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==Season 2025/26==
'''GPT05-06/ 27.02.2026 to 10.03.2026/ 11 days/ Hiking/ SOBO / GPT05 Options 01, RR, Option 07; GPT06 Option 09, 09A, 09C, RR/ Yannick and Alina'''
We followed Jan's recommendation and Greg's footsteps and combined GPT05 and 06. We took food for 12 days as we did not want to hassle, which worked out great for us. GPT06 starts at day 9.
Day 01 (half day)
Caught the later bus at 11:30 from Curicó. When hearing about our plans, the bus driver recommended going not to the Center of Los Queñes, but a little further, cross the bridge and try hitching at Ruta J-25, as the chances are better there. Indeed the first truck stopped and took us all the way to a mine (?) or construction site close to the start of Option 01. Traffic on the road is mostly trucks, probably not too nice for walking. Then a nice Chilean family on holiday took us even right to Option 09 and we started walking around four. On the road to Laguna Tena we were also passed by cars, as apparently it can get pretty crowded up there on the weekend
Camped at one of the marked camping spots along the river.
Day 02
Hiked onwards, there was a guy at the refugio who did not mind us passing. Very nice views of the Laguna and on the way up El Planchon. Met a group of arrieros on their way to Argentina. The wind was blowing very strongly on our way up the flank of the volcano though, which combined with the rubble made the ascent very sketchy. We were a little worried we'd end up blown away into some valley in Argentina at some point! Decided to not go for the summit for this reason and dry camped on the plateau, where we were circled by condors that seemed a little disappointed we were in fact still alive xD Camp very dusty due to the wind.
Day 03
Long descent day, forded Rio Claro (who tf named that, it is actually incredibly murky haha) in the afternoon, double ford where the clear stream enters, water to the mid- thigh. We actually did it without backpacks first, just to be sure about the depth.
Day 04
"Enjoyable ridge-walking", as Greg put it :) the weather was not the best, so the views were a little lacking. Forded Rio Barroso in the afternoon, easy but very cold.
Day 05
Cross-country ascent to pass and subsequent descent to Rio Negro. Indeed very steep and technical, not made easier at all by the frequent landslides. Forded the muddy river at knee height.
Day 06
Descent through the bottleneck Cuesta la Hormiga. Sketchy, but doable. The cross-country walking and crossing numerous boulder fields afterwards was very draining though. Surprise landslides or steep canyons on the way did not make it better, nor did the bush-bashing required several times. The trail does magically reappear after the bridge though, which is a thing you can REALLY appreciate after the last kms. You're so fast all of a sudden! Enjoyed a refreshing bath in the river before hiking on. Camped at Termas Las Yeguas and enjoyed the hot spring, which felt amazing after such a day. The arriero from the nearby puesto dropped by in the evening, but did not mind us camping there. He seemed very surprised we made it down to Rio Negro though.
Day 07
Met three other arrieros in the morning, they asked us where we came from and also seemed quite surprised we came from the direction of Rio Negro. Ford of Rio de Valle Grande very easy, knee height. An hour later almost got carried away by a herd of cows our amigo from yesterday was leading down the valley with the help of three dogs. Luckily we heard them a little beforehand and could get out of the way. Forded Rio Colorado in the afternoon, not even knee deep, very easy. Camped close to the pass, where there is a trickling stream.
Day 08
Amazing views on the way up and from the pass, and also from the plateau. Had a short day and camped at the Laguna Aguas Calientes at the western Hot Spring, which has a nice but pretty shallow pool with a great view of Volcan Calabozos and the Laguna and a perfect water temperature.
Day 09
Hiking up to the Descabezado plateau next to the lava stream. Amazing views on the way. Climbed Descabezado Chico, very windy and unfortunately some clouds came closing in, obscuring the view. After the small Laguna right at the foot of Volcan Cerro Colorado, the way becomes very tiring, as you have to clamber up a steep slope of fine volcanic ash/rubble. Decided to take Option 09 C to Terms die Azufre to avoid Don Victor.
