How to get there

Location Portillo is 164 kilometres (102 miles – 2 hours) northeast of Santiago Chile on the Ruta 60. Way up high in the Andes Mountains not far from Cerro Aconcagua, Portillo is on the main highway to Mendoza, Argentina. The ski resort is only 6km from the Argentina border and a kilometre from the Chile customs station at Los Libertadores. The town of Los Andes is 63km to the west of Portillo.

Getting To Portillo The Santiago International Airport, Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez Airport, is the main gateway airport for Portillo. Various airlines have flights into Santiago from other South American cities, and LAN is the major international carrier with flights from Australia, New Zealand, United States, Canada and Europe. To search for a great deal on a flight to Santiago, use one of our recommended flight booking engines. It's easy to compare prices, the number of stops, and flight times.

To get from the airport to Portillo, there are shuttles, private transport providers, and lots of rental car companies if you want to self drive. The travel time to Portillo is about 2 hours although this can vary significantly depending upon road and snow conditions, the number of trucks, and potential road-works. Traffic can be horrendous sometimes. Allow plenty of time on the return trip if you’re catching a flight.

When storms roll in, the highway to Portillo and Argentina sometimes closes. The travel agent at Portillo can help with changes in itinerary including the booking of Santiago hotels as required. The hotel does a good job of forewarning guests about the potential of the road closing, but those stranded on the mountain have to pay for the first night of accommodation and half price for each day thereafter.

Portillo Shuttle Portillo operates a shuttle on Saturdays, the cross-over day. The shuttles leave the airport at 9am and 12:30pm and depart Portillo at noon and 4pm. The cost is $US110 for a return trip (2009 price). They also organise private transfers that can include trips to Santiago and a shopping stop-over.

Other Transport Providers Ski Total offers shuttles on Wednesdays and Saturdays from Santiago hotels to Portillo. For a day trip the cost is only $US48, and it’s $US80 for a return trip on a different day. The catch is that they take you to the rental shop first with the hope that you’ll rent skis from them, so the trip can be time consuming. They also organise private transfers. Manzur Expediciones and Ski Ahorro run similar shuttle operations.

A really cheap way to get from Santiago to Portillo is via bus. There are various buses that go to Los Andes and Portillo en route to Mendoza, Argentina. Turbus (in Spanish) is an example of a bus company that does this trip.

Driving to Portillo There are various car hire companies that vie for your business at the airport. Car hire is expensive so it’s probably only worth hiring a car if you want to travel to Arpa cat skiing or other Chile ski resorts. To compare rates (which are exorbitant with some companies!) use a car hire search engine.

From Santiago head onto the Av Americo Vespucio and turn onto Ruta 57 (Autopista Los Libertadores) which is signposted to Los Andes. This turn-off is part of a spaghetti junction so take it slowly to ensure you get the correct turn. Before Los Andes there’s a by-pass onto Ruta 60 which is very well sign-posted to Portillo and Mendoza. The road is generally choked with trucks and buses but the drive up to Portillo is very easy because the road is like a highway (because it is a highway!) when it’s fully cleared. The road is wide, even around all the switchbacks, and some drivers overtake vehicles that are overtaking another vehicle – crazy!

Chains are compulsory to drive up the mountain but unfortunately the car hire companies don’t provide these. You’ll need to rent them from one of the little stalls near the ascent up the mountain, or there is a roadside restaurant Cabertizo that has cadena arriendo (chain hire). In this restaurant you don’t have to barter over the cost of chain hire, with fixed prices of $Ch6,000 per day or $Ch15,000 for 4 days (2009 price – does not include fitting). They only accept cash and you’ll need to leave your driver’s license or a cash deposit.

There is a car park close to the Portillo Hotel for day trippers, or for overnight guests there are valets to park your car.

Other ski resorts nearby The Arpa cat skiing operation is located in the mountains above Los Andes. For advanced and expert skiers and boarders, this is an absolute “must do”!

The Penitentes ski resort in Argentina is located only 30km to the east of Portillo on International Route 7. Penitentes has a range of terrain within the 300 hectares including some challenging couloirs. Snow cover can sometimes be thin, and the lift system is somewhat primitive, but there is enough excitement to warrant a one day visit.

Los Penitentes is probably best visited as a hiatus on the way to Las Leñas in Argentina, as a day trip to and from Portillo could be a little courageous. Firstly special paperwork is required for car insurance to go into Argentina, which applies to rental cars and taxis. The second hurdle is the time required to cross the border. Depending upon the number of trucks passing through, the crossing from Argentina into Chile may only take an hour. However the Chilean customs officers are more vigilant with their checks so the crossing back into Chile may take 2 hours. The other travel complication is that the Los Libertadores tunnel is sometimes closed due to excessive snow, although if there’s been a big storm you probably wouldn’t want to visit Penitentes until the avalanche risk had subsided anyhow.