Chapelco Ski Resort Guide & ReviewsSki Area, Apres-Ski, Lodging, Off Mountain Activities

Resort Review

Chapelco ski resort, in the Neuquen province of Argentina, sits at 1980m overlooking the impressive Lake Lácar and just 20 kilometers from the alpine town of San Martin de los Andes - one of the prettiest in the Lake District. The resort is surrounded by lenga forests and within touching distance of the mighty Lanín Volcano making Chapelco one of the most scenic ski resorts in Argentina.

lake lacar, patagonia

Après-ski

Chapelco has a couple of bars and restaurants at the base station but for apres-ski, the nightlife is based in San Martin de los Andes which has everything you need from lively bars, clubs and all types of restaurants serving up local and international cuisine.

Key information (whole area)
Altitude 1250m
Top lift 2117m
Family
Beginner
Intermediate
Expert
Piste (km) 32
Longest run 3 km
Off piste
Cross country 2 km
Season June- Oct
Snowboard parks 1
Heli Skiing ✔
Summer skiing ✔
Glacier skiing ✘
Babysitting ✘
Creche ✔
Apres ski Lively & Fun

Catedral ski area guide

Chapelco is a family oriented mountain with largely modern infrastructure and terrain that caters to a range of ability levels.

Chapelco has a good snow record with annual snowfall of over 350 inches providing a long season that starts mid June and goes through to early October. The skiable area on Mount Chapelco is spread over 160 skiable hectares with 28 pistes covering 103kms serviced by 12 lifts. Around 15% of the on-piste skiing is for beginners, 60% for intermediates and the rest for the advanced.

chapelco ski holidays, patagonia, argentina

Beginners

If you are skiing or boarding for the first time, there are gentle wide pistes to learn the basics from the excellent ski instructors (some English speaking) before a gradual progression on to the blue runs.

Intermediate

Intermediate skiers and boarders are particularly well catered for in Chapelco with a quarter of the trails classified as intermediate. Some of the lower trails wind through the beach forests providing some superb rabbit trails and are aslo ideal for those flat light days.

Advanced

For those looking for challenging terrain, Chapelco ski resort does not dissapoint. On piste, there are some trails with a 70% incline around the two peaks and then there are the back country bowls to explore. Anyone looking for spectacular scenery in deep powder will find Chepelco too good to be true.

Other ski holiday activities

Chapelco offers planty of other options if you fancy some time away from the pistes...

  • Winter hiking trails
  • Heli-skiing
  • Sledging
  • Snow tubing
  • Snow shoeing
  • Snow mobile
  • Dog sledding

Snowboard

Snowboarding in Chapelco is amazing due to the ski resorts modern snow parks, fun tree lines and open bowls with deep powder. The terrain park has a half pipe, parallel slalom, big air bag and fun park and is located at the end of the Graeff ski lift.

Cross-country

There are a few cross-country trails at Chapelco that weave through the forests.