Obergurgl (Austria)

Straight to the pistes at Gurgl

The lifts in Obergurgl and Hochgurgl leave right from the village centre and take skiers and snowboarders directly to the slopes. It's easy to move between the ski areas of Obergurgl and Hochgurgl via the 8-person Top Express gondola, which connects the two. Overall, the Gurgl ski area has around 110km of pistes, including a large snow park, funslopes, boarder cross and off-piste possibilities. Snow cannons on 90% of the ski area ensure lack of snow is never an issue, and a generous selection of mountain restaurants ensure lack of food or drink is never an issue either! For a special experience, try night skiing and night tobogganing on the floodlit slopes.

Learning to ski

The dedicated children's skiing areas at the Wiesental, Pirchhütt and Krumpwasser feature moving carpets and rope tows that introduce kids to skiing in a fun, safe manner. At Gurgl, children from the age of 3 can enrol in ski lessons with the competent ski instructors. This means mum and dad can sneak off to the slopes for a few laps while the kids have a ball learning to love the snow and gain confidence on skis or snowboard!

Après-ski at Gurgl

The après-ski scene at Gurgl gets going in the afternoon at the rowdy mountain restaurants. Après-ski here has always been popular with British skiers and it's not surprising - good, old-fashioned, jolly, glass-raising fun can be had almost everywhere here. While most of the après-ski is done early so you can get some shut-eye before another day on the slopes, there are several nightclubs in town that keep the party going until the wee hours.

Off the slopes at Gurgl

There is a lovely ice skating rink located in the village, and toboggan tracks that are also open for nighttime tobogganing. To explore the Ötztal valley at a slower pace, don your cross-country skis or your winter hiking boots and take to the trails. The Ötztal Nature Park exhibition allows visitors to further explore the local flora and fauna, while learning about the ramifications of climate change on the glaciers and ski areas in the Alps.