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Resorts & Destinations
Short answer. Krasnaya Polyana is not one ski resort. It is a mountain district above Sochi where three independent resorts operate side by side: Rosa Khutor (105 km of pistes), Gazprom Polyana (38.8 km) and Krasnaya Polyana Resort (about 30 km). A lift pass bought at one does not open the gates at another — which is the single most common mistake visitors make. Since 2019 there has been a combined pass covering all three: 173 km for 3,300 ₽ a day, less than a single day at Rosa Khutor alone.
Rosa Khutor if you are here to ski seriously — it holds more than half the terrain in the valley and by far the biggest vertical. Gazprom Polyana if you want lower prices, wide gentle pistes and Russia's best floodlit night skiing. Krasnaya Polyana Resort if you would rather stay in a walkable town at 540 m and ski moderately. And if you are staying three days or more, buy the combined pass and skip the choice altogether.
| Resort | Pistes | Altitude | Day pass | Best for | Signature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rosa Khutor | 105 km | 560 → 2,320 m (1,569 m vertical) | from about 4,750 ₽ | Confident skiers, long descents | The largest vertical drop in Russia |
| Gazprom Polyana | 38.8 km (40 runs, 19 lifts) | Laura 1,660 m · Alpika 2,256 m | from about 3,900 ₽ | Families, beginners, night skiing | 12.4 km of floodlit pistes |
| Krasnaya Polyana Resort | about 30 km | levels at 540 · 960 · 1,460 · 2,200 m | from about 3,900 ₽ | Mixed trips, non-skiers in the group | A real town at the valley floor |
| Combined pass | 173 km — all three | 540 → 2,320 m | 3,300 ₽ | Trips of three days or more | Cheaper than one day at Rosa |
Prices are indicative for the 2025/26 season and move with the calendar — check the official resort sites, linked at the end, before you travel.
The valley was built out for the 2014 Winter Olympics and the clusters ended up with different owners. Rosa Khutor, Gazprom Polyana and Krasnaya Polyana Resort are three separate companies with their own ticket offices, their own gate systems and their own pricing. Hence the classic arrival-day error: you buy a pass at Rosa Khutor, ride the free ski bus to a Gazprom gondola, and the turnstile refuses you.
Geographically they sit within a few kilometres of each other along the Mzymta river, and a free ski bus connects the base stations of all three.
This is the most underused ticket in the valley. It covers the lifts of all three resorts — 173 km in 2025/26: Rosa Khutor 105 km, Gazprom Polyana 38 km, Krasnaya Polyana 30 km.
| Period | Adult | Child |
|---|---|---|
| Regular days (season opening – 27 Dec, 8 Jan – 5 Apr) | 3,300 ₽ | 1,700 ₽ |
| New Year holidays (28 Dec – 7 Jan) | 3,900 ₽ | 1,900 ₽ |
The arithmetic is blunt: three days on the combined pass costs 9,900 ₽ and gives you 173 km. Three days at Rosa Khutor alone costs roughly 14,250 ₽ for 105 km.
The biggest and priciest of the three: 105 km of piste and 1,569 m of vertical from Rosa Valley at 560 m to Rosa Peak at 2,320 m. Snowmaking keeps the season running up to 140 days a year, though the lower runs close earlier than the top.
You come here for length and variety — Olympic race pistes, a proper learner area up at Rosa Plateau (1,170 m) and marked freeride zones. The trade-off is price and queues: over the New Year holidays the main gondola can eat half an hour of your morning.
Two separate ski areas under one name, and the difference matters:
Together that is 38.8 km on 40 runs served by 19 lifts, some pistes up to 66 m wide. The real draw is night skiing: 6.8 km of floodlit piste at Laura and 5.6 km at Alpika — the only skiing after dark in Krasnaya Polyana, and not covered by the combined pass.
Formerly Gorki Gorod: about 30 km of piste and a town stacked in tiers — Polyana 540, 960, 1,460 and 2,200. The bottom level at 540 m has the liveliest pedestrian embankment in the valley, with the skiing above it.
People choose this resort for the format rather than the kilometres: you sleep in a town where there is something to do without skis, and ride up in the morning. For a pure ski week it is thin; for a mixed group it is the most practical base of the three.
Between the resorts themselves you do not need a car: the ski bus linking the base stations is free.
| Item | Per person |
|---|---|
| Combined pass, regular day | 3,300 ₽ |
| Single-resort day pass | 3,900 – 4,750 ₽ |
| Ski and boot rental | 1,500 – 8,000 ₽ depending on the set |
| Lastochka train from Adler and back | about 700 ₽ |
| Lunch on the mountain | 1,000 – 2,500 ₽ |
No. Krasnaya Polyana is the village and the name of the whole mountain district above Sochi. Rosa Khutor is the largest of three separate resorts inside it. Confusingly, one of the other two is itself called Krasnaya Polyana Resort — the former Gorki Gorod — which is where most of the confusion comes from.
No. The resorts are independent companies with separate access systems. The only ticket that works everywhere is the combined Krasnaya Polyana pass.
For 2025/26 it is 3,300 ₽ for an adult and 1,700 ₽ for a child on regular days, rising to 3,900 ₽ and 1,900 ₽ over the New Year holidays from 28 December to 7 January. It covers daytime skiing only, from 8:30 to 16:00, and is sold at resort ticket offices rather than online.
Laura at Gazprom Polyana: wide, gentle pistes, fewer people and a cheaper pass. Rosa Khutor's learner area at Rosa Plateau (1,170 m) is also good, but it takes longer to reach and costs more.
Only at Gazprom Polyana — 6.8 km of floodlit piste at Laura and 5.6 km at Alpika. It requires its own ticket and is not part of the combined pass.
No. The Lastochka train reaches Esto-Sadok and Rosa Khutor from the airport, and a free ski bus links the base stations of all three resorts. In peak weeks a car is mostly a parking problem.
Piste and altitude figures come from the resorts themselves: rosakhutor.ru (105 km, 1,569 m vertical), polyanaski.ru (38.8 km across Laura and Alpika), krasnayapolyanaresort.ru. Combined pass terms and prices are from the official Gazprom Polyana announcement of the 2025/2026 combined pass. Single-resort day-pass prices are indicative and should be checked for your travel dates.
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