Day 10
Continued on Option 09-C, nice views and some unmarked water sources. There is a section where you have to scramble up a steep ash/ loose rubble slope to get back up on the plateau, the track files lead straight over a cliff. Maybe there was a rockfall or the way was done SOBO, when there was a lot of snow? Anyhow, when doing this NOBO you have to keep as far West as possible to get up there :). Descending from the pass was very fast and enjoyable, as you could just ski down the rubble. Views also very nice. Termas del Azufre were quite muddy and kind of soupy (?) looked pretty disgusting unfortunately, so we did not take a bath there and hiked on.
Day 11
Hiking up to the pass, amazing views again. Down to Laguna las Animas and El Bolson, met people working there on the way. As we did not want to camp there we went past (no one there, as it was Monday and the park was closed and the workers were on their hike) and camped a little further.
Day 12 (half day)
Hiked down to Parque Ingles. As we were sure the bus was leaving at 17:00 from Parque Ingles and we were there very early, we decided to just walk down to Radal. Imagine our surprise when a bus passed us around 13:00 haha. We were to surprised to stop it and continued walking. The very nice lady at the mini market in Radal said that there are no busses going that late in the day (we were there at three), so if someone wants to take this route it is probably best to ask at the park. We were lucky as we got a hitch to Lontué and from there a bus to Curicó.
Overall, quite hard section, especially GPT05, but very worth it for the remoteness, the views, the people, the wildlife, the volcanos and the Lagunas!
Difficulty 5/5 Attractiveness 5/5
'''GPT05-06/ 2026-01-03 to 2026-01-12/ 11 days/ Hiking/ SOBO/ GPT05 Options 1, 2, RR; GPT06 Options 9B, 9A, 9, 3B, 3, RR, 6F/ Greg and Simon Carter'''
Overall
This was my favourite GPT trek to date. Spectacular mountain vistas, lagunas, rivers, streams and springs, waterfalls, glaciers, hot springs, challenging navigation and terrain, volcanoes, wild horses, arrieros, and condors.
A big shout out to Alexey Abramov for providing the track file of his “Desolation Traverse: Los Queñes - Rio Colorado - Descabezado plateau - Central Los Cipreses” (available on WikiLoc), which was super helpful in navigating through difficult cross-country terrain.
I highly recommend bringing winter ski baskets for better traction in long stretches of soft volcanic terrain.
Attraction: 5/5
Difficulty: 5/5
Day 1
Caught a bus from Curicó to Los Queñes for CLP 2,500pp. (The bus leaves at 0730, 1130, 1300, 1630, 1830 Mon-Fri; 0730, 1130 and 1630 on Sat, Sun and public holidays)
Arriving early Mon there was little chance of a hitch so we (reluctantly) paid CLP 40,000 for a ride up to the start of Option 1.
Wonderful mountain and lake views on the hike up the road and valley to camp.
The Refuge {05-01} [8.9/2599] (El Planchon Base Camp) was locked but had good camping spots, running water from a hose, and a covered outdoor area with an open fire place (and wood) and enough room to pitch a small tent undercover in bad weather.
Camped at {05-01} [13.2+0.2/2623], which had amazing views but was very exposed and dusty with high gusting wind.
Day 2
Ascended Volcán Planchon on Option 2, which was quite challenging with steep loose scree, and ridge walking close to big drop-offs with a strong cross-wind. 2hrs up. 1.5hrs down on an alternative route to the west of Option 2, which seemed safer, provided some enjoyable scree skiing on soft sand, and joined up with the E/W OSM trail at the foot of the Volcán, to return to the intersection of Options 1 and 2.
Spectacular views of and from the Volcán. Well worth the effort.
Note there was no water until Camp {05-01} [27.8/1670]. However there was plenty of water at this camp, which has a man-made irrigation ditch that channels water close to camp.
Day 3
Joined the RR and forded the Rio Claro at -35.20436, -70.66298, where as Bailey pointed out, there is a clear water stream entering the Rio Claro. The ford was easy, at half calf height.
After the ford there was some enjoyable ridge hiking, with spectacular big mountain views.
