The park's main draw for fauna is its rich birdlife, with over 60 species inhabiting the Sierra. Nesting birds of prey include golden eagles, Bonelli's eagles, peregrine falcons, griffon vultures and kestrels. On the higher slopes are Alpine accentors, black redstarts, northern wheateaters, rock thrushes, rock buntings, red-billed choughs and skylarks. In the woodland areas are hoopoes, short-toed treecreepers, green woodpeckers, coal tits, great tits, goldfinches and golden orioles.

With all the press devoted to sun and beaches it might be difficult to imagine taking a ski holiday in Andalucía, but Sierra Nevada in Granada makes that not only possible, but an excellent idea.

Here you can find practical and technical information about Sierra Nevada Ski Resort, such as the location, altitude, runs, ski lifts and operating hours, snow-making facilities, ski schools and special ski activities, snowboarding, special zones, accommodation and more.

Looking at the webcam can be very useful for planning a Sierra Nevada stay, or for a day excursion to Sierra Nevada. You can check the weather conditions, the state of the ski slopes, in terms of snow cover, and see how crowded they are.

Today the Sierra Nevada ski resort is a thriving centre of activity, but little over a century or so ago, it was nothing more than an isolated area within the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range.

Events calendar in Sierra Nevada 2017/2018

Andalucia is well known for its sunshine, beaches and amazing rural and cultural attractions - but skiing? Not an obvious connection. In fact, a thriving downhill skiing industry exists thanks to the world-class station in Sierra Nevada. Even fewer will be aware that this region is also cultivating cross-country ski (also known as Nordic skiing, as opposed to Alpine - downhill), and that we have excellent athletes in training who compete not only in the south of Spain, but all over the world.

A guide to the Sierra Nevada, the only ski resort in Andalucia, is located at Pradollano in the Sierra Nevada Mountain range, about 30 km south east of Granada city.

Those who wish to enjoy the snow, but who do not want to partake in any type of skiing, or snowboarding, have plenty of options. Families will especially enjoy the snow activities on offer.

There are in the beginners’ area of Borreguiles including Pista del Mar, Pista de El Bosque, Kidspark.

Superparque Sulayr is a snowpark with various different types of jumps and obstacles for freestyle skiers and snowboarders. It has the longest line of modules in Europe, and the biggest halfpipe in Spain, at 180 m long.

It is always helpful to learn some useful vocabulary that will make the trip excursion even better, even though most of the staff working in Sierra Nevada speak good English.

The seventh edition of the Sun&Snow Weekend Festival will takes place on the first weekend of April 2026. The festival that takes the European club scene to new heights (2,500m) and is now firmly established in the dance music calendar.

Like all ski resorts, Sierra Nevada has a range of runs to suit different abilities. The difficulty grading is indicated by colours, in an internationally recognised code. The colour grading is awarded according to various criteria, including the steepness of the slope, and obstacles such as moguls and jumps.

Ski mountaineering (esquí de montaña, or esquí de travesía), also known as “skimo”, involves climbing mountains while either on skis, or carrying them, depending on the steepness of the ascent, and then descending the mountain on skis.

When you’re doing an action sport which involves moving at high speed in challenging weather conditions, it is important to use good-quality equipment that keeps you warm, dry and safe. Ski and snowboarding equipment is expensive, so many people prefer to rent theirs, rather than buying it.

There are nine ski areas in total. Borreguiles (2,645m), 500m above Pradollano the arrival resort town,e Loma de Dilar, and Laguna de la Yeguas are the main areas. In addition, there is Veleta, Cauchiles/Parador, Rio Monachil plus Sulayr Snowpark.

By Fiona Flores Watson

Dates: season lasted 146 days, from 26 November 2016 to 23 April 2017

Total skiers: 955,521
Total other activities: 76,618
Total non-skiers: 118,822

Final visitor total: 1,150,961 (up 17% on 2015/16)

Busiest month: April - 237,649 skiers

Average runs open every day: 80km

Visitors: 87% Spanish, 13% non-Spanish (majority British)

The 2014/2015 ski season started on 29 November 2014, and finished on 3 May 2015, with the best winter season for five years.

The season lasted 156 days (the longest in southern Europe), with four total days of complete closure and two days of partial closure due to poor weather conditions - the second-longest season in history.

News 2016 / 2017 season

The season opened on 28 November 2015.

Sierra Nevada has more than 50 races scheduled for this season, including a World Cup event - the Freestyle Aerials - in February 2016 (see below for more details). This event will be hosted for the first time ever in Sierra Nevada, specifically in Pradollano, along with music and entertainment aimed at a young audience. This will be the last trial before the Snowboard and Freestyle World Championships, scheduled for March 2017.