Chile de Finde
The Cajón del Maipo valley between mountain slopes.

34 km from Santiago · straight line

Cajón del Maipo and San José de Maipo

The valley Santiago uses as its mountain backyard: a town with services and, higher up, a long scattered territory.

  • Guide published
  • A day
  • Possible with connections

Photograph: Nelson Pérez · CC BY-SA 3.0

Loading the map

Cartography: OpenStreetMap

How to get there

Recommended option

There is a connection from Santiago as far as San José de Maipo. To go further up the valley, a car, transfer or tour.

Possible with connections

Departure point
Santiago, southeast through Puente Alto
Arrival point
San José de Maipo
Final leg
Reaching San José is not the same as reaching the high sights: El Morado, Baños Colina and the El Yeso reservoir are tens of kilometres further up.
Limitations
The El Yeso reservoir has a mountain approach with an unpaved final stretch and changing conditions; it can close with snow and shore access is not guaranteed. Check conditions before heading up.

Alternatives

  • A day tour combining several points in the valley
  • A booked transfer for the upper sections

Schedules, fares and conditions may change. Check the latest information before travelling.

Municipalidad de San José de MaipoDirections from SantiagoOpen in Google MapsView on OpenStreetMap

Reviewed: 2026-08-04 · Chile de Finde estimate

Why it's worth the trip

Because it is the closest mountain gateway to Santiago and works both for a quiet day in the town and as a base for far more demanding trips.

Landscape

The Cajón del Maipo is a long valley climbing from the edge of Santiago into the high Andes. San José de Maipo, half an hour into the valley, works as its hub: a square, services, restaurants and the point where most people stop before going on. But the Cajón does not end there. The places people associate with the valley — the El Morado glacier, the Baños Colina hot springs, the El Yeso reservoir — are far higher up, separated by tens of kilometres of mountain road. Reaching San José is not the same as reaching them.

  • Mountain
  • Valley
  • Water

What the trip could look like

A day in the town and around it, or a weekend using San José as a base for going higher.

An idea of how the day would go.

A good fit if

  • A first taste of the mountains
  • Valley food
  • A base for several trips

Maybe not if

  • Anyone expecting to reach the reservoir or the hot springs without a car the same day
  • Summer weekends, when the road clogs up

Worth knowing

  • The valley is long: between San José and the high points there are tens of kilometres of mountain road.
  • Embalse El Yeso: a mountain approach with an unpaved final stretch, changing conditions and possible closures or restrictions due to snow. Access to the shore is not guaranteed and it is not an easy trip without a car; check conditions beforehand and consider a suitable vehicle, a transfer or a tour.
  • Mobile signal disappears along several stretches of the valley.
  • In winter the upper sections can close with snow.

Sources

See all destinations