The Valley of the Trancas is a mountain village located at the foot of the Andes mountain range, 72km from Chillán and only 8km from the Nevados de Chillán winter center. Its environment delivers amazing landscapes and infrastructure, at the level of the most demanding visitors and ideal for nature tourism lovers. With the imposing Chillán Nuevo volcano (3186m) as a backdrop, rivers, waterfalls, trails, wildlife, native vegetation, cliffs and farellones are combined here, with imposing mountains, volcanoes and lots of snow in winter.
In the surroundings of this sector is the Shangri-Lá Valley, a place of imposing beauty where it is possible to find farellones of ancient volcanic rocks, with access to places such as the "Purgatory sector", a space of lush vegetation with native forests of coigues, oaks, ñirres, hualles and lengas; to the East, the old mountain refuge "Waldorf" with abundant waterfalls around; and to the north, an amazing lava river, its greatest attraction. Within this environment is the Huemul lagoon, located on the top of one of the highest hills in the sector. The lagoon has intense emerald green waters, from where you can see the valley as a whole, as well as the set of peaks and volcanoes that make up the Chillán Snowfall. Both the lagoon and its surroundings are used by nesting point for condors and wild ducks, in addition to woodpeckers, cachaña parrots, chucaos, among others. In addition, the area of the Nevados de Chillán is the habitat of the only population of huemules in central Chile, a feature that was surely named after the lagoon. Because of its great importance for biodiversity, in 2011, Unesco recognized the Nevados de Chillán - Laguna del Laja biological corridor as a new World Biosphere Reserve, located in the Biobio region. With a total of 565 thousand hectares, the corridor includes the Ñuble National Reserve, the Laguna del Laja National Park and the Los Huemules del Niblinto National Reserve and Nature Sanctuary.
The most suitable time is from October to April, the rest of the year the path is covered by snow, so mountain equipment is necessary to access in winter, such as rackets or randoné skis.
From Chillán take the paved route N-55, which goes into the Southeast in the direction of the Termas de Chillán. At kilometer 24 the road crosses Pinto, a picturesque town founded in 1860 and last sector where it is possible to stock up on supplies and fuel with certainty. After Pinto, at km 55.5 of the route, there is the Precinct sector where the last benzine pump of the route (Copec) and a Carabineros checkpoint where it is recommended to give notice of the activity to be performed. From Precinct continue on the N-55 route until you find a detour towards the North in the direction of the Shangri-lá Valley. There are 46km from the main square of Pinto to the crossing to the Shangri-Lá valley.
When taking the detour, the road becomes a gravel road in a regular state (it can be carefully traveled by a low vehicle). It is possible to move around 3.1km before it gets worse and as long as there is no snow (in winter months and early spring). At this point it is recommended to park. If you have a tall vehicle with 4x4 traction, it is possible to move a little further (you could even reach the same shelter if you have the right vehicle).
It is not required, however it is convenient to give notice to police officers located in the Las Trancas sector.
This sport was created by and is especially for nature lovers. It is also known as "barranquismo", which could be translated into "cliffing", because this full-on adrenaline experience principally consists of descending canyons and narrow rivers with low flows of water and steep drops, in which one has to advance through obstacles using different techniques with only the help of your body, ropes and climbing equipment.
Its a new challenge in the world of tourism and our country has the advantage. Get to know the southern part of the planet and the adrenaline rush from canyoning in Chile.
This is one of the most sought after areas in the south of Chile, in the PucOn area, because it has routes that include smooth-rock toboggans, hiking, zip lines, rock diving and rappel, and it is an adventure of an entire day.
Not far from Santiago there are a number of places, in the Río Maipo sector, where one can go canyoning, ride horses and do rafting for 4 to 6 hours at a time.
located in the foothills of Curico, in Maule, in the south of Chile, Potrero Grande has a circuit that includes trekking and Canyoning, which last for about 4 to 5 hours. Its biggest attraction is a 35 meter waterfall!
Ñuble is a beautiful area in the south where there are different tourist agencies that offer canyoning in several places with very diverse terrains, some with abundant vegetation and others almost desert landscapes, some open wide spaces or confined between canyons, with high flows or low flows of water.
Another beautiful location in the south of Chile which is known for the Las Gemelas waterfalls. This place has it all, fresh air literally at the very south of the world, full of dark canyons full of abundant, slippery vegetation making the sport extreme and underscoring the importance of having expert supervision.
