Portillo Ski Resort is located in the heart of the Chilean Central Andes a bit less than 2 hours from the Santiago airport and minutes away from the Argentinean border. The road climbing the mountains is an international connection between the two contries an it is kept open almost all the time. Even when big storms hit the Andes the road will be cleared in only a few hours.

With well over 50 years Portillo is the best known ski resort in South America. Based on its altitude and location the snow here is among the best in the world. Powder is deep, dry and light and there is an average of 80% of sunny days.

Portillo is a high resort with its lowest skiable point located at 8,234 ft. and its summit at 10,898 ft. One of the main highlights of this area is the nearby Monte Aconcagua – the highest peak in the Americas - reaching 22,841 ft. The views from the road and from a helicopter are just breathtaking.

Portillo terrain is well known for its alpine flavor. Here mountains are steep and rocky and offer a wide variety of lines both on and off-piste. Even though Portillo is not a really big ski area there are different options for beginners to experts.

The areas accessed by the Va et vients poma surface lifts offer the steepest and most challenging lines at the resort. And when the Laguna del Inca is frozen the long descends finishing right at the lake are fantastic.
Keep in mind if you are ready there are several hikes to access more incredible lines of deep and dry champagne powder.

Blessed with an average annual snowfall of 24 ft. Portillo season runs comfortably from mid June to mid October. As most resorts located in the high Andes the conditions are excellent throughout the season but keep in mind June and the first 10 days of July will feature early conditions meaning the snowpack won´t be as thick as in later months.

Mid July usually receives nice strong storms and the last two weeks are holidays in Chile thus higher prices are expected. The month of August is a true skiing pleasure. With warmer temperatures and a chance of 80% of sunny skies this is an excellent time to come.

Portillo ski resort features one hotel only – the traditional Portillo Grand Hotel – and two small backpackers lodges. We consider the Grand hotel as the right option at this resort.

There are several activities to choose from in Portillo. From 9 am to 5 pm the lifts are running so no question about your plan for the day. Also heli-skiing is available. The conditions for heli are nothing but excellent.

As the Grand Hotel doesn´t offer TV´s in the rooms most guests come down after skiing and enjoy a drink or a snack at the main living room or at the unique bar. After dinner – served at the main restaurant – making a stop at the bar for some live music or a traditional pisco sour is a must. After the bar guests walk to the disco where they dance until late night.

Portillo also offers an outdoor swimming pool and a large hot tub. This is a pretty cool place to be after skiing. There is also a full gym, massage rooms and an indoor sports facility. Cyber café and a local cinema complete the picture.

Portillo has been one of our best destinations for years. The fact that it features the best champagne powder in South America and some of the best alpine terrain makes it a well worth destination.

We believe Portillo will be the right choice for skiers who want to combine on-piste skiing with some hiking and possibly heli-skiing. If you are looking to ski different groomers non-stop all day long then maybe spending a full week may be too much.

The idea here is to sit back and relax. Ski for a couple of hours, come back for lunch, relax a bit more and then ski for the rest of the afternoon. For those looking for the challenge we highly recommend to spend a day heli-skiing or cat skiing at the nearby cat operation of Ski Arpa.