Traffic chaos has upended skiing plans for countless tourists in Andalucia this weekend.
It seems thousands of ski enthusiasts planned to head to the Granada slopes – but were unaware of the restrictions in place.
In a warning posted on X and other social media channels on Friday, the official Sierra Nevada account said the A-395 would be cut off once public parking becomes full in both Plaza de Andalucia and Los Peñones.
It also warned that coaches would not be allowed access all weekend, with a few exceptions.
It seems the message did not reach a large number of visitors.
Robert Kamperin posted in a skiing forum on Facebook: ‘I just tried enter the Sierra Nevada resort but we were stopped 10km before the resort due to the fact that parking is full.
‘We even spoke to people who had accommodation and got sent back. Needless to say, none of this is seen as public information on Sierra Nevada’s webpage and the people representing Sierra Nevada by the police stop were completely ignorant to the fact that hundreds of people were waiting for hours in vain due to poor information sharing and planning on their side.’
Samantha Hoy agreed: ‘The communication is the worse I’ve seen.’
Another added: ‘I totally agree they should be doing more, It’s just total chaos even before the road damage. When I went I queued for two hours just to get the main lift up, there was no chair lift working in the town so had to climb that hill three times.
‘The bus times were just random and had a large queue for it in the town. The only day I skied was more queuing that skiing and no one seemed to know any info about wether it would open next day.’
What ski resort’s warning said
Drivers are being advised to arrive early this weekend, as access will be cut off when parking spaces are filled.
Additional restrictions are in place in Pradollano following the collapse of part of the road surface at kilometre 31.5 near the resort entrance, as well as damage to the intermediate access road known as ‘Telefonica’.
Coaches will not be permitted to enter Pradollano this weekend, with the exception of the regular Granada–Sierra Nevada service, which must drop passengers at kilometre 36 at the junction between the upper part of the resort and the Sabinas–Hoya de la Mora section.
Minibuses will be allowed to enter but must park in the designated bus parking area.
The Telefonica access road has been closed to heavy vehicles and will only be open to private cars, light delivery vehicles and essential services.
Within Pradollano itself, traffic will operate in both directions, but parking along the internal road is strictly prohibited.
Despite the access issues, the ski area will operate as normal, with slopes and lifts opening at 9am.
Visitors are advised to access the ski area via the Virgen de las Nieves chairlift and to park at Los Peñones.
The Parador urban chairlift will run extended hours from 7.45am to 7.45pm, with the final ascent at 7.15pm.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
