Highlights: glacial valley / 40 minutes from Santiago / waterfalls / giant rock walls / Glacier lookout / horseback

Location

Santiago, Chile

Difficulty

Medium

Riding time

Day one: 3 hours of ascent, low steepness (almost flat) Day two: 3 hours descent. 

Transportation time

1 hour by car from Santiago to the beginning of the path.

Technical data

Length: Day one 6 miles / Day two 6 miles / Ramp:  4500 ft.  ft. 

Maximum Altitude: 10.200 ft.

Season

October to April. The rest of the year ask for snowshoeing trip to this amazing valley pressing here.

Requirements

The age of participants must be between 14 and 75 years old. The physical and medical conditions must be compatible with activity (When in doubt, please ask).

Itinerary

Day one: Into the mountain

Pick up at the hotel or meeting point in Santiago. An hour later we'll arrive at the starting point in the Yerba Loca Natural Sanctuary. Our horses will be waiting for you. We'll spend some time loading the pack horse and setting your horse. Then we´ll start the hiking through the wonderful valley, of Paloma Glacier. The path goes along Yerba Loca Creek with a low steepness and wonderful views of Paloma Glacier (16.150 ft) and Mount Altar (16990 ft). After a couple of hours the valley narrows and turns left, with giant rock walls of thousands of meters and waterfalls falling from the top. Campsite under huge rock walls between boulders beside the creek.

Day two: The Return

After a nice breakfast, we'll leave the campsite and start riding back along the valley, enjoying the sound of the birds, river, and the magic view of the mountains around us.

Warning: This activity include riding in irregular terrain, driving by land roads, sudden changes of weather, walk under the strong sun.

What's included

• Private transportation (Pick up from your hotel)
• Guides: 1 each 4 clients
• Arriero (national cowboy from the Central Chilean Andes)
• Every breakfast, snack, and meal needed during the trip.
• Packhorses
• Horses for riding
• headlamp
• Sleeping bag
• Sleeping pad
• Tents
• Cooking set
• Cookware (pots, bowls, cutlery, mugs)
• First aid kit
• VHF Radio and Satellite Phone
• Park fee

What's not included

• Personal Clothing (Please check "Gear", or ask for rental prices)
• Small backpack (Rent available)
• Personal Insurance

What to bring:

Summer:

• Small backpack. If you haven't, we can rent to you. (10 USD)
• The first layer or sport t-shirt
• Polar Fleece or similar
• Wind jacket
• Hiking pants or similar comfortable to walk/ shorts (ask for the weather the day before)
• Hiking shoes
• Sunglasses
• Sun hat/ lip balm
• Sunscreen

Winter:

• Summer gear
• Down or puffy Jacket
• First layer upper and lower body
• Liner gloves
• Wool hat
• Balaclava/ Neck gaiter