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== Season ==
November to April but beware as snow can linger on the path down to the Laguna till December so it may be advisable to come prepared for snow if done in early November or late April.
== Access ==
== The Route ==
{{Mapa Altos de Lircay|The map shows the two routes to Enladrillado and the sidetrail to Laguna del Alto. The northern trail goes along the Lircay valley, whereas the southern one crosses the plateau of Altos de Lircay, linking Laguna del Alto with Enladrillado}}
[[File:Perfil_altos_de_lircay.png|thumb|left|Profile of the route (in the sense described here)]]
[[File:RIMG0019_(Medium).jpg|thumb|Laguna del Alto with Cerro Peine behind]]
[[File:Meseta_altos_de_lircay.jpg|thumb|left|Altos de Lircay plateau, taken from the east slope of [[Cerro Peine]]. The trail is visible at the left of the snow patch below the "Enladrillado" label. Looking east, december 2009]]
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.
[[File:RIMG0024_(Small).jpg|thumb|left|A swim in the Laguna]]
The banks of the lakes are a perfect spot for a quick break before ascending back up the way you came to the top of the crater. From the signpost at the top take the branching path to the right and not back the way you came. The path is obvious all the way as it makes it's away across the plateau, occasionally marked with cairns and parallel lines of rocks. After about a km the path joins with the fork we ignored earlier and makes it's way along the lower left side of the plateau through interesting volcanic rock formations. After 3 km the path reaches to Enladrillado, a flat rock plain which can be seen clearly from a distance away. Much is made of the apparently strange UFO launch-pad nature of this rock platform but what really impresses is the stunning views of Descabezado Grande (the Decapitated volcano) and Cerro Azul straight ahead, the beautiful forests and valley surrounding them and the endless views of the high snow-capped volcanoes that stretch down the backbone of Chile.
Once you've spent a sufficient amount of time soaking in the views take the clearly marked path to the right down off the plateau that you passed just before reaching Enladrillado. From here it's about 3km and 400m of decent down to the second of the campamento's at the base of the plateau. It's then another fairly flat time consuming 4km back to the first campamento and then out the way you came in. [[File:RIMG0034_(Medium).jpg|thumb|Enladrillado with the view of Descabezado Grande and Cerro Azul behind]]
'''Estimated time'''
*This trek can be done the other way round but this would involve doing the long boring walk along the valley at the start of the day and getting the best views at the begining rather than towards the end.
*Camping at Laguna del Alto is now forbidden for fear of contaminating the Laguna.
*It is also possible to climb Cerro Peine from the camping towards the entrance of the park and then continue on the trek from there.