Camped at -35.24513, -70.66722, beside a bunch of small bushes, which provided good shelter from northerly winds coming up the valley. Good flowing water in the nearby stream.
Day 4
Very scenic views from pass [41.0/2354] and during the subsequent descent and ascent. Then really spectacular 270 degree views from pass [48.7/2362].
Sketchy very steep technical descent to camp at Rio Negro, with the trail partially washed away in some sections.
Camped by Rio Negro. Camp sites are limited: only for a 2 person and 1 person tent.
Day 5
Easy ford of the Rio Negro in the morning, as the water level dropped substantially overnight. However it was also fordable late afternoon the previous day.
Steep technical descent down from Cuesta La Hormiga, through the Bottleneck.
Then slow going crossing through numerous boulder fields, heading upriver.
Note there is a steep descent down a washout extending towards the Rio Colorado, commencing at the large cairn at -35.34364, -70.64654. The last few metres are a bit tricky to get down from the boulders - head downstream/ west to find the easiest path down to the river flats.
Enjoyed a nice swim in an eddy immediately downstream of the bridge over the Rio Colorado at -35.34734, -70.64363.
The trail becomes easier after the bridge, as it becomes a well travelled cattle trail.
There is a good flowing stream at -35.37310, -70.57358 just before the hot spring at [64.7/2027] (Las Yeguas), also just after, at -35.37194, -70.57043.
Enjoyed a wonderful hot spring and camp at Las Yeguas. There is cold water flowing into the hot spring from a pipe which is probably ok if filtered. We met the family from the nearby puesto who dropped in to use the hot spring. They were friendly and didn’t mind us camping.
Note that in the morning the hot spring was warm, so it’s best to use it in the afternoon, or divert the cold water pipe flowing into the spring the night before.
Day 6
Continued on the RR. The ford of the Rio Valle Grande at [68.1/2057] was easy, at half calf height.
Enjoyed the awesome hot spring at [70.3/2135] (Termas Pellejo), then forded the Rio Colorado a little downstream, at knee height.
Continued the RR, ascending with views of incredible volcanic landscapes, then descended to camp in a gully with a small spring at -35.42381, -70.55906.
Day 7
Hiked up to GPT06 Option 9/ 9A junction, with stunning desolate volcanic terrain along the way, especially the valley of Rio San Pedro (easy ford at [83.0/2340], ankle height).
Lake {05} [80.4/2499] has plenty of water, and there is a good flowing stream before you get there, at -35.41984, -70.59138.
Late in the day climbed Descabezado Chico - no snow but very steep with sand and small loose rock that is fairly well consolidated (ie doesn’t move much when stepped on). Spectacular views from the summit.
Day 8
Continued on GPT06 Option 9. Another day of spectacular big mountain scenery.
Plenty of water in Rio Barroso.
Pass {05-08} [5.2+6.2/3033] has a steep ice field across it including a section of sideways sloping steep ice covering 20m of the trail (viewed in the direction of the trail it was lower to higher, left to right), where micro-spikes were required. I cut steps with the micro-spikes as I crossed. This was a solid but scary traverse where a slip/slide would have been fatal. Alternatively you can bypass the ice by walking above it on very loose rock, which is not recommended.
Camped at -35.54428, -70.75478, below the trail junction of Options 3B and 9, where there are some good camping sites beside the Estero El Volcan, which had a good flow.
Day 9
Traversed Descabezado Grande on GPT06 Option 3B. Spectacular scenery but slow progress on complex volcanic terrain, requiring hours of contouring, ascending and descending.
Luckily Pass {06-3B} [2.7/3124] had no snow or ice.
Ford {06-3B} [5.8/2847] had very little flow with small pools of clean water.
The Quebrada El Descabezado had no water.
Camped at -35.64057, -70.78693.
Day 10
Hiked Option 3 to the RR. Really spectacular views traversing to Pass {06} [59.5/2518] (Hornitos).
On descent from the pass there was a good flowing stream at -35.70283, -70.82520, and at Camp {06} [62.3/1999].
