This Tour is no longer available
Unfortunately we no longer offer this Tour, but we haven't removed the information so you can have more ideas for your trip. If you want something similar contact us
Inside Talca, Vilches Alto is a dream enclave for hikers. Beyond the transition from the rough Andes Centrales, with the southern ones, lower and woody, the Precordillera Talquina invites you to a sweet excursion through coigues and hazels forests, crystalline channels and trails, discovering magical places which connect this journey. El Enladrillado, stony ground confabulated as a perfect plateau, and the Laguna del Alto, a quiet deep blue mirror, hidden among cliffs of the wonderful beauty of Chile. Perfect Season: All the year. During the winter the excursion can be colored by snow. In autumn the forests of notofagus explode in red in the mountains. Avoid the summer... Difficulty: For a single day are enough light walking shoes, a snack and a windbreaker. A Piolet or stick are optional. For one or two nights, we need camping gear. In winter it may be necessary to use the ice ax and crampons, as well as warm clothing, high-heeled shoes and leggings. Equipment: Slippers with hard and ribbed rubber soles. A stick is optional. Snack. Access: From Talca take direction to the town of San Clemente, distant is nineteen kilometers. Continue along the road to Laguna del Maule until you turn off at a fork to the left towards Vilches. After a hill that gains the depth of the valley, the road is flanked by native forest and plantations that nuance the arrival to Vilches Alto. For about 70 kilometers from Talca. Nestled in a forest with enormous centenaries coigues and other native species, the hamlet is the beginning of the journey. Here also works the Administration of the Altos de Lircay National Park, in a rainy microclimate that shelters, in addition to the coigües, beautiful specimens of hazelnuts, peumos, oaks, lingues, lengas, maitenes and radales. The Journey: From Vilches Alto begins towards the northeast a clear path that first has the trail of a wide road. The route continues narrower, flanking then the deep canyon of the Lircay River at the left, and then descends in a long zig-zag to its summit; after crossing its waters, we arrived at a magnificent place of camping. Riding on the other side of the channel, the trail climbs between the forests for another couple of hours to a collapsed shelter. Just before arriving, take on the right, towards the southeast, the path that goes towards El Enladrillado, towards the plateau that gushes waterfalls and where from here stands a conspicuous stone, like a rabbit. The slope is almost zero until arriving in less than an hour to a crossing of rivers that also promises like enclave. From here the path climbs in zig-zag by another oak grove habited by noisy woodpeckers. After an hour of ascent, the forest is behind, and the most barren lands give way to the fantastic Plateau of El Enladrillado, large cubes of rock perfectly arranged in blocks of terraces. If you want to camp in this place, it is advisable to arrive by day to locate water that is scarce. Water runs in some vegas, and in small ravines that fall in the waterfalls that we saw from below. From El Enladrillado, and with the fantastic view towards the East of the Volcán Descabezado Grande and the Cerro Azul, the journey continues southwards through a mineral territory through a path that is flanked by smooth rocky crags. In a couple of hours of walk, and after crossing a few vegas and its streams, the trail forks. A few hours ahead is Cerro Peine, which is reached among the rock slabs. To the left of the footpath zig-zag and in an hour of low walk to the edge of the Laguna del Alto, another magnificent place to spend the night. By the edge the lagoon, counter-clock, the western head is reached. Here climbs a steep zig-zag that comes out of this lake pot, and that in an hour looks out a door with a magnificent view of the surroundings of Vilches Alto. The trail now descends towards the West, towards the Quebrada de los Coigües, and in about 2 hours reaches in the middle of the splendor of nature, the starting point of the excursion. Difference in the journey: 1,800 meters. Itinerary: In three days. 1. Vilches Alto - Enladrillado 2. El Enladrillado - Cerro Peine - Laguna del Alto 3. Laguna del Alto - Vilches Alto
- Duration: Full day
What you will visit:
- 1 Talca
The journey begins approximately at 7:00 - 7:30 from your Hotel / Hostel in Talca or from Plaza de Armas.
On the way, we pass to San Clemente, where you can buy water for the day.
After an hour and a half we arrived to Vilches Alto (at 1200 Meters above sea level), our starting point for the Tour to El Enladrillado, the mysterious UFO airstrip.
4 hours and a half to 5 hours trekking in the Altos de Lircay National Reserve separate us from the mysterious extraterrestrial landing platform at 2,200 meters. But El Enladrillado is not the only attraction, but also in reward for the effort you get a breathtaking view of the Volcán Descabezado Grande and its neighbors, which are covered with snow until the end of the summer.
To return to Vilches Alto we need approx. 3 hours and a half to 4 hours
Return to Talca: approx. At 7:00 p.m.
- PhysicalHigh
- CulturalVery high
- NatureVery high
Recommendations
Include:
- Transfers
- Guide
- Snack
- Insurance
- Trekking equipment
Optional:
- Horseback riding