Cajón del Maipo is a canyon located in the Andean southeastern portion of the Santiago Metropolitan Region. It encompasses the upper Maipo River basin, where the river has entrenched itself in a narrow valley. The zone features a series of confluent rivers such as El Volcán River, Yeso River and Colorado River, as well as other minor streams, including San Gabriel, Manzanito, Coyanco, El Sauce, El Manzano and San José. The main locality is San José de Maipo, capital of the commune that includes all of the Andean sector of the Metropolitan Region
The abandoned Tunel del Tinoco tunnels through the mountains along Camino Al Volcán, a remnant from the region’s railways days. Trains ran through the tunnel between 1914 and 1980. Now, it is completely dark, with a strange smell and a chilling past.
San José de Maipo is the communal capital, where the main commercial activities of the sector are located. Its picturesque architecture rescues the classic style that gave rise to the currently existing town. You can tour your Main Square and enjoy a well-deserved rest. Here interesting artisanal samples typical of the area are installed on weekends and holidays, giving the visitor the opportunity to get a nice memory of this trip.
Once we enter the G-25 route, the first town we will know is La Obra, this sector had its beginnings in 1802 because of the tasks that were carried out during the construction of the San Carlos canal, whose mouth was born in the Maipo river.
Termas Colinas, also known as Baños Colina has 7 natural thermal pools, is located in the heart of the Andes mountain range and offers vacationers a unique opportunity to get in touch with nature in its purest form. Warning, if you are one of those people who cannot survive without internet connection for more than 2 minutes, an important piece of advice: There is no Wi-Fi signal in Termas Colina! But we know this won´t be a factor that will stop you from experiencing this gem, located only two hours from Santiago.
Our next destination corresponds to the town of El Canelo, which owes its name to the sacred tree of the Mapuches, which is also found in the wet streams existing in the sector. From here you can access the Purgatory Hill with 2,466 meters high and also enjoy wines and spirits from the area.
El Manzano is the fourth town that we can find in the Cajon del Maipo. It offers to the visitors sectors that invite to travel between boldos, thorns and quillayes, the estrus existing in the sector.
It is the second town we will visit, its dawn dates back to 1941 as a result of the lot of an old farm. Currently typical products such as almonds, honey, nuts and quartz crystals, meet the visitor at the sides of the road
San Gabriel emerged as a small village born from livestock activities and the exploitation of quarries and mines. In this town it is possible to observe on the rocky slopes of the hills the "Cypress of the Cordillera", one of the few existing confieras in the country. A great attraction are “Los rodados de San Gabriel”
Locality that arose from the need to have natural pastures to feed the animals that came down from the mountain range. In this place you can enjoy a beautiful landscape that invites you to travel and enter the sector to enjoy more full contact with nature
Departure from Santiago city
Great experience and the team from the start of the tour make you feel welcome and like family. Very nice set up they have. No complains at all. Must do.
Great tour, both the guides Ivan and Carlo were very easy going, approachable, friendly and obliging to help, our tour was changed due to a land slip, but we still thoroughly enjoyed what we did instead.
This was honestly one of the worst tours we’ve ever taken. The tour was supposed to start at 7:00 AM, but less than a day before departure we were suddenly informed that pickup would be at 5:00 AM. The biggest disappointment was that the main attraction of the tour — the canyon — was closed. We were only informed the evening before the trip and were offered an “alternative itinerary.” In reality, it was just a series of meaningless stops: a river, a sign with the canyon’s name, and a waterfall that had nothing to do with what we originally booked. These stops had no real value. If we had known in advance what the replacement would actually look like, we would have canceled the tour. Unfortunately, that wasn’t presented as an option. The whole experience also felt like a tourist trap. Throughout the day they tried to upsell unnecessary winter clothing rentals, and the lunch stop was at an overpriced restaurant where the average meal cost around $35–40 per person, with no reasonable alternatives. Overall, this tour felt misleading and poorly managed. We paid to see a famous canyon and instead spent the day visiting random locations that were not worth the time or money. I would not recommend this tour.
Wonderful experience - the bus ride itself was majestic and wild, then the hot springs were incredible. Relaxing and awe-inspiring!
