Radal Siete Tazas National Park

The Rio Claro runs over volcanic rock here and has drilled a chain of seven cylindrical basins, each one dropping into the next through a narrow throat, in a gorge of dark basalt with forest above - the tazas, or cups, that give the park its name. Below them the Salto de la Leona and the Velo de la Novia fall into the same gorge. The park sits in the transition zone where the sclerophyll forest of central Chile gives way to the southern Nothofagus forests, so the species mix is unusual, and it holds the northernmost stands of some southern trees. Swimming in the basins is prohibited.

History

The area was protected in 1981 as a tourist protection area and declared a national park on 27 March 2008. After the earthquake of 27 February 2010 the flow of the Río Claro through the cups and falls dropped until they ran dry, the water draining away through a crack in the rock bed; from that winter the rains began washing in sediment that sealed the crack, and the river gradually came back to its normal flow (Wikipedia, Parque nacional Radal Siete Tazas).

What's there

• Seven drilled basins - each dropping into the one below.
• A basalt gorge - dark rock with forest above it.
• A forest transition zone - central sclerophyll giving way to southern species.
• Falls below the cups - the Leona and the Velo de la Novia.

When to go

November to April; the park closes sectors in winter. A full day.

Good to know

Swimming in the tazas is prohibited and enforced, after accidents. The last road in is gravel and slow. The park fills at summer weekends and parking is limited. Fire closures happen in dry summers.

Nearby

Altos de Lircay reserve is south; Molina and Curico are north-west.

Key facts