Condor Circuit

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Condor Circuit
Path near the Descabezado Grande
Path near the Descabezado Grande
Data
length 59 kmdep1
location Chile
Starting point Altos del Lircay
35 ° 35 ′ 40.7 ″  S , 71 ° 1 ′ 15.6 ″  W.
Target point Parque Inglés in Radal Siete Tazas National Park
35 ° 28 ′ 23.4 ″  S , 70 ° 59 ′ 31.7 ″  W
Type Long-distance hiking trail
The highest point 2568 m
Lowest point 1037 m
Level of difficulty high
particularities Volcanic ash areas with overgrown oases, hot thermal baths

The Condor Circuit ( Spanish Circuito Condor , also Circuito Cóndores , Circuito Los Cóndores , Circuito de los Cóndores or Sendero del Cóndor ) is a 59 km long long- distance hiking trail in Chile .

Details

The Condor Circuit is located in the Región del Maule not far from the provincial capital Talca , about 250 km south of Santiago de Chile . The starting point is the small holiday village of Vilches , about 66 km east of Talca , where the Altos del Lircay national nature reserve begins. The Condor Circuit leads from the reserve to Parque Inglés in the Radal Siete Tazas National Park . The path runs at heights between 1037 and 2568 meters through forests, valleys and highlands , passes mountain lakes and hot thermal baths , crosses rivers and cold lava rocks . Plant-covered oases in the middle of the extensive volcanic ash areas of the Descabezado Grande volcano (The Great Decapitated) are also worth mentioning .

The Condor Circuit is part of the “Huaso Trails” hiking network, can be climbed in stages and the nature of the path can range from demanding to difficult. Guided tours are offered in which the hikers are supported by horses and mules, as the route offers no options for food or accommodation. Equipment and food must be carried. In addition, are pack animals in the resulting river crossings useful. Since there are no tourist facilities and hardly any marked trails, tour descriptions and travel literature advise you to entrust yourself to local guides or an organized tour.

The ascent of the Condor Circuit takes about 4 days for experienced mountain hikers . Shorter sections or detours lead, for example, to the El Enladrillado plateau (1–2 days), to the Descabezado Grande volcano (4–5 days) or to Lake Laguna Mondaca (4–5 days).

Others

  • An alternative route branches off from the Condor Circuit about 10 km before the finish and returns to the starting point in the Altos del Lircay reserve. This route is about 100 km long. The ascent takes about 8–10 days, but so far only a few have completely walked the circular route.
  • Variants of the Greater Patagonian Trail (GPT), the longest and most famous Chilean long-distance hiking trail , also run along the route of the Condor Circuit .
  • The 3953 m high Descabezado Grande can be reached from the Condor Circuit, but the path does not lead directly over it.
  • A similarly named hiking trail exists in Peru .

literature

  • Carl D. Goerdeler , Malte Sieber: Chile. Easter island. With extra folding map & travel atlas (=  Marco Polo travel guide ). 7th, completely revised and redesigned edition. MairDumont, Ostfildern 2014, ISBN 978-3-8297-2432-6 , pp. 91–93:  On lonely Andean trails ( excerpt from Google book search).
  • Trekking map Condor Circuit (=  Trekking Chile ). 5th edition. Viachile Editores, Santiago de Chile 2015, ISBN 978-956-8925-25-3 (Spanish, English, German, hiking map, central Chile, scale 1: 50,000 / 1: 25,000).
  • Markus Thek: Chile's wild center. Nature impressions from the Andes . In: Globetrotter magazine . No. 122 , summer 2017 ( excerpt from globetrottermagazin.ch [accessed April 7, 2019] - photo report on a trekking tour on the Condor Circuit).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sendero del Cóndor. In: waymarkedtrails.org. Retrieved April 7, 2019 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Carl D. Goerdeler , Malte Sieber: Chile. Easter island. With extra folding map & travel atlas (=  Marco Polo travel guide ). 7th, completely revised and redesigned edition. MairDumont, Ostfildern 2014, ISBN 978-3-8297-2432-6 , pp. 91–93:  On lonely Andean trails ( excerpt from Google book search).
  3. ↑ Sendero del Cóndor. In: wikiexplora.com. Retrieved April 7, 2019 (Spanish).
  4. ↑ Mapa ruta condores. In: wikiexplora.com. Retrieved on April 7, 2019 (Spanish, sketch map of the Condor Circuit with storage spaces).
  5. ^ Condor Circuit. In: Outdooractive.com. Retrieved April 7, 2019 .