Photo: Falk2, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
📍 Santiago Moderate
9.4 km
Distance
+593 m
Elevation gain
2.5 h
Time
Moderate
Difficulty
✓
Family friendly
A 9.4 km return trail from Villa Paulina to the Refugio Alemán, an old mountaineers' hut, with 593 m of elevation gain. Allow about an hour and a half up and an hour down; plan for half a day. Moderate technical difficulty, family-friendly, with information along the route.
At 1.8 km from Villa Paulina is the Mirador del Cóndor viewpoint, if you only want to do part of it: it has the condor feeding station, a Municipality of Lo Barnechea project that feeds these birds in lean times. From the hut you can continue 3 km more to La Parva.
The Refugio Alemán opens on weekends and public holidays, for day use only (no overnight stays); it has a dry toilet. There's no water on the route: bring your own.
The park opens every day: entry from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm, closing at 8:00 pm. Fire is prohibited, including smoking (5 UTM fine). Tickets (online only, not sold at the park): adults 18 to 59 CLP 7,000; ages 6 to 17 and seniors 60+ CLP 2,500; under 5 free (with an adult). Lo Barnechea residents with a Club Preferente card, CLP 3,000.
Yerba Loca is 25 km from Plaza San Enrique (Lo Barnechea) on Route G-21, the road to Farellones; the entrance is at bend 15. From there it's 4 km of dirt road to Villa Paulina, where the trails start. After rain or snow you need a 4×4 and chains: check the park status. There's no public transport; you can get there by taxi or shared taxi from Plaza San Enrique.
📍 Villa Paulina, Parque Yerba Loca, Lo Barnechea
Open year-round. The park only closes for hazards or emergencies (landslides, heavy snow, fires). Before you go, check the park status (at the top of this page) and each trail's details on the Yerba Loca website.
One of the best places near Santiago to see condors. Don't feed or approach them, and leave no trace.
User experiences, not official information. Always check the official status before you go.
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