Le Somport-Candanchu
Le Somport or Candanchú-Le somport is a cross-border ski resort of the Pyrénées located at an altitude of 1600 metres.
Translated from the French Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA), machine translation.
Seven criteria rated from 1 to 5 stars, in half-stars, from this page's sourced data. A rating is a rank among the 322 French resorts we cover — 5 stars means “among the best in France on this point”, not “perfect”. Nobody types these in.
- SnowCan you count on the snow?3 / 5
Top of the ski area: 2,197 m · Bottom of the pistes: 1,700 m · Days above 30 cm, December to March, model: 64%
- Ski areaIs there enough to ski all week?4 / 5
Km of pistes at the resort: 77 km · Km of pistes across the linked area: 77 km · Lifts: 41 · Balance between piste levels: 96%
- ValueIs the lift pass reasonable for what you get?n/a
Not rated: “adult day pass” is missing from this page.
- Families and beginnersIs it right for children and beginners?2 / 5
Share of green and blue pistes: 41% · Magic carpets: 8 · Sledging runs: 1 · Ice rink, pool, rail sledge…: 0
- AccessIs it easy to get to?1.5 / 5
Average drive time from 20 major cities: 8 hr 28 · Nearest railway station: 34 min · Station-to-resort shuttles per day: 0 · Nearest airport: 1 hr 55
- Atmosphere and après-skiIs there life in the evening and off the slopes?2 / 5
Bars and pubs: 2 · Nightclubs: 0 · Restaurants: 5 · Upcoming events: 0 · Collective tourist beds: 0 — index: what the map and the listings publish
- Luxury and comfortHow upmarket is the resort?1 / 5
5-star hotels: 0 · 4-star hotels: 0 · Share of hotel rooms in 4 and 5 stars: 0% · Spas and saunas: 0 · Jewellers, watchmakers, fashion boutiques: 0 — index: what the map and the listings publish
“Atmosphere” and “Luxury” are indexes: they count what OpenStreetMap and the event listings publish within 2.5 km (bars, nightclubs, rated hotels, spas, upcoming events), not what you experience there. A zero means “nothing mapped”, not “nothing there”. Sources per criterion: snow (altitudes (OpenStreetMap, Wikidata), snow depth observed at the Météo-France station, ERA5-Land model) ; ski area (OpenStreetMap pistes and lifts, linked area (Wikidata)) ; value (the resort’s official price list) ; families and beginners (OpenStreetMap pistes, price list, ESF ski school, Famille Plus label, OpenStreetMap leisure) ; access (OSRM drive times from 20 cities, SNCF stations, GTFS shuttles, airports) ; atmosphere and après-ski (bars, nightclubs and restaurants within 2.5 km (OpenStreetMap), upcoming events (OpenAgenda), collective tourist beds (INSEE)) ; luxury and comfort (rated hotels within 2.5 km (OpenStreetMap) and by category across the commune (INSEE), spas and boutiques (OpenStreetMap), day pass price).
Open pistes and lifts will appear here during the season, as published by the resort. Out of season we show nothing rather than a misleading zero.
Avalanche danger
7-day forecast
Village 1,594 m · top 2,197 m
Forecast corrected for altitude; fresh snow = forecast total at the top; UV = peak of the day. Beyond 3 days, check the resort’s own report. Source:Open-Meteo.
Average snow depth by month
Snow cover varies from one winter to the next.
☀️ Average daily sunshine : Nov 6.3 h · Dec 5.6 h · Jan 6 h · Feb 7.4 h · Mar 8.3 h · Apr 9.7 h — 25 bright days in April (Open-Meteo estimate, 2015-2025).
- November10 cmInsufficient · 11%
- December32 cmInsufficient · 41%
- January50 cmVariable · 62%
- February64 cmVariable · 78%
- March57 cmVariable · 74%
- April28 cmInsufficient · 28%
- May5 cmInsufficient · 5%
30 cm on the ground: the benchmark for groomed-piste skiing. Bar = monthly average depth; percentage = share of time above 30 cm.
- Good skiing: 30 cm on more than 8 days in 10
- Variable: 30 cm on 5 to 8 days in 10
- Insufficient: 30 cm less than one day in two
Measured snow history: not available for this resort. No Météo-France station close enough (the 1 nearby station sits more than 300 m away from the altitude we aim for (1795 m)). We would rather show nothing than borrow a distant valley’s reading.
The ski area
Compare with another resort →111 pistes, by level — 77 km
- Skiable vertical
- 497 m (1,700 m → 2,197 m)
- Lifts
- 1 gondola, 11 chairlifts, 21 drag lifts, 8 magic carpets
- Cross-country skiing
- 5 named trails — 13 km of marked loops (12 km of distinct track: the loops overlap), right by the resortOpenStreetMap, lengths measured on the geometry, surveyed on 12 September 2026. A trail with no difficulty tag is shown as "n/a" — never guessed.
