More information - Pas de la Casa - Andorra

Pas de la Casa/Grau Roig is located on the eastern border of Andorra, a tiny duty free principality in the southern Pyrenees. Its a country ideally suited to snowsports with its high snow sure mountains and almost mediterranean climate. Not surprisingly, it has become a firm favourite with the skiers and boarders who return year after year to enjoy the snowsports, the young cosmopolitan atmosphere and the friendly Andorran hospitality. The Pyrenees are no longer considered to be 'off the beaten track' of world skiing and this tiny principality has gained an excellent reputation for wintersports. Until the 1950's Andorra's economy centred mainly on the summer pasturing of sheep and cattle and the harvesting of tobacco, rye, olives and grapes while industry was limited to processing these products and the production of handicrafts. Since then tourism has taken over as Andorra's main source of revenue, exploiting its scenic mountains and recognising the massive potential for wintersports. Due to the lack of customs duties and low or non-existent taxes, Andorra has become an important international centre of retail trade attracting millions of shoppers from all over Europe to its duty free haven. There is no national monetary unit in Andorra, both French francs and Spanish pesetas are accepted. The official language is Catalan due to its affinity with the neighbouring Catalonian region of Spain where most of its inhabitants originate from but Spanish, French and English are all widely spoken. As well as being one of Andorra's most popular ski resorts Pas de la Casa is also a border town - the gateway into the country from France. The name Pas de la Casa (literally Pass of the House) derives from the days when all you would have found there was a shepherds' hut which served as a landmark for travellers crossing the River Ariege. Nowadays its a busy border control manned by customs officers checking on the numerous visitors who come here either solely for the duty free shopping or to enjoy the variety of snowsports on offer. Its popular with the young French and Spanish too who frequently make the border crossing to enjoy the unrestricted nightlife in this unique Catalan snow-filled Tijuana. The skiing at 'Pas' was first developed in 1957 by Francesco Viladomat, a local businessman, it started with only one draglift and gradually grew with more lifts introduced every year. Until 1976 the station was on one mountain only, the Peak of Envalira; by the 1980s it had spread to Monmalus and the Peak of Cubil up to the area of Cercle de Pessons and the Cortals d'Encamp. The 1990's brought dramatic changes to Andorra and its massive financial investments have brought Andorra's sports facilities, both on and off the mountains, firmly into the 21st century. Rather than build new resorts, developers have concentrated on linking existing ones to create even bigger skiing areas. Pas de la Casa or 'Pas' as it is affectionately known now links with neighbouring Grau Roig and has also established a lift link with Soldeu/El Tarter forming one of the largest lift linked areas in the Pyrenees. Access to the resorts has been simplified too with the installation of the Funicamp (mountain cable car) in 1998/99 making the journey from Encamp, Andorra's most central village, a mere 14 minutes to the slopes - a journey which would previously have taken 4 times as long on a winding mountain road.