Cerro Chacarillas, Mountain summit in Santiago, Chile
Cerro Chacarillas, also called Tupahue, is a 796-metre summit with 280 metres of prominence, the third-highest point in Santiago after Renca and San Cristóbal. It lies northeast of San Cristóbal, between Providencia to the south, Vitacura to the east and Recoleta to the north, and belongs with San Cristóbal, La Pirámide and Los Gemelos to the 722-hectare Parque Metropolitano de Santiago.
On 9 July 1977 the Frente Juvenil de Unidad Nacional held a rally on the summit for Youth Day, where Augusto Pinochet, head of the military junta, gave a speech outlining the new institutional order for the state. Right-wing politicians including Joaquín Lavín, Juan Antonio Coloma Correa, Carlos Bombal and Andrés Chadwick attended. Earlier, under Salvador Allende, the Chacarillas public pool had been built on the hill, designed by architect Carlos Martner; it was closed for three years after the 1973 coup and reopened in 1976 as Antilén.
The name Chacarillas is Spanish, while Tung Pawe comes from Mapudungún and means "place of peace"; Centinela is Quechua for "sentinel". The summit sits between the communes of Providencia, Vitacura and Recoleta, and its slopes belong to the Metropolitan Park of Santiago, about 722 hectares in all.
The location offers direct access to hiking trails and connects to Santiago's Metropolitan Park through entry points in Providencia and Vitacura districts. Visitors should wear proper footwear and watch weather conditions, as the exposed summit is known for sudden wind gusts.
The Chacarillas public pool was built under Salvador Allende at the request of park union leaders, who wanted to turn a disused irrigation pond into affordable swimming, since the Tupahue pool was too expensive for workers. Architect Carlos Martner designed it with stepped picnic terraces and a 360° viewpoint. Closed after the 1973 coup, it reopened in 1976 as Antilén.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,783 contributors worldwide.