Cambios

== Access ==

[[Imagen:Mapa_acceso_vilches.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Vilches access map. Image: [http://www.vialidad.cl Dirección de Vialidad] ]]

From Talca take Route 115 toward San Clemente. 40 miles from Talca divert to Vilches, turning left on a paved road in good condition. From here it is 29 miles, the first 9 of which are paved, the rest is a gravel track in good condition.

Buses Vilches goes from Talca bus station (opposite the Pullman and Tur Bus terminal) to the entrance to the park, you can get slightly further by car. Departures are currently (2009) 7:15, 12:00, 13:00 and 16:50 (an extra at 19:30 on Fridays) Monday to Saturday, returning at 7:15, 9:15, 13:50, 17:10 (an extra at 19:15 on Fridays). On Sundays and bank holidays the 7:15 changes to 8:15 and the bus back at 9:15 departs at 11:50. It costs $1400 each way and takes approximately two hours depending on how packed full of people it is and how much mail they have to deliver. It is also much quicker on the way back as it is going downhill!

[[Archivo:Perfil_altos_de_lircay.png|thumb|250px|left|Profile of the route (in the sense described here)]]

[[Archivo:RIMG0019_(Medium).jpg|thumb|250px|right|Laguna del Alto with Cerro Peine behind]]

Follow the dirt road another couple of km to the administrative entrance and then on to the camping (the site with facilities). From here the trail is clearly sign-posted to the right on a large well-kept track of the Sendero de Chile. From here it's another couple of km to the first campamento (site without facilities). After the campsite the path turns into a small gully with a stream and back out the other side where a clearly signed path branches to the right marked the Laguna del Alto. Taking this the path climbs approximately 600m in 3km out of the forest cover and onto the Plateau above. At one point it veers to the left until it is almost horizontal with the slope but don't worry and keep following it until it turns back in on itself higher up. Once on the plateau the path spits in two. Take the marked path to the right. After about 1km of flat walking the path descends over a ridge and down 150m into the crater lake below. Significant amounts of snow can linger into December making the path hard to find but don't worry there are other arguably easier routes down to the Laguna. The actual path goes off to the right from the sign post at the top of the crater and comes back down to the left coming out on the bottom of the Laguna. From here it is also possible to climb Cerro Paine although this makes the day a long one and the winter gear is required all the way into December.

[[Archivo:RIMG0024_(Small).jpg|thumb|200px|left|A swim in the Laguna]]