The best experience With Friends a New people
Excellent day out. Highlight was the Hot Springs - worth the bumpy ride, and in the middle of no where - well away from the city. Fun - to go in the hottest pool was a challenge. The coffee stop was welcome and the river attractive in the sun rise - the lunch stop had a limited menu and was expensive but was very efficient. If you are organised and brought your own food it would be a lot cheaper! A number of good picture stops, the chocolate house had fantastic, ice cream, hot chocolate and chocs. The final folk stop was an interesting insight with wine and nibbles and a fun competition, in all a fun time - a long trip and great to be picked up door to door. Gonzalo was great and I always felt safe with his driving! Not a place you would want to take your own car - or drive with exceedingly bumpy tracks in parts. Thank you
Excellent tour which proved unforgettable, would recommend to anyone visiting santiago as a must do . The service from the company and tour guide was 10/10 and we could not have asked for more
The Fiesta Chilena is very nice and free wine
They rescheduled my excursion twice, so I never go to go, when the tried the third time, because I was flying back home that day. THANK YOU TRIPADVISOR FOR MY REFUND PROCESS.
Our guide Francisco was very informative and so friendly which made our tour so easygoing. It was a great schedule, the views amazing and wonderful to share some local activities.
Thank you for everything the experience with the dance was incredible Viva Chile !!
Edison was amazing. We had a full bus load, however, he kept everybody well informed and entertained throughout the trip.
Beautiful experience, bring a warm jacket as the temperature in the early morning was quite cold but once you get to the hot springs you can enjoy the very warm experience.
Excelent!! Very funnymuy buen show bilingüe
Easy pick up and drop off - amazing views - loved the thermal pools
The tour was very pleasant, entertaining and well organized - really glad we took it! Would like to mention that: 1. The tour started very early - we were picked up at 5 in the morning. 2. It would be a good idea to take warm clothes because it was very cold during the first hours of the tour. 3. The bus stops for breakfast, lunch and coffee/ dessert (own expense). The tour we took didn’t have a guide, the bus driver gave us some brief information mostly about logistics of the tour.
Beautiful place to visit. Nice experience in such an amazing setting with spectacular views. Thank you
Very rough road. Too many visits of places without any interesting features. The surroundings and the hot water spring are beautiful but do not worth of spending more than 10 hours for the excursion. The tour guide/driver was very nice and helpful.
It was the worst trip I’ve ever taken. Not because of the destination but because of the guide and vehicle. We were squished into the back seat supposedly to seat 4 but with two larger people we barely had 1/2 a seat. When we complained the driver said we should have picked another seat. Clearly not the point. The driver/guide was TERRIBLE. Didn’t explain anything or have us stop for coffee and we started at 5:10am. When we finally had lunch not 10 minutes later we stopped at a chocolate house and then less than a 1/2 hr after that wine and cheese. This was after 8 hrs and then crammed all into under an hour. At our last stopped 4 people couldn’t take it any more and took an Uber back to town. Stay away from Gonzalo. He clearly didn’t like his job and therefore made our experience really painful.
We ended up not going and lost our money. We had asked for pick up as offered. They let us know the night before the trip that pick up would be at 5:05 in the morning. There was never any indication in the advertising that pickup would be that early. We are older adults and starting out day at 4:30 for a 5:00 pick up would be very uncomfortable so we cancelled. Very disappointing.
The visit to the hot springs was great. The place is very unique, enjoyable and a must do. The guide Gonzalez is an experienced driver. However, the start time was unreasonable early with a superfluous stop for a breakfast/ snack. After the hot springs the stop for lunch was fine. However, the day dragged on with additional stops.
Didn't like the Chocolate store/shop. It was crowded and unnecessary. Other stops were ok. Driver Alfonzo was good. Passengers pay for their snacks and lunch.
Well run well driven lots of great things on one day! The stops were all well timed and nicely handled. Just the right amount of time at each!
Great visit. Rough roads to get to some wonderful natural thermal pools, crisp mountain air. Gonzalo was a professional, excellent driver, whose office is the great outdoors! Being an Aussie traveller, the adventure spirit was a great feeling! It's an authentic experience. Well done Gonzalo!
An excellent experience. Gonzalo is a great guide and brilliant driver. The hot springs were amazing with really good views into the mountains. Definitely recommend taking flip flops or sandals for the hot springs.
First, we were informed the night before at 9pm that our pickup was going to be at 5:05am, which was way earlier than what we expected. We did a couple of other viator tours before and it was all around 7:30am. We were second party to be picked up and the rest took a couple of hours. We were then brought to a rest stop that was extremely overpriced. When we actually got on the road, the police had closed down the road so we weren’t able to go to the hot springs. So we went back to Santiago and did the drop off in that order. All that to say, we got back to our hotel at almost 11am and wasted the entire day of our vacation. I understand this is not the drivers fault, but seems like this could have been avoided with some communication and checking the map prior.
