La Villa ski resort is part of the locality of Alta Badia and is located halfway through Val Badia at the foot of Gardenazza and Piz La Ila. Resort is situated at 1,483 m asl and is also called “La Ila” (in ladin language) or “Stern” (german).
This locality is world-famous due to the “Gran Risa” ski slope, which every year is venue for Worldcup competitions in alpine skiing. The stars of the ski scene have been assembling here for more than 30 years for a fashionable and sporting rendezvous. Thus every year in December “La Ila” becomes a lively centre. This ski slope directly leads into the centre of La Villa.
La Villa ski resort - Alta Badia area
La Villa is part of the Alta Badia area and also is linked to the Sella Ronda circuit, with lifts by Corvara and Colfosco. The resort provides the skiers with 130 km slopes and 53 lifts of different types. The longest run is with 4.15 km the run from Vallon Corvara.
The village of La Villa is a sister village to San Cassiano in the beautiful Alta Badia valley. They share the same skiing, accessed by separate gondola stations, and are linked together by gentle blues and reds. La Villa ski resort has much to offer for all levels of skier, with vast distances and lovely varied and interesting terrain for intermediates and advanced skiers, as well as gentle blue runs and nursery slopes ideally suited for beginner skiers. Take the Piz La Ila gondola from the village centre and you’re transported right in to the heart of the Alta Badia ski region. From here you can ski gently rolling terrain over to San Cassiano and Armentarola, or across to Corvara and the entry point to the extensive Sella Ronda route for those looking for more of a challenge. This circuit of 20 lifts and 25km of pistes can be tackled by any reasonably fit and confident intermediate skier in three hours (five hours when lifts are busy), and can be skied both clockwise and anti-clockwise.
Take on the technical challenge of the infamous World Cup slalom piste, the Gran Risa, or head across to the ‘Hidden Valley’ of Lagazuoi, one of the most memorable runs in the region surrounded by frozen waterfalls and soaring rock walls. For an off-piste challenge there is plenty to explore with a mountain guide, including the extensive skiing of Arabba and the Val Mezdi. For those looking to put some miles on the clock, the Sella Ronda, which can be skied in both directions gives you a wonderful introduction to the spectacular mountainscapes of the Dolomites, taking in the famous peaks.
La Villa village
The Apres Ski scene in La Villa is quiet, with a limited nightlife. The resort has only a few bars that offer venues for a fun night out after a day's skiing. The resort has a number of shops that sell a wide variety of goods and also offer equipment for hire.
A few restaurants are situated in the resort, and they serve a range of traditional and Italian cuisine. Almost all the restaurants have impressive wine-lists, so where bars are lacking there’s always the possibility of getting stuck in to one of these.
