Radal Siete Tazas National Reserve - national park in the Maule Region, Chile
Parque Nacional Radal Siete Tazas is a national park in the Andes mountains in Central Chile.
Understand
It covers a area of 4,138 ha of a mountain landscape. The mainly characteristic is a geological formation of seven basins and seven cascades that ends in a 25-m waterfall called "Salto de la Leona". Following the river, you can see the "Velo de la novia" a 40-m waterfall. The entire park is a mountain forest.
The altitude is between 650 and 2,600 m over the sea.
The park is beside the volcano Descabezado Grande (3,830 m).
The park protects tree species mainly of the genus Nothofagus, including the threatened Nothofagus glauca and Nothofagus leonii, as well as Nothofagus macrocarpa, Nothofagus dombeyi, Nothofagus antarctica, and Nothofagus alpina. Also it is possible to find vulnerable and rare species, as are Austrocedrus chilensis and Maytenus chubutensis. The park is home to an endangered subspecies of Cyanoliseus patagonus known locally as Tricahue.
History
In 2007 the area was reclassified from a national reserve to a national park.
Get in
By bus
From the city of Molina it's possible to take a bus to the National Park. The price is US$3 by person and the trip takes about 1 hour for the 55 km distance between Molina and the National Park.
The buses are old but the service is reliable.
Fees and permits
The fees for Siete Tazas Park are:
Chilean adult: 2,000 pesos; foreign adult: 4,000 pesos; Chilean child: 600 pesos; foreign child: 600 pesos.
The hours for visiting are: summer 08:30 to 20:00; winter 08:30 to 17:30.
See
- Siete tazas, "seven cups": seven consecutive natural pools with their respective waterfalls along Claro River. The Siete Tazas dried up after the 2010 earthquake
- There are also two high waterfalls called El Velo de Novia (The Bridal Veil) and La Leona (The Lioness), with single vertical drops of 40 and 20 metres respectively.
- Volcano Descabezado Grande
Do
Trekking
The park has many different areas for trekking, those depend for the time and ability of the tourist.
- Sendero "Salto La Leona” (1.2 km): 2 hours walking. This path shows the seven basins and ends in the Salto de la Leona waterfall. This route is a must.
- Sendero Valle del Indio (15 km): this path takes the entire day mostly under the forest and finish in the high plateau of the mountain.
- Sendero Los Chiquillanes (7 km): this path takes 5 hours under the forest.
- Sendero “La Montañita” (1 km): 2 hours walking under the forest.
- Sendero “El Coigue” (1 km): This path takes 1 hour walking under forest of Coigües and Oaks.
There is a special path for people with disabilities. It is a 300-m a path of wood, ending in a beautiful place to see the seven basins.