Very Beautiful day ! Sceneries were very nice , hot springs were excellent, driver was amazing and very experienced. Gonzalo very dedicated to his passengers. We enjoyed very much…
The trip was great! Very grateful for the transportation and commentary to learn about the area. The hot springs were lovely and we stopped at a place for morning coffee beforehand that had breakfast sandwiches (bring your own food if you’re gf or vegetarian). The lunch stop they took us to was also nice and efficient, with good food (about 20,000 per plate). We had good ice cream at the chocolate house but it was definitely not the highlight of the day. We didn’t know you needed a ticket number to enter the house, and they charged to use the bathroom (1,000 per person). After that we were take for the cute little picnic and cultural dance show. The dancers were very sweet and entertaining. The picnic was some simple snacks, wine, water and juice. I asked in advance if accommodation could be made for gluten allergies and was told no. The highlight for us was the morning with stunning views and the hot springs. The rest was fine but not “wow factor,” still we would do it again because of the experience of driving through such a beautiful area without worry.
This trip to Cajon Del Maipo was a (very) full day in a beautiful area. The early pick up might be a harsh wake up but the scenery on the drive rewards the pre-dawn start. Soaking in the hot springs in such stunning surrounds is a real highlight and it brought a fun energy to meet up with other tour groups for the folk dance show. Coffee, lunch and chocolate stops were all well chosen locations for refreshments along the way.
Communication wasn't great the day prior. Pick-up time on the day was 5:35 am, but by 6 there was still no bus. I reached out a couple of times and got no answer. Finally, someone else texted and said the bus had an accident. At that point, I asked for a refund. Accidents happen but no communication/response is the reason for low rating.
The start time given the night before was not around 7.00am as stated but 5.30am! The driver wasn’t really a guide- no information just instructions. He drove very fast- we saw a speed monitor record 88km per hour in a 50km zone. Also tailgating, all on windy roads in wet weather. Also using his phone to WhatsApp whilst driving. Scary at times and we were right at the back of the minibus.
Pick-up, Guide and execution itself was fine. However we never went to San José de Maipu directly. From the description i thought we would. The afternoon was more or less a waste of time as the house of chocolate, not in the description i booked, looks nice but they are just selling some chocolate and most of the people buy ice cream. The picknick was with other buses where chilenian dances where shown. Was ok, but not part of the description.
The tour says the guide would be separate from the driver but it wasn't. Our driver/guide Gonzalo was nice but he really only explained where we were going and not much about the places. The last stop with the Chilean dances was nice.
We had a lovely long day out with Diego, our driver and guide and a fun group of fellow travellers. After an early start, before 6am, we had had an easy run out of the city. There was a comfort stop, a riverside café stop, then a leisurely 2 hours at the picturesque hot springs, which was the highlight of the day. Diego safely drove the bus along the steep, bumpy roads and provided comprehensive commentary for English and Spanish-speaking passengers.
While the highlight of the tour was such a wonderfully unique experience to these hot springs, the journey with the tour guide was the opposite. Firstly the tour guide doubled as the driver as well, so many times it seemed as though he was rushing when attempting to describe our surroundings to us whilst focusing on driving the tour bus. Secondly, his driving was at times a bit dangerous as he was overtaking other vehicles, cutting off persons on the road and to us it seemed he was driving pretty fast as well...as if he were in a rush against time. All in all for me the hot springs experience was new to me so it was enjoyable but we didn't get a full tour experience, it was more like we were just being driven around quickly from one point to another.
I was picked up at 5:50am and dropped off at 5pm Pros - Gonzalo the driver was kind & on time Affordable Thermal springs was incredible Cons - It is way too long of a day. After the thermal springs I didn’t feel like doing a lot. I was so relaxed. Get rid of the chocolate house and the final activity of the Chilean dance/show. Maybe add the charcuterie to the lunch stop. Other suggestions - Maybe find a place where the guests can shower with warm water. The bathrooms at the thermal springs are in terrible condition and there was no hot shower water with soap/shampoo.
Very interesting and fun trip...Gonzalo was an excellent guide. The drive to the hot springs through the Maipo canyon was beautiful.
