Cerro Provincia
| Cerro Provincia | |
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A view from the summit of Cerro Provincia in winter
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 2,750 m (9,020 ft) |
| Coordinates | 33°25′37″S 70°26′04″W / 33.42694°S 70.43444°WCoordinates: 33°25′37″S 70°26′04″W / 33.42694°S 70.43444°W |
| Geography | |
 Cerro Provincia
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| Parent range | Andes |
Cerro Provincia is a mountain on the eastern side of Santiago, Chile. It is a popular climb due to its accessibility and low level of difficulty by mountaineering standards (an 'F' or 'easy' on the Alpine scale). The peak has an altitude of 2,750 metres (9,022 ft) and a climb requires an altitude gain of almost 2000 meters from the highest road-accessible point. There is a small dome-shaped refuge shelter at the summit. There are fairly well traveled paths that go to the summit and marker posts. The peak offers a spectacular view of Santiago to the west, the Andes to the east, and Cerro El Plomo (another popular climb) to the north.
There are several trails to access the mountain. The shortest, best marked and most commonly used trail starts near Ñilhue (the Ñilhue Bridge) in the valley on the north side that contains a stream feeding the Mapocho River. The entrance at Puente Ñilhue is accessible by taxi ride from Santiago. As of 2011, there is a guard at the entrance of the trail where all hikers need to register and pay 1,500 Chilean pesos. The trail officially opens at 8:00 and closes at 20:00. If you are planning on hiking outside these times you need to contact the guards in advance.
People in fair physical condition can make the full ascent and descent in one day but it is quite exhausting. The ascent takes about 5–7 hours (without heavy backpacks) and the descent about 4–5 hours for average hikers. The start of the ascent from the northern-route includes a steep, rocky section where hikers need to hold on to an installed iron chain (a via ferrata) for several meters. This may give a false impression of the subsequent climb because no such fixture is encountered afterwards. Subsequently, the first two hours of the trail are steep, reaching a wide-open area known as Alto del Naranjo, with the biggest tree of all the trail (the Great Tree) right in the middle, which is visible from most of the rest of the trail all the way to the top. This is followed by about an hour of relatively flat section, which ends at the last tree on the trail (Pawel's Tree). The next two hours are again steep, and on loose rocky ground which makes it difficult to walk up and down. The last hour requires climbing up and down some big boulders, and there is a small section just before the summit where hands must be used (see scrambling).
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Wikipedia