Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Cerro San Cristobal

On Sunday afternoon we headed to the northeastern suburbs of El Centro to do a bit of sight-seeing in the Parque Metropolitano de Santiago. This park is home to several trails, Jardín Mapulemu (botanical garden), the Zoológico Nacional, Jardín Japonés, cable cars, a wine museum, and more. We didn’t manage to fit everything into this visit, but we’ll definitely be back with a picnic to explore further.

At the park entrance, we joined the queue at the medieval-style castle, which serves as a station for the 1925 funicular to take visitors to the top of Cerro San Cristobal.



The 45-foot high Statue of the Virgin, donated by France in 1904, dominates the top of the hill. It can be seen from most of El Centro.


The views of Santiago and the Andes are superb at the top of the hill and we could almost make out the snow-sprinkled mountains through the smog!



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