Hiking in the heat: Santiago's hills in summer

🍂 Seasonal📅 Updated October 8, 2026⏱ 3 min read

Cover: Morro Las Papas, Parque Natural La Plaza Sur. Photo: Gabriela Guerschanik, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

In spring and summer, Santiago's hills fill up with hikers, but also with strong sun, dry heat and fire risk. You can keep hiking all season; you just have to do it differently. Here is the advice from the authorities and from the parks themselves.

Start early and check the last entry time

SENAPRED, Chile's disaster prevention service, recommends avoiding the sun between 11:00 and 17:00, when ultraviolet radiation peaks, and doing physical activity early in the day or at night.

In the hills, each park also sets a last entry time for its trails, earlier the longer the route. Some examples:

Alto Las Vizcachas, in La Plaza Sur: last entry at 10:00.
Salto de Apoquindo, in Aguas de Ramón: last entry at 10:00, and the last descent from the waterfall at 14:00.
Cantalao trails: last entry at 12:00.
Morro Las Papas: last entry at 14:00.

Cerro Manquehue rising above the trees

Cerro Manquehue. Photo: Falmazan, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Cerro Manquehue is open from 8:00 to 20:00 in spring and summer. On hot days, it's best to go up early.

Bring more water than you think

Most foothill trails have no water. At Morro Las Papas and Alto Las Vizcachas there is water only at the park office, and there is none on the way to Yerba Loca's Refugio Alemán either. For Manquehue, the park recommends 2 to 2.5 liters per person; for Cerro Provincia, 3 liters.

SENAPRED advises drinking even when you're not thirsty, steadily and in moderation, and resting in the shade often.

Scrub-covered slopes in the Yerba Loca valley

Yerba Loca valley. Photo: Falk2, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Protect yourself from the sun

Sunscreen above SPF 50, reapplied every 2 hours, plus a hat and sunglasses: these are SENAPRED's recommendations for hot days. Wear light-colored, lightweight clothing that lets air through.

Today's UV index, the forecast and heat wave notices from Chile's Weather Service are on Today in Santiago.

Zero fire

According to CONAF, Chile's forest service, 99.7% of wildfires are caused by people. Don't light fires outside designated areas, don't throw away matches or cigarette butts, don't burn trash, and take your waste with you. In the Asociación Parque Cordillera parks you can't smoke or make campfires, and in Yerba Loca any kind of fire is banned, including smoking, with a fine of 5 UTM. Starting a wildfire is a crime in Chile, punishable by up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to 10 million pesos.

For the hottest days

Puya in bloom, with turquoise flowers, in Parque Natural Cantalao

Puya in bloom, Parque Natural Cantalao. Photo: Alfredo Olivares Bueno, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

If you still want to hike on a very hot day, choose something short and shaded. The Cantalao: El Litre–Guayacán loop is shaded along its whole 1.5 km. In Yerba Loca, the La Leonera creek runs next to the Mirador del Águila trail, and its water is safe to drink (the Yerba Loca creek's is not).

Do you have a tip for hiking in the heat in Santiago? Share it in the comments below.

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