Portillo

The best known and most revered ski resort in the Andes, Portillo has become a firm favourite with national ski teams searching for good slopes for their summer training. Set on a spectacular plateau near the top of the awe-inspiring Uspallata pass and within a schuss of the Argentine border, Portillo is in a magnificent setting. The skiing takes place around a frozen lake, the Laguna del Inca, which is surrounded by peaks approaching 20,000ft. There's easy skiing for families and serious challenges for hardcore skiers. It has all the benefits of American ownership – good grooming, extensive snow-making and good avalanche control. Almost everyone stays at the big yellow Hotel Portillo by the lake, still run in rather splendid 1950s style.