El Colorado

Q: Is El Colorado the best place to learn near Santiago?

Yes, for most people. It is the first resort you reach on the road up, about an hour and a quarter from Santiago, and it is where most Chileans learn: gentle terrain, and below it Farellones, the oldest ski village in the country, built in the 1930s, with the best beginner infrastructure in the central Andes. The lift ticket also covers La Parva and Valle Nevado once you are ready to move on.

Q: When is the season at El Colorado?

Roughly mid-June to late September, with August the most reliable month — this is the Southern Hemisphere, so it is winter while Europe is on the beach. The access road has a long series of hairpins and is often restricted or requires chains after a storm, so a big snowfall can mean a late start. Weekends fill with day traffic from the capital; a midweek lesson is calmer.

Farellones, Región MetropolitanaSee it on the map

Foto: Alfredo Cofré · CC BY-SA 2.0

Region

Farellones, Región Metropolitana

Country

Chile

Local time

America/Santiago

Currency

USD

El Colorado, together with the village of Farellones below it, is the closest and most accessible skiing to Santiago — the first resort you reach on the road up, and where most Chileans learn.

Farellones was the first ski resort built in Chile, in the 1930s, and it still has the best beginner infrastructure in the central Andes.

Last reviewed 14 September 2026

Best suited to

Beginners
Families
Intermediates

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Where lessons start

The obvious place to learn in Chile: gentle terrain, the country's oldest teaching tradition and the shortest drive from the city.

Resort areas

Farellones
Cumbre El Colorado

Getting there

Santiago is around an hour and a quarter, the shortest of the Tres Valles.

See it on the map

Qualifications required in Chile

Chile has no state teaching licence. The professional standard is the Instructor certification, and Alpine Pal shows what each instructor actually holds so you can judge it for yourself.

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El Colorado: common questions

Is El Colorado the best place to learn near Santiago?

Yes, for most people. It is the first resort you reach on the road up, about an hour and a quarter from Santiago, and it is where most Chileans learn: gentle terrain, and below it Farellones, the oldest ski village in the country, built in the 1930s, with the best beginner infrastructure in the central Andes. The lift ticket also covers La Parva and Valle Nevado once you are ready to move on.

When is the season at El Colorado?

Roughly mid-June to late September, with August the most reliable month — this is the Southern Hemisphere, so it is winter while Europe is on the beach. The access road has a long series of hairpins and is often restricted or requires chains after a storm, so a big snowfall can mean a late start. Weekends fill with day traffic from the capital; a midweek lesson is calmer.