Resort information for Ischgl

Ischgl is quite a compact village tucked away on the Swiss border. The wooded flanks of the valley rise steeply from the village, which gets almost no sun in early season. At the west end of the pedestrian zone is the main gondola to the mid-mountain focus. The buildings in the resort are practically all in traditional chalet style, and the place has a neat, prosperous air. The narrow main street plus a couple of side streets are traffic-free. The resort as a whole offers a fair-sized, relatively high, snow-sure area.

Practically all the slopes are above the tree line. The sunny Idalp plateau is the hub of the slopes, and it can be very crowded, especially at ski school meeting time, lunchtime and the end of the day. All the slopes, except the runs back to the resort, are above 2000m, and many of these on the Ischgl side are north-west facing. So snow conditions are generally reliable. Ischgl tops our fast lift league table – 62 per cent of its lifts are fast ones. Up the mountain, more of a problem is crowds on the runs, especially the easier runs on the Swiss side.

Mountain restaurants have tended to offer quite good quality, with over half offering table-service, but inadequate capacity – but there are new and improved places planned. Ischgl is one of the liveliest resorts in the Alps, from early afternoon on. There’s a selection of lively bars, plenty of choice for eating out, and an excellent sports centre; shops are mainly confined to winter sports.