Cerro Castillo National Park

Cerro Castillo takes its name from the shape: a ring of basalt spires on the summit ridge that reads as a castle wall, with a glacier hanging below it and a milky turquoise lagoon at its foot. The traverse from Las Horquetas to Villa Cerro Castillo takes three to four days over several passes, or the lagoon can be reached and returned from in one long day. It was upgraded from a reserve to a national park in 2018 as part of the Route of Parks initiative, and it gets compared to Torres del Paine constantly - fairly on the rock, less so on the infrastructure, which is far thinner here.

History

Cerro Castillo was made a national reserve in 1970, and in 2018 it became a national park under an agreement between the Chilean government and Tompkins Conservation (Wikipedia, Cerro Castillo National Park).

What's there

• A crown of basalt spires - the castle wall the mountain is named for.
• A hanging glacier below the ridge - and a turquoise lagoon under it.
• A three to four day traverse - or a long day to the lagoon.
• A national park since 2018 - upgraded from reserve status.

When to go

December to March; the passes hold snow outside that. Two to four days.

What to expect

Registration is required and the traverse must be walked in the permitted direction with set camps. Weather changes violently and the passes are exposed. There are no refuges - it is tents. River crossings can be difficult.

Nearby

Coyhaique is north; Puerto Rio Tranquilo and the lake are south.

Key facts