“The air is clear, the sky is blue…Plumes of white dust kick up…and warm, dry air feeds into your lungs…jump after jump, berm after berm…in to any of the multiple dusty, rocky, techy and flowy main trails and you have yourself a lot of options…everyone is having a great time on a perfectly graded, well maintained & modern mountainside.” Dirt Magazine on Singletrack Safari
If you want to visit the famous, incredible, huge Bike Park at Pal Arinsal (was Vallnord) everyone knows there’s no better or cheaper way to do it than with Singletrack Safari!
We are the Official Holiday Partner to Pal Arinsal, which means that we are able to offer you a stress-free fantastic package INCLUDING local contacts, advice, accommodation, airport transfers and lift passes at great prices!
Arriving into Barcelona airport you meet the scheduled transfer bus which takes you direct to the door of your fantastic hotel in a quiet location just outside the busy town of La Massana. This is Andorra’s most popular and best positioned summer town, situated just a few minutes outside the capital city, amidst towering tree lined mountains, directly at the foot of Pal Arinsal Bike Park itself.
Pal Arinsal will again host the World Championships in 2024, and regularly hosts World Cups – in fact it now hosts a round almost every year! The annual Maxiavalanche race in June is sister event to the infamous Megavalanche. It is easy to understand why such huge events come here: there is over a vertical kilometre of descending from the top of the mountain back into town! The top of the park is open and flowing, but as you dip below the treeline the trails become much more steep, twisting tightly through the trees, occasionally bursting out into bright, sunlit clearings. Cedric Gracia was the mastermind behind much of the riding here, and you may well bump into him riding the park…
There is a broad variety of trails to enjoy – and lots of choice…there’s upwards of twenty separate DH routes here! Many of these cross one another, making it very easy to switch between trails on each run to keep things fresh. Not that you will get bored of course – there’s a lot of riding to be had, and due to their length each track will take you a lot of sessioning before you start to feel that you are hitting the optimum lines. We’d challenge anyone to feel that they know every turn of the super-bermy, dusty Commencal track without slamming out several dozen runs!
There’s great progression to be had by exploring the trails here – there are some great introductory singletrack trails to get you into the feel of the super-dusty surfaces. These prepare you perfectly to step up to trails like the rocky blue of “Skippy” which ploughs down the mountain from the midstation at high speed. Then there are trails such as Corpablanca; a tough, steep, twisting blue trail peppered with rocks, drop offs and even a mini road gap!
There’s a lot to satisfy more experienced riders of course: these are big mountains after all! From the peak at 2358m you have two amazing red trails: Cubil – which is a fast, flowing berm and tabletop infested run through dazzling sunlit meadows, or you can hook into the full Maxiavalanche descent right back to town…which grows more difficult the lower you drop down towards town – with the final few kilometres being a super-tough black graded tech fest of natural singletrack. If that’s not enough there are two north shore “Wood Parks” which are significantly different to one another – one being easier, the other being somewhat, well..nuts, quite frankly!
Finally, if you really want a challenge you can head onto the super-tough “Project One”, which mixes super tough natural trails with enormous rock drops, skinnies and more. And of course, we haven’t even mentioned the THREE fearsome World Cup/ World Championship DH trails…
After an amazing day on the trails you’ll be more than happy to head back to La Massana for a cold (and cheap!) – beer from a frosted glass! If you need spares there are lots of big, well stocked bike shops. Remember that Andorra is basically tax-free, so there are sometimes genuine bargains to be had! You can also rent high quality bikes here – unlike many shops in the Alps the machinery is top quality, well maintained and usually current season. You’ll find loads of brands including, of course, our sponsors Commencal; the famous company are based opposite our hotel, and and naturally have a huge presence wherever you go! We have a hire page elsewhere on the site for discounted direct hire with Commencal if you want to arrange a shiny Supreme or other models for your visit too…
You’ll often bump into pro riders training around the park or in town – Greg Minnaar, Loris Vergier and other riders now live here year round, and are often on the trails – as well as many other well known faces, such as the Athertons who we have bumped into in the past…and of course Andorra’s most famous biking celebrity Cedric Gracia, who can often be found in the park during daylight…and a succession of bars after dark!!
There are plenty of places to eat and drink in La Massana – and with tax-free, super low prices you can easily find food to suit any budget. For example, a nice, fresh, large pizza in a great italian along the street is only 11 euros (£9.50)! Even in the best restaurant in town you’ll find that the prices are low – treat yourself to the most expensive thing on the menu (a mahoossive T-Bone) is only about 25 euros, or £20! Our favourite bar, Mon Bohemi (Dirt called it “one of the best pubs I have been to” ) is run by bikers and serves a great choice of beer and food too….a large beer is around 4 euros, so half the price you pay in the Alps!
When you stay with us at the foot of Pal Arinsal Bike Park you get an incredible deal, only possible due to our status as Pal Arinsal’s Official Holiday Partner. We calling them “Morzine Busting Prices” because the accommodation, transfer and lift pass packages we have designed blow a lot of traditional holiday in the Alps out of the water!
It’s due to our special status that we get silly prices on things, and we pass these savings onto you. Our total price for our lovely Hotel, INCLUDING Airport Transfers, Local Support, Lift Passes and Breakfasts is often less than the very cheapest public price for the room on it’s own – it’s a bona fide bargain! This gives you a really superb, recently-updated family-run hotel, close enough to get to town, but far enough away for peaceful nights – it’s SO friendly, and it is a fantastic place! The hotel was recently refurbished and has a bar, restaurant, riverside garden, lovely rooms, great bathrooms, a secure bike store and even free parking onsite. Almost everyone who comes to Pal Arinsal with us comes back the following year…
Our total price for our lovely Hotel, INCLUDING Airport Transfers, Lift Passes, Local Support and Breakfasts is often less than the very cheapest price you can get on booking.com for the room on it’s own – it’s a bona fide bargain! These prices are exclusive to Singletrack Safari as the Official Holiday Partner of Pal Arinsal Bike Park.
Overview | Available Dates (commencing) |
7 Night Price | Short Break Price | Single Supplement | Special Offers | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Official Pal Arinsal Holiday 2024 – Family Run Hotel |
June 2024 Park open 7 days per week from 22nd June (tbc) July 2024 All dates available September 2024 All dates before 8th September (tbc) After 8th September (tbc) park closes weekdays – open Sat / Sun only |
June, July, Sept Fully flexible – we can offer any number of nights available at similar rates – please ask for details
|
June, July, Sept Price is for 4 nights, but trips are fully flexible – we can offer any number of nights available at similar rates – please ask for details |
£135 – 7 nights
|
Please request availability for: – MTB World Championships August 28th to September 1st 2024 (tbc)
|
|
Official Pal Arinsal Holiday 2024 – Family Run Hotel |
August 2024 All dates available |
August Fully flexible – we can offer any number of nights available at similar rates – please ask for details |
August Price is for 4 nights, but trips are fully flexible – we can offer any number of nights available at similar rates – please ask for details |
£280 – 7 nights |
Please request availability for: – MTB World Championships August 28th to September 1st 2024 (tbc) |
" very well organized and professionally run and most importantly the riding was awesome!"
Dan White
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