Farellones

Farellones was built from the 1930s as the first ski village in Chile, when the road up the Mapocho valley was pushed through and a group of skiers put up the first refuges - it predates El Colorado, La Parva and Valle Nevado, all of which now sit above and around it. It sits at about 2,400 metres and functions as the accommodation base for the whole Tres Valles area, with a beginners' park and a family snow park of its own. In summer the road is used heavily by cyclists climbing the hairpins, and the village runs walking, riding and a zip line season.

History

Long before the village, mule drivers brought their herds up here and treasure hunters searched for Inca remains, and in 1954 mule drivers found the frozen Inca child known as the Plomo Mummy on Cerro El Plomo. Skiing began in the early 1930s, when the first wooden skis and leather boots came to Chile from Switzerland and Norway; the village grew up around the new sport, the Hotel Posada de Farellones was built in 1937, the first ski lift went up in the 1950s at La Gran Bajada, in what later became El Colorado, and the resorts then spread up the mountain to La Parva and Valle Nevado (Wikipedia, Farellones).

Highlights

• Chile's first ski village - built from the 1930s.
• The base for Tres Valles - below El Colorado, La Parva and Valle Nevado.
• A beginners' and family park - in the village itself.
• Cyclists on the hairpins - the summer use of the road.

When to go

June to September for snow; December to March for the summer season. A day.

Good to know

The road requires chains in winter and traffic direction is time-restricted on busy days. There is little to do in the village when weather closes the mountain. Altitude affects some people. Prices are Santiago weekend prices.

Nearby

Valle Nevado and El Colorado are above; Santiago is down the hairpins.

Key facts