Puyvalador
Puyvalador is a ski resort in the French Pyrenees, located in the département of Pyrénées-Orientales in the Occitanie region.
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: 2,376 m · Bottom of the pistes: 1,707 m · Days above 30 cm, December to March, model: 12%
- Ski areaIs there enough to ski all week?3.5 / 5
Km of pistes at the resort: 36 km · Km of pistes across the linked area: 36 km · Lifts: 16 · Balance between piste levels: 91%
- 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 / 5
Share of green and blue pistes: 60% · Magic carpets: 2 · Sledging runs: 1 · ESF ski school · Ice rink, pool, rail sledge…: 0
- AccessIs it easy to get to?2 / 5
Average drive time from 20 major cities: 6 hr 30 · Nearest railway station: 30 min · Station-to-resort shuttles per day: 0 · Nearest airport: 1 hr 45
- Atmosphere and après-skiIs there life in the evening and off the slopes?1.5 / 5
Bars and pubs: 0 · Nightclubs: 0 · Restaurants: 0 · Upcoming events: 2 · 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 · 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 1,700 m · top 2,376 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.
Measured snow history: not available for this resort. No Météo-France station close enough (the 6 nearby stations are outside the resort’s altitude range). We would rather show nothing than borrow a distant valley’s reading.
The ski area
Compare with another resort →48 pistes, by level — 36 km
- Skiable vertical
- 669 m (1,707 m → 2,376 m)
- Lifts
- 1 gondola, 2 chairlifts, 11 drag lifts, 2 magic carpets
- Snowpark
- 2 mapped zones — Snow Park 2 · Snow Park 1
OpenStreetMap, surveyed on 18 September 2026. OpenStreetMap does not map individual features (kickers, rails): what is counted here are the named zones. - Without skis
- 16 km of snowshoe and walking trails · 1 sledging run
- Piste aspect
- N 11% · E 80% · S 9% · W 0% (descent direction of 42 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 Puyvalador
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
Puyvalador publishes no public webcam (checked on 12 September 2026 on its website, its tourist office and the operators’ directories). Know of one? Tell us.
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 Puyvalador
From Paris: 9 hr 45 (845 km) by road.
By road
- From Perpignan: 1 hr 43 · 104 km
- From Toulouse: 2 hr 46 · 169 km
- From Montpellier: 3 hr 21 · 254 km
- From Pau: 4 hr 25 · 289 km
- From Marseille: 5 hr 02 · 417 km
From other major cities (15)
- From Bordeaux: 5 hr 09 · 411 km
- From Valence: 5 hr 11 · 452 km
- From Grenoble: 6 hr 08 · 543 km
- From Clermont-Ferrand: 6 hr 11 · 532 km
- From Lyon: 6 hr 18 · 551 km
- From Saint-Étienne: 6 hr 34 · 570 km
- From Nice: 6 hr 39 · 575 km
- From Chambéry: 6 hr 53 · 602 km
- From Annecy: 7 hr 18 · 660 km
- From Genève: 7 hr 48 · 698 km
- From Dijon: 8 hr 20 · 743 km
- From Besançon: 8 hr 52 · 803 km
- From Paris: 9 hr 45 · 845 km
- From Nancy: 10 hr 27 · 954 km
- From Strasbourg: 11 hr 15 · 1041 km
Excluding traffic and winter conditions; passes closed in winter are avoided.
By train
Mont-Louis - La Cabanasse station
halt · then 30 min drive (25 km)
Nearest main station: Perpignan, 1 hr 42 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
- Perpignan-Rivesaltes (PGF): 1 hr 45 by road · 101 km
- Carcassonne-Salvaza (CCF): 1 hr 51 by road · 108 km
Take me there
These links open the app with Puyvalador 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.
Ski touring routes described
Resorts for ski touring →12 ski touring routes documented within 10 km of Puyvalador — up to 2,230 m of climb.