See the trails(5)
Trail Level Length Senda de Raquetas de Nieve very easy 4.1 km Piste Bleue du Grand Tétras easy 3.4 km Piste rouge du Lac intermediate 2.3 km Piste bleue du Causiat easy 1.7 km Piste verte des Myrtilles very easy 1.1 km - Night skiing
- 1 floodlit pistes (OSM)
- Without skis
- 1 sledging run
- Piste aspect
- N 45% · E 17% · S 9% · W 29% (descent direction of 92 OSM pistes, terrain model)
Pistes and lifts surveyed on OpenStreetMap within 4 km of the resort — for a resort in a linked area, the figure may include neighbouring pistes.
Lift passes detail →
The price list for this resort is being collected: most resorts publish winter prices between September and November.
The ski area in figures
Measured on 9 September 2026Measured on OpenStreetMap (altitudes: IGN RGE ALTI), not taken from the brochure. The vertical above is that of one piste, not of the whole ski area. Population: INSEE municipal population via geo.api.gouv.fr.
Staying and hiring gear in Le Somport-Candanchu
We compare the partners that cover this resort. Some links earn us a commission — never at the expense of the price or of the data.
Stay & accommodation
Live webcams
All webcams (1) →Official players of the resort, live image.
Piste map
Open on OpenSnowMap ↗Pistes coloured by level, lifts as lines. The resort’s official map is the reference in season.
Base map © OpenTopoMap (CC-BY-SA) · pistes © OpenSnowMap (CC-BY-SA) · data ©OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Getting to Le Somport-Candanchu
From Paris: 9 hr 48 (874 km) by road.
By road
- From Pau: 1 hr 39 · 87 km
- From Toulouse: 3 hr 49 · 281 km
- From Bordeaux: 3 hr 55 · 296 km
- From Perpignan: 5 hr 39 · 477 km
- From Montpellier: 6 hr 07 · 512 km
From other major cities (15)
- From Clermont-Ferrand: 7 hr 42 · 650 km
- From Marseille: 7 hr 47 · 674 km
- From Valence: 7 hr 57 · 709 km
- From Grenoble: 8 hr 54 · 801 km
- From Lyon: 9 hr 04 · 809 km
- From Saint-Étienne: 9 hr 07 · 688 km
- From Nice: 9 hr 25 · 832 km
- From Chambéry: 9 hr 39 · 860 km
- From Paris: 9 hr 48 · 874 km
- From Annecy: 10 hr 04 · 918 km
- From Genève: 10 hr 34 · 956 km
- From Dijon: 10 hr 37 · 946 km
- From Besançon: 11 hr 13 · 1004 km
- From Nancy: 12 hr 44 · 1157 km
- From Strasbourg: 13 hr 36 · 1242 km
Excluding traffic and winter conditions; passes closed in winter are avoided.
By train
Bedous station
halt · then 34 min drive (30 km)
Nearest main station: Pau, 1 hr 39 by road.
No direct bus line from the station to the resort appears in the open-data timetables (checked on 13 September 2026): ask the resort about a private shuttle or a taxi.
Shuttles and buses from the station: see the resort’s official website.
By plane
- Pau-Pyrénées (PUF): 1 hr 55 by road · 95 km
- Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées (LDE): 2 hr 13 by road · 119 km
Take me there
These links open the app with Le Somport-Candanchu as the destination. Your starting point is never sent by us — the app asks you for it, if you agree.
Charging an electric car
No freely accessible charge point is declared within 2 km of the resort (checked on 9 September 2026). Covered car parks in the resort may offer chargers reserved for their customers: those are not listed here.
Freely accessible charge points read from the French national EV charging database (data.gouv.fr ↗, operators’ own declarations), checked on 9 September 2026. Check availability before you leave: the database says what is installed, not what is free tonight.
Road conditions
From 1 November to 31 March, snow chains or winter tyres are compulsory in most mountain areas (French “Loi Montagne II”).
Driving times computed on the OpenStreetMap road network (OSRM), SNCF stations (open data), airports (Wikidata). Indicative, not a timetable: allow extra time in snow.
Off-piste & ski touring
The resorts for off-piste skiing →Named itineraries: Las Lomas · Edelweiss · Las Güixas · Loma Verde · La Zapatilla · Cascada
Itineraries surveyed on OpenStreetMap within a 4 km radius (7 September 2026): “marked” means an itinerary exists on the map, not that it is open or safe on the day.
