Parque Metropolitano, Santiago (Metropolitan Park)

When I was driving Tata Aria in Chile… just kidding- I wasn’t driving anything there, but some Chile related stories are still untold. [Read other Chile related posts here]

Metropolitan Park or Parque Metropolitano was the first place I explored getting off Turistik Hop On Hop Off service in Santiago Chile. The park is fairly large and can take couple of hours to explore in detail. Due to shortage of time, I explored it only in part.

 

Once I got in, I had to pay 18 pesos (Approx INR 180) to take the trolley (also known as funicular or rail tram)to top and back. While going up, trolley stopped half way and some people got off. I didn’t know at that time that by getting down here one can go to zoo. We were not allowed to get off while returning.

 

It was a chilly Sunday morning and as the trolley went up, visibility was fairly low due to thick fog. We got off the trolley to explore the place.  One can walk/cycle or drive up till this point. Close to a shop I saw the chilian dogs for the first time. They were furry and appeared healthy. I was tempted to pet them but held myself back as it was an unknown country.

As the name suggests Parque Metropolitano has a park, few shops and a small church like building at the top. It had a statue on top of it, which I learnt later to be of Virgin Mary and is about 100 feet in height. Total height of the hill around which the park is located, is called Cerro San Cristobal (St Christopher's Hill)  is believed to be 869 meters from mean sea level. The hilltop would have offered great view of Santiago down, but for the fog that day. Wide range of flowers and plants could be noticed all around.

 

Bought couple of postcards and a T shirt in a shop. My first shopping in Chile.

As I prepared to leave (i.e. wait for next Turistik hop on hop off bus), more and more tourists started arriving. A map of the park posted near the entrance hinted me that I have explored only a small section of what the park had on offer. Hope there’s a next time.

Read other Chile posts  - Mercado Central, Santiago, Chile * Andes Mountains * Santiago street pictures * Celebrations near Plaza de constitution