Cerro Ñipa

Here is a quick little blog about another hike, Cerro Ñipa. It has been on our "to-do" list for a few months now, but the alignment of the planets was never quite right, or something, and therefore we only got around to do it couple of weekends ago. We are posting it here because it is really close to Santiago, actually rather nice (most of it at least!) and one of those hidden gems that people easily tend to overlook because there´s some more popular stuff just around the corner.

With the "more popular stuff" we are referring to Cerro Alto Naranjo and Cerro Provincia, both of which we have dedicated blog posts before and both of which we have ascended more than once. So, while looking for a new hike within easy striking distance from our house, we came across Cerro Ñipa a few months ago, probably on andeshandbook.org, which is one of the places where we seek inspiration from.

The hike starts from the same place as the other two hikes we just mentioned, Puente Ñiluhe, which can be accessed from kilometre 5 on Camino Farellones (the road to the ski resorts). You have to register and pay your 1500 Pesos per person to get in. Interesting detail about Puente Ñiluhe is that this is one of the few protected areas around Santiago where one is officially allowed to take dogs on the hike, at least Saturdays and Wednesdays. They pay 1000 Pesos per head to get in.

The hike follows the route to Alto Naranjo and Provincia for the first 15min or so, but then it veers off and contours to the east to the next ridge, which leads to Ñipa. We pretty quickly figured out why this hike isn´t quite as popular (in fact, the warden at the entrance give you a bit of a warning about it): The first bit of the hike is difficult to make out, there is no well marked trail, or where one does happens to find a mark, one can easily lose that trail again and end up in thick brush. There are cow trails here and there, but it's all a bit hit and miss.

The good news are, it's a ridge so even if one misses the trail you always know where you have to go (i.e. up, just follow the ridge) and the brush thins out as you go up. From above 1700m or so all the way to the top it's super beautiful and easy going. This time of the year the cacti are blooming and everything is still a bit green(ish) from the winter. Also while on the ridge we had a constant light breeze, keeping us cool under the burning sun.

Apart from the very start and very end (where obviously the Alto Naranjo crowds are not avoidable) we didn't bump into anyone else. Only a couple of condors circling above our heads several times, checking out whether we've finally turned into a meal, yet, or not.

It's not an easy hike, one climbs about 1300m and it's fairly steep. But it was excellent training for another hike which we will blog about next week! It took us 8 hours up and back down again, and when we descended in the afternoon it got fairly hot (Mario and Pfiffi even struggled a little towards the end).

Below are a few photos (high resolution here) and we'll also add the route into the Outdoor Activities map section of our blog shortly.