Located among the "Cajon del Maipo" attractions, you will need to go trekking for about ~16 km to get there. The difficulty level is something between medium and hard. It is a nice experience since it is very rough environment. The trail begins in the "Baños Morales", a place where you can go bath in the natural waters. We rented a car and could easily get there with the help of the app Waze (search for Banos Morales). Attention: Be there before 13:00, after that it is not allowed to enter the trail anymore. Once you are in, you have to be back by 18:00. Ideally, get there by 11:00 and you will have enough time. (for that leave Santiago by 9:00)
Few cities have the proximity to nature that Santiago does. Even fewer have national parks on this magnitude accessible via public transit. Well, semi-public transit. From Bellavista de la Flórida, follow the signs in the station that say "Intermodal" and find the #72 bus going to Baños Morales. It's with a company called Tur Maipo. Get there early. It leaves at 7:00am! The bus costs around CL$3,000 to CL$4,000 each way. (I give a range because two of our group mysteriously got a discount, but no ticket.)The bus takes about three hours to go through the neighborhood of Puente Alto to San José del Maipo for a snack and bathroom break before continuing up to the entrance of the national park. This last bit takes about 45 minutes and is very bumpy.The bus lets everybody off, says what time they're coming back. It was 6pm for us, but it doesn't hurt to double-check. They also sell tickets for the return trip, which again is CL$3,000 to CL$4,000. There are a few shops to buy water or snacks before your ascent. The only thing left is to pay CL$1,500 for the entrance and you're set. Overall, it takes 3 hours up and two hours down depending on your speed. While it is snowy at the top, I wouldn't recommend anything more than a windbreaker as it's not that cold. But do bring lots of sunscreen and water for obvious reasons. Overall, the entire cost is around CL$12,000 depending on how you choose to get to Bellavista de la Flórida early in the morning.
Destinei um dia da viagem para esse passeio que foi maravilhoso, já que o lugar fica próximo à Santiago, já que meu tempo era curto e não viajaria para as outras regiões do Chile mais conhecidas pela natureza e trekking. Assim, a ida para a região conhecida como cajón del maipo foi uma maravilhosa experiência, no trajeto passamos pelos pequenos povoados da montanha. Já no Monumento Natural El Morado foi fantástico, a caminhada é forte, foram sete horas pra chegar na base de um glaciar e vale a pena ir com guia.
If you love climbing, this will be your golden opportunity. There are several mountains in the Morado valley to do a big diversity of mountaineering activities. Enjoy it!. Its plenty of traveling information for this place in the web.
El Morado is a great day trip from Santiago and it provides endless exploring, hiking and views. The photos can never do justice to the beauty of this place. Recently work has begun on a hydro electric project which has changed the landscape of the initial entrance into the Natural Monument area. Once you move beyond it however, you quickly forget man's impact on the area. This is a must do if you are in the area.
Hermoso lugar para caminar, un trekking suave apto para todo público. Entrada adultos $2.000 y niños $1.000.
uma das montanhas mais lindas que caminhei, com lagoa e neve próximo do pico, ainda que no verão, e na volta passamos em um local de águas termais em uma piscina de argina branca na encosta de uma montanha pra descansar da caminhada , em pleno pôr do sol...imagine o cenário (Empresa Turistick - Santiago)
This place is worth your visit! We stayed in Santiago and left early for our drive to Cajon Del Maipo. Please note we drove in a KIA cerrato rental car which would be the worst car to go in, if you can get a 4x4 . You will get unpaved roads before getting to the entrance of this national park. Will cost 2000 pesos rouglhy $4 canadian dollars. You need to get here before 1 pm to have entry to the park and you need to exist the park by 6 pm.You will see swallows, condors, parrots, gecko's, Horses... etc etc. you will see lagoons, and drink from glacier waters. the trek is long and sooooo worth your time.and we spent almost 1 hour speaking to the park rangers once we returned from our hike to talk about Condors and the wildlife these people have passion! such an awesome experience and I wish you take the time to come here!
Una excelente alternativa para un fin de semana a un par de hora de Santiago. El trekking es moderado, se pueden ver familias con niños, la vista es increíble, el sendero (8Km.) está señalizado por lo que imposible perderse.Para ingresar debes cancelar 2000 CLP y 1000 los niños.
First off there were no English Reviews so we went blindly!There is another place with the same name north eastern Santiago, so please do not be confused like we were. Banos Colinas was a good 3 hours drive for the airport, depending on traffic. It is a fantastic experience as the setting was outdoor and very very rustic. Loved it!There is a fee to pay to get in and the road conditions are not paved on the last bit so could be 'difficult' for people not used to driving on these roads. However, they are passable with most cars. There was even some vans there carrying a whole family. Lots of rocks which can be dangerous. There are also lots of trucks ferrying from the Quarry located near the national monument.There is a changing room at the moment with NO shower facilities as the water pipes is currently being replaced (went on 11-12 Oct 2013) The termal water is very warm and gradually gets cooler as the water flow downhill.No food or drinks around so make sure you are prepared with it if you stay long enough. But not far from the pool there are plenty of shops with food n drinks, about 40 mins drive away. There was public transportation but have no idea how reliable they were, we rented a car and drove here.