Alto El Naranjo
The past two weekends I did a day hike to “Alto El Naranjo”. The first time was with Kelly and Neil, while Kelly was in Chile and the second time was with Neil and Claudia. It was a nice half-day hike, starting in the valley that leads to the ski resorts. The trail is reasonably steep and follows a ridge up to a saddle where the “naranjo” tree (actually a key lime tree?) has established itself. Getting there before it gets too hot requires an early start…
It is a fairly large tree and, and it makes a nice place to stop for lunch. As long as the smog layer is reasonably low (as it was both days we hiked up there), the effort of getting to the tree is rewarded with beautiful views of the Andes.
The overall hike was interesting and a nice little workout. Once at the tree, there are a few options to continue:
- Return back along the way you came
- Continue up to Cerro Provincia
- Continue on, but back down to Santiago.
We opted for #3 both times, not feeling up to the additional 800m altitude gain to Provincia, as well as wanting to make it easier to get back to town. The way down was a bit more “interesting” due to a steep section of hard dirt covered in a thin layer of loose dirt/rocks.
There was some nice bird life on the trail. The first day a couple condors made a close pass by us on their way over to some thermals. On the second hike there was a kestrel-like bird walking around el naranjo, trying to get food from the hikers sitting around eating lunch.
It is a definitely a nice half-day hike, and is even accessibly via public transportation in Santiago (with a little bit of walking to get to the trailhead).
Below are some selected photos from the two hikes. And more photos are available.
