Reserva Nacional Radal Siete Tazas

In the Andean precordillera southeast of Curicó [1], the Río Claro plunges steeply over basalt bedrock into a series of pools known as the Siete Tazas (Seven Teacups), a feature that has given its name to this 5,026-hectare reserve. When the water is high with spring snowmelt, skilled kayakers have made this one of their favorite stops, but the reserve itself gets relatively few foreign visitors. Even when Chileans crowd it in summer and on weekends, areas off the main road are almost people-free.

Ecologically, distributions of drought-tolerant Mediterranean plants overlap southern Chile’s evergreen forests at Radal Siete Tazas. Ranging 600–2,156 meters above sea level, the park does not reach the high Andean summits to the east.

Nonkayakers can view the Siete Tazas via a short trail off the main road; a slightly longer footpath leads to an overlook to the Salto de la Leona, a tributary falls that plummets more than 50 meters into the Claro.

Longer hikes up the Valle del Indio and Cerro El Fraile are also possible. The lengthy trek north across the Claro to Reserva Nacional Altos del Lircay [2] traditionally requires a guide, as multiple tracks make route-finding difficult for those who don’t know the area, but as signing advances on the Sendero de Chile this should become simpler.