Arpa Cat Skiing
Ski Arpa Chile for a fabulously wild and magical adventure. Powder hounds should definitely put Arpa Cat Skiing Chile on the "must do" list for any ski vacation to South America. Ski Arpa provides steep and challenging runs of 900 metres of uninterrupted vertical - not something you'd usually expect from cat skiing. This Chile cat skiing operation has all the delights of great terrain and the backcountry that you'd expect from heli skiing in the Andes. The difference is that Arpa provides exceptional value for money. With Chile heli skiing, the same amount of vertical would cost four to six times as much.
Ski El Arpa (the harp) is the only formal Chile cat skiing operation as the South Americans haven’t fully caught onto the joys of the snowcat yet, but the secret is slowly leaking out.
Benefits of Cat Skiing
Cat skiing offers an opportunity to get away from the congestion and crowds at the ski resorts. You don’t have to fight hundreds or thousands of Santiago locals to get the fresh lines. And cat skiing is better than ski touring. You can save your time and energy for doing what you love most – going down the hill! Also, with cat skiing the guided backcountry experience significantly improves the safety aspects.
Where is Arpa Cat Skiing Located?
Arpa cat skiing operates in two valleys, “Valle el Arpa” and “Valle la Honda”, in the shadow of Cerro Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Andes. Ski Arpa is only 108km northeast of Santiago de Chile (about a 2:15 hour drive), 35km from the town of Los Andes, and not far from Portillo ski resort.
The access road to Arpa is very rugged so a heavy duty 4WD is required to get there. It's easiest to get a tour operator (see below) to provide transport from Los Andes or Santiago. If you want to self-drive see our getting to Arpa page for more information.
Arpa Chile Accommodation
There is no accommodation at Ski Arpa, but there are various lodging options in the town of Los Andes (about an hour away) or in the Aconcagua Valley.
The closest accommodations for
Ski Arpa cat skiing are about an hour away in the town of
Los Andes. Los Andes is aptly named except that the town isn't really in The Andes, but the magnificent mountains are visible everywhere throughout the town. With a population of about 60,000 people, Los Andes is a great place to stay because you can get a feel for the real Chile, away from the staged culture of ski resorts. There are no great tourist attractions here except for some hot springs, but it's a pleasant base for skiing at Arpa or even
Portillo.
A great accommodation pick is the
Casa San Regis, an old hacienda built by Spanish royalty. Some of the rooms have been lovingly restored and the owners have found a fantastic balance between historical charms and modern conveniences. This bed and breakfast style estate has different room configurations to suit singles, families or couples, and the reasonable tariffs include breakfast and dinner. Casa San Regis is the closest lodging to El Arpa, situated on the outskirts of the town of San Estaban, a little north of Los Andes. See our review of
Casa San Regis for more information.
If you want more luxury and less character, stay at
Termas de Jahuel, a 4 star hotel that offers hot baths and pampering services.
For a more budget option, The
Inca Hotel is offered in the packages.
Hotel Plaza Los Andes is a supposed upmarket hotel option for Los Andes, and perhaps it’s “upmarket” in comparison to some of the refugios (hostels) in town, but it's well and truly stuck in the 70s.
You can search for more San Estaban and
Los Andes hotels here, and book on-line.
If you're just planning to do one day of cat skiing with Ski Arpa, the other option is to stay in one of the
Santiago hotels.
Approximate travel times to Ski Arpa:
- Los Andes - 1:25hrs
- Casa San Regis (in San Estaban) - 0:50hrs
- Termas Jahuel - 1:25hrs
- Santiago - 2:15hrs