Puyvalador
1,700 mVillage altitude
2,376 mTop of the ski area
36 kmAlpine pistes
16Ski lifts
Not published by any source: adult day pass.
Puyvalador is a ski resort in the French Pyrenees, located in the département of Pyrénées-Orientales in the Occitanie region.
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.
Snow, opening and weather
Snow report →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
3-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.
Seven criteria rated from 1 to 5 stars, in half-stars, from this page's sourced data. A rating is a rank among the 315 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?4 / 5
Km of pistes at the resort: 36 km · Lifts: 16 · Balance between piste levels: 91%
- ValueIs the lift pass reasonable for what you get?n/a
Not rated: no official price list could be found.
- 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: 1 · 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 declared by the resort (ANMSM, official website), STRMTG register, OpenStreetMap; snow depth observed at the Météo-France station, ERA5-Land model) ; ski area (figures declared by the resort (ANMSM, official website), national lift register (STRMTG), OpenStreetMap) ; 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).
48 pistes, by level
13 green16 blue16 red3 black
- Skiable vertical
- 669 m
- Lifts
- 1 gondola, 2 chairlifts, 11 drag lifts, 2 magic carpets
- Snowpark
- 2 mapped zones — Snow Park 2 · Snow Park 1
Ski-area figures — bottom, top, km of pistes, lifts, pistes by level: OpenStreetMap (1 Oct) .
The ski area in figures
Measured on 7 October 20264 kmLongest piste — Grand Tétras (green), 650 m of vertical
661 mBiggest vertical without changing piste — 2,376 → 1,715 m, 4 km
2,376 mHighest lift top — Ginèvre 1 (drag lift)
7 kmTotal length of lifts — 10 lifts mapped
199 haSki area boundary (OSM)
68Inhabitants — Puyvalador (INSEE 66154)
Measured 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
The partners covering this resort, shown side by side, and the shop to kit out before you leave. Some links earn us a commission — never at the expense of the price or of the data.
Stay & accommodation
Holidu
Holiday-rental comparison site.
Gear & equipment
Absolute Snow
UK ski and snowboard shop — delivers to UK addresses only.
Hardloop
Mountain gear shop: ski touring, avalanche safety, winter clothing.
Beyond skiing at Puyvalador
Without skis on — 16 km of snowshoe and walking trails · 1 sledging run
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.
Ski schools and 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.
Off the pistes: off-piste and ski touring
The resorts for off-piste skiing →Ski touring routes described
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 |
The other 8 routes, with grades and vertical →
Not a piste. Neither marked, nor patrolled, nor secured: transceiver, shovel, probe, the day’s avalanche bulletin and, better still, a guide. Ski grade (1.1–5.6) = steepness and commitment; exposure (E1–E4) = consequence of a fall.
Source: Camptocamp.org topo guide (CC BY-SA), routes starting within 10 km, read on 13 October 2026. Descriptions and photos are on Camptocamp; an empty cell is a field nobody has filled in. Camptocamp ski touring routes ↗
Piste map
Open on OpenSnowMap ↗Official piste map
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 12 · 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 11 October 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 October 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 October 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.
What's on around Puyvalador
All events →-
17 October 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)
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.
Translated from the French Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA), machine translation.
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 slopes, 16 lifts.
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.
Nearby resorts
Full page in French. The French page carries the editorial guides and a few extra readings; every figure, webcam and price on this page is the same one. Puyvalador in French →
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