistes that make up the Dolomiti Super ski region.
Ortisei, San Cristina and Selva Gardena are the three villages that serve the resort. The unique Ladin culture (descendants of Latin) of the region lends the villages a distinct character, with the majority of the 5,000 locals speaking the ancient dialect. Accommodation is in hotels, chalets and apartments, and there are 17,000 beds on offer.
Val Gardena – Selva - San Cristina’s 175kms of pisted terrain is divided into 30 per cent for beginners, 60 per cent for intermediates and 10 per cent for expert snowboarders and skiers. The longest run is eight kilometres and there are also some fantastic off-piste runs. Eighty-one lifts have an hourly uplift capacity of 103,000 people, and service all pistes. Additionally, there are 98kms of challenging cross-country runs.
Other winter activities and facilities at Val Gardena include: horse-drawn sleigh rides; two artificial ice-skating rinks; curling; mono-skiing; paragliding; free-climbing; snowshoeing; and winter walking trails. There is also indoor swimming, two indoor tennis courts, squash and a sports centre. Après-ski consists of restaurants on and off the mountain, folklore evenings, bars and discos.
The December to April ski season at Val Gardena – Selva - San Cristina ski resort has good snow throughout, particularly so in February, and cheaper weeks before the Christmas holidays and towards the end of the season.
There are direct return flights to Bolzano Airport from London, and buses meet all flights for the transfer to Val Gardena. Alternatively, trains go as far as Ponte Gardena, from where buses and taxis go to the resort villages. If time is of the essence, however, hire a car.