Gorgeous scenery and fun at the hot springs. We weren’t really into all the unnecessary food stops, and would have preferred that time be spent at other natural attractions. The bus ride on the way back was a bit hairy, with the driver speeding and overtaking in way that didn’t seem too safe. Fortunately we made it back in one piece!
Do not book this experience. The booking details are highly misleading. 1) Our confirmation said we’d be picked up between 6:30-7:30am, instead the night before at 10pm we were informed pickup would be at 5:30am 2) After getting on the bus we were informed that we would not be receiving the picnic portion of the tour, and no replacements were made for that portion. We were also denied a partial refund. 3) There isn’t a bus driver and a guide only a bus driver who was difficult to hear and was hard to understand. 4) The bus ride was extremely bumpy and we were packed liked sardines with the bus 100% full.
The tour of Cajon del Maipo was really enjoyable. Amazing views of the mountains, the valley and the valley. Spending time at Hotsprings was the best part of the whole tour - it's really relaxing to sit in the hot water and enjoy the silent nature around. The guide was very helpful and the snacks and picnic setup was also good. A great option if you want to relax for a day from Santiago!
Overall it was a great day. It was a very early start (5.30am pick up) and Gonzalo was the combined driver and tour guide (which was different to the description), but it was fun and the location we stopped for breakfast and lunch was great. They even catered to gluten free (coeliac) diets.
The hot spring was excellent . Driver guide is professional. But the bus was too full. 4 of us at the back row. I was the last to board the bus so I only had 2/3,space of a normal seat as other guests are big. Very uncomfortable during the long ride. The last row should only sit three guests. Please do not take so many guests. Please see photos below how small my space was and the guy next to me was having his shoulder on me.
A very lone day - longer than advertised at 12 hours with a 5am pick up . Long drive for not much: driver does not stick to speed limits on mountain roads , minibus has a rattle (suspect broken suspension coil) . Stop at thermal spar - changing room is disgustingly- be warned Chocolate house stop - pointless when driver tries to bypass the house part of the tour to hurry people up Show - very poor - 5 Mins and they were gate tips . Food and wine was very limited and basic - ok to fee a mouse Food stops - there for breakfast and on way back for lunch was at Same place and I suspect the driver was getting a back hand because the waiters asked who our tour guide was . Overall a rushed tour
I had a great experience and highly recommend this tour. The day started early with an on-time pickup. Our guide, Ivan, was excellent. He constantly checked on everyone and explained each point of interest, giving us a great understanding of the local history and preservation areas. Every stop was meaningful and related to the tour's theme. They never felt like just commercial stops to make us buy things. In fact, many stops included free food samples. Overall, the tour was very safe and well-run. Ivan, if you're reading this, thank you so much. All the best to you and your first son, Ivan Júnior.
Despite the early pick up time this tour was fantastic! Beautiful scenery & thankful for the driver because I definitely wouldn’t of felt comfortable renting a car & driving! Would recommend
Got moved off this tour to the EL Yeso one- apparently due to weather although the weather was perfect. Despite the tour change, it was a great trip! Spectacular mountains and the visits to the other places were fun too. Can be expensive if you buy something at all the stops but this is optional. Lunch was expensive but all in all a great day trip that I’d recommend to all!
So we originally booked the hot springs and were asked if we wanted to switch tours or reschedule due to road closure! The Andes tour was great! Francisco our guide was amazing, excellent DJ/ music, and knowledgeable. So gorgeous at the mountains and whole ride up!
The communication and coordination was on point. The timeframe to enjoy different places on our own were enough. We really enjoyed travelling in a small group because we got to know each other better and Gonzalo our tour guide gave us good recommendations and places to visit. We enjoyed the most the hot springs, from sep 20th onwards is a really good time to go. Little bit snowy but at the same time not extreme snowy.
This trip was good fun, the springs were a highlight of my South America trip, I also enjoyed the various food stops like the goat farm and wine tasting
This is a scam company that steals your money. I booked a tour for last week, they asked via Whatsapp to move the tour due to weather. I asked for it to be moved to the week after in Sunday, and they moved to Saturday instead and blamed me because the date was off by one, despite us discussing about Sunday at length. Even though they could move it before, now they mysteriously can't. The operator is rude about it and offers no solutions. I will try to get a refund via the platform. Please don't trust these guys, and never let them move the date. Just refund and buy again if really needed.
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