Going Up Without Skis on the Port Ainé Gondola

If someone in the group does not ski, the Port Ainé pedestrian ticket lets them go up and down once on the Roní gondola, without skis or board, for €9.50 (€7 up to age 6 and from 70). At the top, the Port Ainé 2000 café is open from 8:30 to 17:00, with views of the pistes.

What it is and who it is for

Port Ainé is the ski resort above Rialp and a few minutes from Sort, at over 2,000 metres and surrounded by the Alt Pirineu Natural Park. Almost everything happens at the 2000 level: ticket offices, the Hotel Port Ainé 2000, the café, the buffet restaurant and the play park. The Roní gondola runs down from there to the 1,650 level, where parking zone 0, the largest, with 350 spaces, is.

The pedestrian ticket is designed for the grandparent, partner or friend who accompanies the group and does not put on skis. It lets them go up with everyone, have breakfast or a drink while the others ski and meet up for lunch. It is not valid for getting around the resort: it is one ride up and one ride down, and gives no access to any other lift.

Cost and hours

The pedestrian ticket costs €9.50 for adults, young people, children aged 7 to 11 and seniors aged 65 to 69, and €7 for under-6s and over-70s. It does not have the online purchase discount that other lift passes have, so it makes no difference whether you buy it at the ticket office or on the website. If you are coming many days, there is a pedestrian season pass for the Pallars, valid at Port Ainé and Espot.

The resort is open from 9:00 to 17:00, with the last ride up at 16:30; on Christmas Day, from 9:00 to 13:00. From 31 March it closes at 16:00. The play park, from 9:00 to 16:30. For any questions, the resort's phone is 973 627 607.

Eating and waiting at the top

The Port Ainé 2000 café serves drinks and bocadillos from 8:30 to 17:00 every day; if you want to sit down to eat, the Port Ainé Buffet Restaurant is open from 13:30 to 15:30. Wrap up warm even if you do not ski: at 2,000 metres the air is cold even in the sun.

Getting there

You drive up the resort road from Rialp. Parking is free and divided into five zones; you have the details in Port Ainé car parks. Without a car, the Snow Taxi goes up from Sort for €2 each way, booking the day before.

If the group includes children who do not ski and you want to spend the day in the snow, also see the igloo-building day, which leaves from the same road.