66 km from Santiago · straight line
La Campana
The last great Chilean palm forest, and the summit Darwin climbed.
- Validating
- A day
Photograph: Mar del Sur · CC BY-SA 3.0
Why it's worth the trip
Because it's two parks in one: the palm forest is a walk among trees that grow almost nowhere else on earth, and the summit is a serious climb with a view of both the Pacific and the Andes on the same day.
Landscape
In the Ocoa sector one of the last Chilean wine palm forests (Jubaea chilensis) survives — a species that once covered much of this area and now remains in very few places. On the other side of the park stands Cerro La Campana, which Charles Darwin climbed in 1834 and described in his Beagle diary. UNESCO declared it a Biosphere Reserve in 1984.
- Forest
- Mountain
What the trip could look like
Two possible formats: the Ocoa palm forest at an easy pace, or the full summit for anyone wanting a long day.
A possible format, not yet a trip with a date.
Who this destination is for
A good fit if
- Anyone interested in botany and landscape
- People who want to choose between easy and demanding
Maybe not if
- Extremely hot days, on the summit side
Worth knowing
- The park sectors are not comfortably connected within a single day.
- The summit climb has CONAF-limited entry times.
Sources
Other destinations
Aguas de Ramón
The ravine that starts where the city ends, with a waterfall at the far end.
- Validating
- A day
- Moderate
Yerba Loca
A whole glacial valley an hour from the city. The gate of the Andes.
- Validating
- A day
- Moderate
Río Clarillo
Native forest and clear water in the foothills above Pirque.
- Validating
- A day
- Gentle