Pas de la Casa Travel Guide

I drove to Andorra by car from Toulouse, southern France which took me almost three hours. The very scenic road climbs the Pyrenees Mountains and offers brethtaking views. I had to stop and show my passport at the border crossing point. Andorra is not European Union member thus there is still border check point. Just after crossing border I passed by Port d'Envalira - the highest pass in the Pyrenees Mountains (2407 m; 7900 ft) and drove futher down to the first community in Andorra that was Pas de la Casa.

Andorra has no airports and no trains. However, the nearest railway station is located in l'Hospitalet, France, only 13 km from Andorra border crossing point in Pas de la Casa. There are buses from this station as well as from the airports in Toulouse (TLS), France, Barcelona (BCN) and Girona (GRO), Spain. Details: follow the link below.

Many of my pictures taken in Pas de la Casa are of poor or very poor quality for the simple reasons: my poor Soviet Smiena 8M camera I used that time and too large contrast between bright white snowy background and even a bit darker objects. It maybe a tourist trap for every ambitious photographer, especially as click-click addicted amatour as I am now :-).



Unique Suggestions: Taking good pictures on white snow in full sun is always very difficult never mind how good and expensive camera you use. You can try to light the object using a flash but it works only for short distance pictures. After this trip in 1994 I changed my camera to a bit better "full-idiot", I mean automatic camera by Kodak which at least had built-in flash.



Fun Alternatives: If your pictures are already almost white and black try to improve them a bit using any editing software but keep in mind that the result can't be satisfied :-(. Rather cut the picture into two: one of light (darker it) and one of dark (lighter it) object.
Avoid taking pictures of objects of large contrast especially around midday. Generally take pictures early in the morning or before sunset to have longer and softer shadows. Around midday better zoom and compose pictures of non-contrasting objects especially in a shadow. Use UV (mountains) and polarising (elimination of non-metallic reflections of water, glass or snow) filter.

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: Dress accordingly to weather. Check forecasts for ski and snowboard activities in Pas de la Casa and keep in mind that in the mountains weather can change very fast. I experienced cold, foggy and rainy weather in France and surprisingly enjoyed beautiful warm sun about 20 minutes away in Pas de la Casa.
Always take sunglasses. The sun in high mountains is always very sharp!

Toiletries and Medical Supplies: Do not forget sunblock and do use it on time! Once I've seen a woman with severely burned face after only 1-2 hours on the sun in high mountains!

Photo Equipment: Take and use various photo filters from the basic ones: UV in the mountains and polarizing filter which reduces non-metallic reflections of snow. More in my tourist trap tip.

Miscellaneous: In colder season be prepared to use chains while driving. Snow storms at Port d'Envalira pass are possible even in September or May.

Pass de la Casa is located just down the highest paved pass in the Pyrenees called Port D'envalira. I crossed Pyrenees a few times driving four different passes and this one offered the best views. The steep serpentine going up to 2407 m (7900 ft) above see level is fantastic and the views are simple breathtaking.

On the top of the pass there are a few gas/petrol stations built in rocks on both sides of the road as gas/petrol is less expensive in Andorra than in France. The first community in Andorra called Pas de la Casa (ski resort) is well seen down. There is a cement building and tower on the top of a summit by the pass.

The ski season in Pas de la Casa lasts from December to mid-April.

I was in Andorra at the beginning of May. So, I didn't ski but my Polish friends were in Pas de la Casa in March 2006 and they were very satisfied about skiing and weather (a lot of sun and only one foggy day during 10 days) in Pas de La Casa - Grau Roig ski station (over 30 ski lifts and over 50 ski trails for everyone) in eastern Andorra. They were skiing in T-shirts as the temperature was often about 20C. Their stay in Pas de la Casa cost less than in the Alps. They were surprised to meet apart from skiers from Spain, France and Germany, quite many Russians and no Poles. They warned me that ski trails marked red are very difficult (as black ones in Poland) and those marked in black are for very, very experienced skiers, diffucult to survive (read: not for me :-). Shortly they told that they had the best skiing vacation ever. Well, they were skiing in Italian Dolomites as well as a few times in Austrian and French Alps before. The only disadvantage was the distance from Poland to Andorra which shortened their vacations by a few days (they drove by own car) and added some costs. But they visited fairy-like Carcassone in France on the way to Andorra and had a lot of sun on a beach in French Riviera on the way back.

Five days Andorra ski pass (valid for all stations) for season 2006/2007 costs 157,5-168 euros. Follow the link below for up-to-date info.

Equipment: My friends had own skiing equipment as it's always less expensive for them skiing every winter many times. But they told me that they may buy some new equipment in Andorra next year as it was cheap at the end of season (30-50% off at the end of March).