[TRAVEL] I Never Knew You Could Ski There: Portugal

Spain is, of course, well known for its skiing, with several famous resorts in the Pyrenees, the Alpine World Championships area of Sierra Nevada down by the Med and several other areas dotted around the country; there’s even a big indoor snow centre near Madrid.

But Portugal? Well, although not known for its mountain ranges, the highest land in Portugal on its eastern border with Spain climbs to almost 2,000m, the same sort of altitudes as the highest lifts at Kitzbühel or the SkiWelt in the Austrian Alps, just at a rather more southerly latitude.

There’s been skiing here in the Serra da Estrela National Park, the country’s largest natural conservation area, spread over some 1,000km², for more than 65 years, the first lift having been installed back in 1951. It’s located a little over 300km, which means a little over three hours’ drive north-east of capital Lisbon.

When the snow is good – which isn’t guaranteed, although there is snowmaking and the centre is typically open four to five months a year – the ski lifts are open from 9am to 4.30pm daily. There are nine runs, with a total of 8km of slopes, which for more than half a century were served by three drag lifts before a nice quad chair was installed quite recently. This has increased the skiable vertical by almost half, from 87 to 130 vertical metres. Not huge, but, hey, who cares when you can say you’ve skied in Portugal!

The terrain is mostly on a gently sloping hillside above the treeline, so snow fences are in position to collect snow that might blow off in bad weather. Most of the terrain is therefore rather gentle, but there’s a terrain park and also a few small off-piste couloirs to be found if snow cover is good. And considering most people skiing and boarding in Portugal are doing so for their first time on skis/board, that gentle pitch isn’t a bad thing, plus there’s a first-rate dedicated beginners area.

Resort facilities include a ski school and rental shop, and there are a couple of bars and restaurants. You can also try non-ski, on-snow activities like snowshoeing or tubing, and the resort will also organise a gourmet picnic in the snow at 2,000m. Serra da Estrela is at its busiest during weekends, when the locals arrive en masse; mid-week is usually quiet. The ski season runs from December to April, but the best snow conditions are normally in February.

Ski Serra Da Estrela

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