Chile de Finde
Mountainside lit by late afternoon sun in the Yerba Loca Nature Sanctuary.

35 km from Santiago · straight line

Yerba Loca

A whole glacial valley an hour from the city. The gate of the Andes.

  • Guide published
  • A day
  • Car or transfer recommended

Photograph: Pierre Bouillot pbouillot · CC0

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Cartography: OpenStreetMap

How to get there

Recommended option

Your own car or a booked transfer up the mountain road towards Farellones.

Car or transfer recommended

Departure point
Santiago, leaving via Las Condes onto the Farellones road
Arrival point
Sanctuary entrance, off one of the road's hairpins
Final leg
From the entrance you continue on foot along the valley floor.
Limitations
There is no regular public transport to the entrance. In winter the road may require chains or close.

Alternatives

  • A booked transfer or tour
  • Sharing a vehicle between several people

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

Directions from SantiagoOpen in Google MapsView on OpenStreetMap

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

Why it's worth the trip

Because it's the fastest way to understand what this mountain range is made of. The work of the ice is visible with the naked eye, and you walk along the floor of what used to be a glacier.

Landscape

You climb the hairpin road towards Farellones and, at one of the bends, the landscape opens up: a U-shaped valley carved by ice, with the Yerba Loca stream running along the bottom and granite walls on either side. It's the first place on the route where the scale stops being urban and becomes properly Andean.

  • Mountain
  • Water
The Yerba Loca stream valley seen looking downhill, with high mountain slopes on both sides.
The Yerba Loca stream valley seen looking downhill, with high mountain slopes on both sides. Photograph: Falk2 · CC BY-SA 4.0

What the trip could look like

A full-day outing walking the valley floor, a packed lunch beside the stream and a long unhurried stretch of time.

An idea of how the day would go.

A good fit if

  • Anyone wanting mountains without an overnight
  • Landscape photography
  • Groups that already know each other a little

Maybe not if

  • Anyone who reacts badly to altitude
  • Bad-weather days in the mountains

Worth knowing

  • It is a protected nature sanctuary: access is regulated.
  • Mountain weather turns fast; layered clothing is not optional.

Sources

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