| Summit and route | Ski grade | Climb | Altitude | Aspect | From resort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pla de Bernat · Depuis Fontrabiouse | n/a · E1 · F | 936 m | 1,500 → 2,436 m | NE | 1.4 km |
| Pic de Ginèvre · Face SE - Depuis Puyvalador | 2.2 · E1 · F | 740 m | 1,640 → 2,382 m | SE | 1.5 km |
| Pla de Bernat · par le Serrat de la Llissa Cremada | 1.2 · E1 | 800 m | 1,675 → 2,436 m | SE | 2 km |
| Pic de la Tribune · Versant E par Le Boutadiol | 3.2 · E2 · AD | 1,300 m | 1,700 → 2,499 m | E | 2.7 km |
| Refuge de Camporells · Tour "+" des Camporells | 3.3 · E2 · PD- | 2,230 m | 2,250 → 2,810 m | E · SE · S · SW · W | 3 km |
| Pic de la Muntanyeta · Par la crête NW | 3.1 · E1 · PD | 1,030 m | 1,700 → 2,436 m | NW | 4.4 km |
| Serre de Maury · Versant NE, par les pistes | 1.2 · E1 · F | 700 m | 1,700 → 2,412 m | NW | 4.7 km |
| Puig de Morters (Pic de l'Home Mort) · per la baga de la Vall de Galba i serra de Mauri | 1.3 · E1 · F | 1,250 m | 1,740 → 2,668 m | E | 5.1 km |
| Petit Peric · Arête NE | 3.1 · E2 · AD- | 1,500 m | 1,740 → 2,690 m | E | 5.2 km |
| Petit Peric · Épaule S | n/a · E1 · PD | 1,284 m | 1,730 → 2,690 m | SE | 5.2 km |
| Puig de Morters (Pic de l'homme Mort) · Depuis les Camporells | 4.1 · E1 · AD+ | 1,250 m | 1,750 → 2,668 m | W | 5.3 km |
| Puig Peric · Couloir N | 4.1 · E2 · AD+ | 1,500 m | 1,740 → 2,810 m | N | 5.4 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 Puyvalador
Toboggan runs
- STATION DE MONTAGNE DE FORMIGUERES · Formiguères · 2.9 km away
- LUGE LOU BAC MOUNTAIN · Les Angles · 8.1 km away
Spa and thermal baths
- ESPACE ANGLEO BALNEO & SPA · Les Angles · 8.1 km away
Paragliding
- PARAPENTE VOLER INFO · Les Angles · 8 km away
Cinema
- CINEMA LE CASTELL · Les Angles · 7.8 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
Ski school
ESF Formigueres
18 instructors
🇬🇧 10 English-speaking instructors — lessons in English available
🗓️ This school sells its lessons online — book ↗
Source: esf.net
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.
What's on around Puyvalador
All events →-
19 September 2026 – 26 December 2026
Marché des producteurs de pays® annuel
Place du village, Formiguères (66) · Formiguères
Un marché de montagne authentique et convivial
Source: OpenAgenda, agenda “Les évènements Bienvenue à la Ferme Pyrénées-Orientales” · View on OpenAgenda ↗
Also near: Formiguères (2.8 km), Les Angles (5 km), La Quillane (8.1 km)
-
19 September 2026 – 20 September 2026
Visite du château d'Usson et maison du patrimoine
Château d'Usson et maison du patrimoine · Rouze
Perché à 920 mètres d’altitude, le château d’Usson, édifié aux XIIe et XIIIe siècles, contrôlait la vallée de l’Aude et protégeait le Donezan.
Source: OpenAgenda, agenda “ADT Ariège Pyrénées” · View on OpenAgenda ↗
Also near: Mijanès-Donezan (2.7 km)
Events published on OpenAgenda by the agendas named above, kept when they take place within 10 km of the resort. We organise nothing: times, prices and cancellations are the organiser's.
Nearby resorts
Frequently asked questions
How high is Puyvalador?
Puyvalador sits at 1,700 m at village level, and its ski area rises to 2,376 m.
How many kilometres of pistes does Puyvalador have?
Puyvalador has 36 km of pistes served by 16 lifts (OpenStreetMap survey).
What is the longest piste in Puyvalador?
The longest piste is Grand Tétras: 4 km (green run), for 650 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 Puyvalador?
The highest lift, Ginèvre 1, tops out at 2,376 m (IGN RGE ALTI terrain model). The 10 lifts mapped on OpenStreetMap total 7 km.
How do I get to Puyvalador?
By road, Puyvalador is 1 hr 43 from Perpignan (104 km), excluding traffic and winter conditions. By train, the nearest station is Mont-Louis - La Cabanasse, 30 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 Perpignan-Rivesaltes, 1 hr 45 away.
How long is the drive from Paris to Puyvalador?
9 hr 45 for 845 km from central Paris, excluding traffic and winter conditions. Computed on the real road network (OpenStreetMap): allow more on a school-holiday Saturday.
Is Puyvalador good for beginners and families?
60% of the pistes are green or blue: a rather easy area.
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