Teleférico Santiago is the local name of the gondola ride up San Cristóbal Hill. It’s located in Metropolitan Park, the largest urban park in Latin America. The peak of San Cristóbal Hill can be reached by hiking, or much quicker and more easily by taking this cable car ride. The park and its gondola ride are widely regarded as the city’s #1 tourist attraction, and provides you with a quick and scenic ascent.
On clear days the view must be stunning, and even with all the smog we encountered during our visit it was still impressive. If you are lucky, you might even see views of the snow-capped Andes in the distance (we didn’t).
We passed through Tupahue (intermediate gondola stop, near the Japanese Garden), and ended at Cumbre (the summit station). The ride from Oasis to Cumbre takes about 12 minutes each way. You can hop on and off at intermediate stops to explore. The ride can be combined with the Funicular Santiago, inaugurated in 1925. Unfortunately this did not work out for us because of where our guide’s car was parked, so we backtracked the way we came.
At the Summit (Cumbre) you’ll find the Sanctuary of the Immaculate Conception, featuring a large white statue of the Virgin Mary (about 22 meters tall including the pedestal), which overlooks the entire city and which can be seen from many points in Santiago. We got the impression that it was a site of pilgrimage, and the shrine area was quite busy. There is a church on site, and a large outdoor seating area for special events.
The area also includes viewpoints, hiking trails, plazas, food kiosks, and easy access to other park features.
Tickets start at about USD 2+ one way, depending on the route and direction. Weekends are slightly more expensive. Discounts available for children and seniors. During peak tourist season or on weekends, it’s best to pre-purchase your tickets online to skip lines.
We spent a few hours on the hill and had a good experience — could easily spend an entire day in the park but we were on a busy schedule and had to move on.
