Rio Clarillo National Park

Rio Clarillo runs up a valley in the Andean foothills south-east of Santiago and protects bosque esclerofilo - the hard-leaved evergreen forest of central Chile, with quillay, peumo, litre and boldo - which is the vegetation that covered this landscape before the city, the vineyards and the pine plantations. It was a reserve for decades and became a national park in 2019, the first in the metropolitan region. Because it is close to Santiago and small, entry is capped daily and books out at weekends, and it closes entirely on high fire risk days, which in recent dry summers has been often.

What you actually see

• Sclerophyll forest - quillay, peumo, litre and boldo.
• The vegetation Santiago replaced - what the valley looked like before.
• A national park since 2019 - the region's first.
• Daily entry caps - and closures on high fire risk days.

When to go

September to November and March to May; summer brings closures. A full day.

Honest expectations

Entry is capped and must often be booked - turning up at a weekend without a place means being turned away. Fire closures are frequent in summer. Swimming in the river is restricted. It is small compared with the southern parks.

Nearby

Pirque and Concha y Toro are north-west; the Cajon del Maipo is east.