The Basibé Snowpark in Cerler is the largest in Spain and attracts snowboarders and similar sports enthusiasts from all over the country. It is located in the resort's Ampriu sector, and is a total of 2.5 kilometres long, with plenty of scope for jumps and modules during the long descent. 

For riders, terms which are mysterious for the rest of us, such as camel box, wallride or rainbow (all present at Basibé) are full of meaning. The former snowpark has been turned into the EasyPark, a beginners' area for those just getting started with freestyle.

More than skiing: speed skiing and snowmobiles 

Cerler has been modernised to meet the needs of people who have mastered normal skiing and are looking for new sensations, such as speed skiing. In this sport, skiers hurtle down a straight, steep slope. At the end of the route they pass photocells which record the top speed reached.

Snowmobiles are also becoming more and more popular. Here you can ride them around a 7 kilometre circuit. First, of course, you can take some quick lessons from the resort monitors on how to drive them. More seasoned visitors can take part in one of the scheduled night rides. 

The nocturnal safari is another option for making the most of your time when the slopes are empty, or at any rate, we think they are. Here, visitors are driven in a pisapistas  - a large snowmobile - to find out how the pistes are prepared for the skiers for the next day.

These activities complement the resort's main attractions, with 65 Alpine ski slopes in the valleys of Cerler and Ampriu. The piste of La Solana has also been renovated to offer a new red (intermediate) slope. Another novelty is the Crono Slalom, on the Farnuserals slope, where a control mechanism ensures that everyone who skis down it can see how long it took them.

Aneto and Maladeta, the peaks guarding Benasque 

A visit to Cerler will let you explore the Benasquevalley, one of the most ruggedly beautiful of the Pyrenees. It is bounded by the peaks of Aneto, Posets and Perdiguero, all over 3,000 metres. One of the best ways to get to know the area is at the valley's Nordic Ski Resort. Its 30 kilometres are signposted with two routes in Pilan de Besurta and Pilan d’Estañ. The routes include the lookout points of Aneto and Maladeta, offering a spectacular view well worth the visit. 

A visit also means a rare opportunity to venture into the natural park of the Pyrenean glaciers (Parque Natural de los Valles Occidentales de Huesca), an ecosystem untouched by human activity. The visitors' centre is in Ansó (tel.: 974 370 210).

After these excursions, it's time for a well-deserved rest and refuelling in El Fogaril, a restaurant in Benasque where the chef Dionisio Ciria offers first-class North Aragonese dishes (tel.: 974 551 080). In Anciles, the restaurant Ansils tempts you to try dishes such as wild boar civet  or recao, a tasty local stew (tel.: 974 551 150).