My Walking Routes in Santiago: Providencia - Parque Metropolitana - Vitacura

In cities, I enjoy walking less than in the mountains, but when I do, I experience genuine pleasure. Upon arriving in a new city, I always arrange a walk for several hours on the very first day. Grand administrative buildings and weathered mansions from past centuries, modern business districts and seedy alleyways, green well-kept parks and skate parks under bridges, the smell of fast food and grass - all these must be experienced to get acquainted with a new place.

Santiago has already become familiar to me with its beloved routes. This city is perfect for strolls, and its streets, parks, and mountains are always ready to offer new impressions. I'll share one of my favorite routes, which I always take when I find myself in the capital of Chile.

Around 10-15 kilometers through the districts of Providencia and Vitacura and the huge park on the hills - Metropolitana.

🔵 Route on Google maps here:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/7AJjrq7bXNAeKLLX9

I like to start with a walk through the streets of Providencia. You can start in the area of the Pedro de Valdivia metro station and immediately head towards San Cristobal hill. Cross the river via the bridge named after the same famous Pedro de Valdivia, and try to understand the sculptural compositions of contemporary art standing on it. Turn left, captivated by the green park, and suddenly discover the monument to Gandhi, Nehru, and Tagore - symbols of post-colonial India. Get lost in the streets of this part of Providencia, examining one-story houses with gardens, dogs, and vintage cars.

Approaching the entrance to Parque Metropolitano in the area of the lower station of the cable car, of course, we hike up the hill on foot. Be sure to pass through Jardin Mapulemu garden, where you can lie down on the perfect lawn overlooking the Costanera skyscraper and the Andes, and finally read on Wikipedia who Pedro de Valdivia was. Climb a little further up the hill and grab a Mote at the kiosk - a traditional Chilean compote with peaches and wheat grains. I tried this amazing street food for the first time right here. It's very nutritious, just what you need for the next part of the walk.

Now we head north towards the Pablo Neruda viewpoint. Along the way, we admire the 360-degree views of Santiago; practically the entire road is one big lookout point.

Sitting on the steps of the Pablo Neruda amphitheater, it's the perfect time to get acquainted with the poems of the Chilean poet (and politician) who received the Nobel Prize in Literature. For example, this one:

I will not die. Today, on this day,
crowned with volcanoes, I sink
into the people, I enter the space of life.
All this I want to resolve today,
now, when hired killers,
armed with "western culture",
in Spain commit bloodshed,
and in Greece it's dark from gallows,
and Chile is quartered with dishonor,—
there is no end to it all...
I stay
with the people, the roads, the verses,
that call me, knocking
with starry hands on my window.

Neruda is best read in the original Spanish. His unique style is very difficult to translate into other languages while preserving its poetic essence. So, we strive for a level of language proficiency where we can feel why he was called the greatest poet of the 20th century. Well, or with knowledge to refute this claim.

We descend from the park hills back into the city and arrive in the modern and affluent Vitacura. Here you can easily find a coffee shop (though it's not so easy to find one that's not Starbucks), and, energized by a cup of coffee, head south. We return through the city, completing the circle of this walk.

We pass through Bicentenario Park, where you can see pink flamingos and other waterfowl, and end up on the bustling streets around the Costanera Tower.

The main route is finished. From here, you can climb to the observation deck of the skyscraper, go shopping, or continue wandering the streets of Santiago.