Altos de Lircay

Wow!

What started out as a simple idea of stubborn "back to nature"-ism turned into a great experience of spring-time mountains in the Reserva Nacional Altos de Lircay, just a few hours outside of Santiago.

Starting with my late-night arrival at a truly deserted end-of-the-line bus stop, walking for 2 hours to the park entrance, pitching my tent in complete darkness on a supposedly closed campground, watching the fog of death closing in around me while I cooked up a feast (not), cursing the clammy morning clouds, tip-toeing through enchanted forests, gazing at snow-covered peaks in brilliant sunlight, trudging through snow knee-deep, wading through icy mountain streams, shivering in my puny tent at night.

I need to go back there! I only spent two nights and one whole day there, but I really fell in love with the place. Plus I met an old mountain guide on my way out of there - whilst enjoying my first cup of hot coffee in two days - who told me about a great 4-5 day trek through the national park, up an old volcano (the headless or "Descabezado") and down the Argentinian side of the mountains.

I didn't take that many pictures thought - even though I had a fresh 4GB card at my disposal -which tells me it's time to head home and let things settle down awhile.

So if anyone is looking for either somewhat strenuous day hikes near Santiago or challenging multi-day treks , Altos de Lircay gets my vote. But beware, apparently it's very popular from mid-september onward, so for the first 5 hours hike from the entrance, you definitely won't have the place to yourself!


PS: oh, and there's no decent hiking maps to be had for the region. At least neither Conaf nor the IGM could provide me with one. The old guide told me that the map he showed me was one of a limited run produced some years ago and not available anymore.