Shambhala: the Highest Roller Coaster in Europe

The Highest Roller Coaster in Europe Opens in PortAventura

So, another gloomy month passes by and we hit the middle of May, sunshine is definitely needed and what else could be better than heading off to the sunshine and PortAventura theme park located between the coastal towns of Salou and Vila-Seca with my five year old daughter Laetitia for a couple of days of fun and frolics, especially as the highest roller coaster in the whole of Europe, ‘Shambhala’ is due to open that weekend – the question is, am I strong enough to conquer  my fear of roller coasters, and in particular one that rises so high that from it’s highest point you can see the whole of the Costa Dorada..... only time could tell.....

The journey started effortlessly, a very short flight from Gatwick to Barcelona Airport followed by a short transfer of an hour to our very own accommodation in Hotel Gold River in the ‘Far West’ area of the complex complete with cowboys on horseback to make the whole experience more authentic.  This is only one of four themed hotels within the resort, the others being  Hotel PortAventura, Hotel El Pas and Hotel Caribe.  PortAventura itself has six thematic areas, “Mediterrania, Far West, Mexico, China, Polynesia and SesamoAventura’, all of which cover 119 hectares, has 30 attractions, 100 performances every day, 75 catering points and 27 craftworks and gift shops.

We couldn’t wait to check out ‘Shambhala’, and very impressive it is too!  This new roller coaster covers 14,000 metres square of the themed area and is inspired by the culture of the Kingdom of Bhutan, one of the most isolated and unknown countries in the world.  It takes it’s name from the mythical Shambhala, situated supposedly beyond the Tibet and a place which is considered to be an inaccessible paradise, a magic place of peace and wisdom - not so peaceful though once queuing for the ride and wondering what on earth I’m doing, but so worth every nerve wracking thought that I had whilst waiting – it’s really something extraordinary to travel so high, to cast your eye over the whole of Costa Dorada before ...... the trains take a dip and you’re off – faster than you could ever imagine, such a sense of exhilaration –taking a ride on Shambhala is definitely an opportunity that shouldn’t be missed!

Poor Laetitia was too short to go on this ride however so after being very impressed with mummy conquering ‘Shambhala’ we headed off to explore the other attractions of PortAventura, and what a fun time we both had.  Laetitia is pretty fearless when it comes to theme park rides, and we both particularly enjoyed getting soaked on the Silver River Flume and the Grand Canyon Rapids. Another favourite of both of ours was Stampida, an electrifying race on a wooden roller coaster, whilst Laetitia really enjoyed the Buffalo Rodeo, aimed at a younger audience which proved a hit time and time again.  Bumping into Woody the Woodpecker, Ernie from Sesame Street and Betty Boop was a source of great excitement each time, and we’ve come back from our trip to PortAventura with a wealth of memories and photographs – all in all a fantastic couple of days for the both of us!