Macugnaga sits at 1,327 m beneath the only Himalayan-scale wall in the Alps, the east face of Monte Rosa. A Walser stone-roofed village where you ski quietly under 4,000 m peaks.
Macugnaga is a ski resort with genuine ski-in/ski-out hotels in Italy, in the Italian Alps. The village sits at 1327 m and the lifts top out at 2868 m, with 35 km of pistes and 12 lifts. Its BestSnowHotels snow score is 82/100, and the season usually runs Dec 7 → Apr 14.
How we score and classify resortsRun counts and piste kilometres are indicative. Green runs only exist in France, Spain, Andorra, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Japan, the United States, Morocco, Algeria, Lesotho, South Africa, Egypt, Canada, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Chile; Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Germany start at blue. Indicative average snow depth near the top of the resort, in cm.
A handful of well-rated hotels in and around the resort. Pick one, then compare live prices across Booking, Expedia and Hotels.com.
Very good · 255 reviews
Strong value for Macugnaga, with a high guest rating that punches above its nightly price.
Guests rate this hotel as very good (4.5/5 from 255 reviews). A budget-friendly option for Macugnaga, with live nightly rates shown for your exact dates so you always see the best price.
Great · 181 reviews
A dependable, well-reviewed choice for a stay in Macugnaga.
Great · 187 reviews
A dependable, well-reviewed choice for a stay in Macugnaga.
Ratings from Google, prices indicative per night. Live availability and rates via our booking partners.
Properties at Pecetto sit beside the Belvedere chairlift; central Staffa lodgings are a short walk or shuttle to the lift base.
Macugnaga is one of those places that has stayed itself. The Walser settlers came over from the Valais in the 13th century and left a village of dark larch beams and heavy stone-slab roofs, and that is still the architecture you walk through at 1,327 m today. Above you rises the Monte Rosa east face, a vertical wall of nearly 2,500 m that climbers genuinely compare to the Himalayas. The skiing splits in two: the Belvedere sector right out of the village, mellower and tree-lined, and the Monte Moro sector that climbs in a single big cable car to 2,868 m. From the top of Monte Moro you look across at the Mattmark dam holding back its blue lake on the Swiss side, and the long descent back down through gullies and open snowfields is what people come for. Thirty-five km of piste is not a huge number, but the terrain is serious, the off-piste possibilities are real, and the lift queues are almost nothing. Macugnaga is also one of the great ski-touring bases in the western Alps, with the Monte Rosa hut routes starting from the valley head. Come here if you want quiet pistes, big mountains overhead, and an Italian village that still feels like itself.
Hotels and apartments around the lifts. Compare prices on Booking, Expedia and Hotels.com.
Everything on our site connected to Macugnaga: its area, the lists it makes, head-to-heads and trip guides.
Macugnaga offers 35 km of pistes across 12 lifts, from 1327 m to 2868 m. Whether it suits beginners depends on the dedicated learner zones at the base of the slopes, so check the local ski-school options for green and blue run access.
The season runs from Dec 7 to Apr 14, with a snow score of 82/100. Snow is usually most reliable in the heart of that window, deep in winter, while the closing weeks bring longer days and softer afternoon snow.
Properties at Pecetto sit beside the Belvedere chairlift; central Staffa lodgings are a short walk or shuttle to the lift base.
Macugnaga has 35 km of marked pistes served by 12 lifts, between 1327 m and 2868 m of altitude.
Macugnaga counts about 30 marked runs in total. The colour breakdown above shows how they split by difficulty, a good guide to whether the resort fits your level.
The closest alternatives, an easy switch if dates or hotels are tight.
Swiss Alps
Italian Alps
Swiss Alps
Swiss Alps
Resorts with a similar feel, snow record and size.
Italian Alps
Southern Alps (NZ)
BC Interior
Bavarian Alps