Resort height: 1930m
The mountains
The skiing in Obergurgl is divided between two main sectors, one above the main resort and the other around its near-neighbour Hochgurgl. Both offer the same kind of experience - wide, easy-skiing pistes above the tree line. Provided you can ski or snowboard on reds as well as blues, you can drop all the way from 3082m down to 1795m - a vertical drop of 1300m (or, put another way, a bit like skiing from the top of Ben Nevis, right down to sea level).
Under clear skies, and after a fresh dump, there is also great freeriding to be enjoyed by snowboarders and more expert skiers in Obergurgl. Those who hunger for more pistes can always ride the local bus down to the resort of Sölden, which is in the same valley (the Ötztal), and offers a further 146km of groomed runs.
But what tends to interest most visitors to Obergurgl more is the excellent range of mountain huts, offering traditional Tyrolean dishes such as gröstle (fried potato pancakes, topped with an egg). This is a resort where the relaxing is as important as the skiing.
Getting there
Obergurgl is an hour and a half away from Innsbruck airport. Driving from Munich or Friedrichshafen airports to Obergurgl will take nearer three hours.
Rating: 
6/10
Après-ski
If big nights out are on the agenda, target the other resort in the Ötztal, Sölden. Obergurgl tends to attract older skiers and families, and so the après is a little underpowered. Still, a lot of people stop off at one of the lower huts on the way back into Obergurgl for a drink - and 'a quick one before tea' often turns into several. David's Skihütte and the Nederhütte are two of the most popular venues.
As with many Austrian resorts, the majority of visitors to Obergurgl stay in hotels on a half-board basis, and eat in each night. But if you're in search of some variety, try the pizzeria's at the Romantika and Madeleine hotels. After all, Italy is on the other side of the mountain.
Rating: 
5/10
Non-skiers
Holidays in Obergurgl are great if you're happy to chill out in the hotel spa or dabble in a few winter activities, such as cross-country skiing, snow-shoeing or ice-skating. But anyone who's looking for a big shopping experience or lots of daytime buzz will find it rather small and isolated.
Rating: 6/10
Cost of living
Obergurgl's reputation for good snow is pushing prices up, but this is still a long way from being as expensive as Courchevel. Most Brits check into full-service hotels, but there are lots of B&B's in the village for more cost-conscious travellers.
Rating: 
8/10
Attractiveness of the resort
Obergurgl's combination of traditional hotels, and end-of-the-valley atmosphere is one many will like, and the mountain scenery is spectacular too.
