Pochoco

Pochoco is only 20 kilometers from the center of Santiago. You can get there using transit: take the Metro to the Manquehue stop on Línea 1, then a C01 bus to Plaza San Enrique, then a colectivo to the base.

Dust covers Pochoco, and as you climb, the mountain slips away under you. The sure-footed kick up a fine powder as they ascend, the clumsy send rocks clattering down the mountainside.

Pochoco doesn’t have trail markings, except for one or two stones bearing splashes of paint. Those are reassuring, because it’s often hard to tell if you’re on a path or simply scrambling the mountainside. Regulars, whose feet have long since memorized the routes, offer encouragement and advice.

Climb Pochoco with a friend. When the path ahead is unclear, one of you can scout ahead and report back. When you move too hastily, your friend can urge you to slow down, consider the route more carefully. When you do get lost, stuck on a steep, dusty incline, you are lost together and together you will scramble up and out.