Ski touring routes described
Resorts for ski touring →12 ski touring routes documented within 10 km of Le Somport-Candanchu — up to 1,553 m of climb.
| Summit and route | Ski grade | Climb | Altitude | Aspect | From resort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Col Mayou · Montée par le Somport et descente par piste forestière de Gouetsoule | n/a · PD | 500 m | 1,592 → 2,029 m | n/a | 1.4 km |
| Pic d'Aspe · Boucle Pas d'Aspe/Candanchu | 2.2 · E2 · AD | 1,330 m | 1,311 → 2,645 m | N | 2.9 km |
| Ruabe del Bozo · par la face Nord | 3.1 · E3 · D | 1,100 m | 1,320 → 2,419 m | N | 3.1 km |
| Le Murlorum · Par le vallon d'Arnousse | n/a · F | 1,170 m | 925 → 2,092 m | N | 3.5 km |
| Pico Labata · Depuis le Sansanet | 3.3 | 1,250 m | 1,300 → 2,400 m | N | 4.5 km |
| Montagne de Couecq · Par Espélunguère | n/a · E1 · F | 800 m | 1,268 → 2,013 m | S | 5 km |
| Pic Astu · Par le col de l'Iou et retour col d'Anéou | 1.3 · E1 · PD- | 1,350 m | 2,279 m | n/a | 5.1 km |
| Pic de Gabedaille · Par le col de Couecq | n/a · PD- | 1,000 m | 1,268 → 2,258 m | SE | 5.3 km |
| Pic de Canaourouye · Classique par col de Houer | n/a · E1 · F | 650 m | 1,709 → 2,347 m | SE | 5.5 km |
| Col de Gouetsoule point 2065 m · Versant NW | n/a · E1 · PD- | 1,085 m | 980 → 2,065 m | NW | 6.5 km |
| Pic Hourquette · Sommet 2259 par le refuge de Larry | 3.3 · E2 · PD | 1,059 m | 1,200 → 2,259 m | NW | 6.5 km |
| Pic de Larry · Combe de Larry depuis Urdos | 2.2 · E1 · PD- | 1,553 m | 784 → 2,337 m | NW | 6.6 km |
Source: Camptocamp.org topo guide (CC BY-SA), routes starting within 10 km, read on 13 September 2026. Descriptions and photos are on Camptocamp; an empty cell is a field nobody has filled in. Camptocamp ski touring routes ↗
Beyond skiing at Le Somport-Candanchu
Toboggan runs
- Espace Somport en hiver · Urdos · 1.7 km away
Source: DATAtourisme (open data), within 10 km of the resort; places in a large town of the valley are left out. Checked on 12 September 2026. Opening times and prices are the operator’s — check before you go.
Practical information
Collective accommodation
- 1 hotel · 13 rooms (1 × 3★)
- 1 campsite · 80 pitches
Commune: Urdos · INSEE tourist accommodation survey, 2026, read on 12 September 2026. Collective accommodation only — privately let flats and second homes are not counted. INSEE dataset ↗
Tourist office
Forfaits Candanchú
In case of accident
112 — the European emergency number, free of charge, triggers mountain rescue. On the pistes, the ski patrol number is printed on the piste map and at lift ticket offices. Piste rescue is charged: check your insurance or take the option sold with the lift pass.
Nearby resorts
Frequently asked questions
How high is Le Somport-Candanchu?
Le Somport-Candanchu sits at 1,594 m at village level, and its ski area rises to 2,197 m.
How many kilometres of pistes does Le Somport-Candanchu have?
Le Somport-Candanchu has 77 km of pistes served by 41 lifts (OpenStreetMap survey).
What is the longest piste in Le Somport-Candanchu?
The longest piste is Toboganes: 2 km (blue run), for 237 m of vertical. Measured on the OpenStreetMap map, segments of the same name and level joined end to end, altitudes from the IGN RGE ALTI terrain model — a resort sometimes advertises a longer run by chaining several pistes.
How high do the lifts go in Le Somport-Candanchu?
The highest lift, Ratrack, tops out at 2,280 m (IGN RGE ALTI terrain model). The 38 lifts mapped on OpenStreetMap total 31 km.
How do I get to Le Somport-Candanchu?
By road, Le Somport-Candanchu is 1 hr 39 from Pau (87 km), excluding traffic and winter conditions. By train, the nearest station is Bedous, 34 min by road from the resort. No direct bus line from the station to the resort appears in the open-data timetables. The nearest airport is Pau-Pyrénées, 1 hr 55 away.
How long is the drive from Paris to Le Somport-Candanchu?
9 hr 48 for 874 km from central Paris, excluding traffic and winter conditions. Computed on the real road network (OpenStreetMap): allow more on a school-holiday Saturday.
Is the snow reliable in Le Somport-Candanchu?
It varies from one winter to the next according to ten winters of reanalysis (estimate); in season the daily report prevails.
Is Le Somport-Candanchu good for beginners and families?
41% of the pistes are green or blue: a rather technical area.
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