No ford was required at Ford {06} [63.6/1909], as the river is not flowing. Laguna de los Hornitos has a fair amount of water, but it is getting low with algae around the sides.
Climbed Volcan Los Hornitos and walked around the rim - really superb views.
Hiked down to the road. Rio Cipreses was dry in its upper reaches, as the Laguna La Invernada has been dammed for hydro. Dry camped at -35.75345, -70.78590. There is a gate on the road to the Laguna, but it could be passed if you need water. The next water is further away, down the road, at Water {06} [73.7/1014], where there is a good flowing stream.
Day 11
Hiked out to Los Cipreses. The Shop was open at {06-F} [0.5/855]. Hitched easily from the bus stop at {06-F} [0.6/862] to Talca.
*'''2025-08-09: Track file update 2025 and investigation suggestions of Jan Dudeck'''
- GPT05 Option 1 (Lago Teno): This option is clearly more scenic when compared with the regular route.
- New GPT05 Option 9 (Rio Colorado Bajo): See comments and recommendation at GPT06 [[GPT06 https://wikiexplora.com/GPT06_(Descabezado)]].
- It is unclear how tolerant Argentine border police treats hikers that sneak through Argentine territory east of vulcano Planchon-Peteroa. There is a special arrangement between Chile and Argentina that permits the Chilean arrieros of Valle Grande to cross at Paso Vergara by car from Chile to Argentina and drive 15 or 20 km though Argentina before re-entering Chile at an informal border crossing just north of Valle Grande. But I'm unsure if this applies also to "lost hikers". Anyway, in case of an emergency crossing into Argentina from Valle Grande is probably an option. In this case "lost hikers" are probably returned via Paso Vergara to Chile. Also, climbers from Chile and Argentina get from both sides of the border up to the summit of Volcano Planchon and there seams little dispute over this. Trails crossing the border are clearly visible on satellite images.
==Season 2024/25==
*'''GPT04, GPT05, GPT06/2026-01-16 to 2026-01-24/ 9 days/hiking/SOBO/Route: as mentioned, RR/ Bailey and illiana'''
Day 4. Transition to GPT05
I walked the road without a car going past. GPT04 Option 1, GPT05 option 1. Accidentally adopted a dog, no one was around or a building. Couldn't get it to stop following me
Both Camp {05-01} [27.8/1670] and Camp {05-A} [4.1/1574] hard murky water sources
Connected to GPT05 RR
Ford {05} [33.1/1455] (Rio Claro) was the hardest of this trip. Very murky water. I went up stream to cross. When going upstream there's a clear river also feeding the Rio Claro. Good water source for camp
Camp 4. Camp {05} [33.2/1457], heaps of rubbish
Day 5.
See photos for descent to Rio Negro. I found it okay, take it easy.
From above you can see where the Rio Negro braids and a good spot to ford, no issue
The bridge was built, I used it but later found out I didn't need to
The hardest scree/ trail for me was just before reaching camp but i was pretty tired
A lot of unmarked water sources along options 4, 4A and 4B if you decide to use the bridge to cross the Rio Colorado
Coordinates; -35.35800, -70.62624, -35.36049, -70.62581, -35.36450, -70.62179, -35.36957, -70.61496, -35.37377, -70.61176, -35.37555, -70.60993, -35.38154, -70.59666, -35.38151, -70.57827. Basically I wouldn't worry about carrying water
Crossed the Rio Colorado just before the hot spring. It was very mild here
The Hot Spring {05} [70.3/2135] (Termas Pellejo) has to be my favorite hot spring so far.
Camp 5. Camp {05-04B} [4.5/2131]
Day 6. Left GPT05 RR onto GPT05 option 7 (Laguna Aguas Calientes), then onto GPT06 option 7 (Valle San Francisco)
Visited Hot Spring, Camp {05-07} [8.5+1.3/2566], not much of a hot spring, nice camping spots on the sand
Camp 6. At almost dried out lake, heaps of flat ground here -35.51876, -70.48925
Day 7. Continued on GPT06 option 7
*'''2025-03-22 / 1 day / Hiking / Sobo / RR + Var H / MiaimZelt'''
