Cajón del Maipo Hotels: Staying in the Valley or in Santiago

The tours on this site are day trips, so most people who book them sleep in Santiago. A night in the valley makes sense if you want an early start on a trail, a second day at the baths, or simply a quiet night in the mountains. Chileans looking for a night in the valley often look for cabañas (cabins), many with a tinaja, a wood-fired hot tub.

One thing to know before you book a room up there: the day tours on this site pick up at hotels and addresses in Santiago. None of them mentions a pickup in the valley, so if you sleep in San José de Maipo, plan to do the valley under your own steam, or stay your last night in Santiago and take the tour from there.

San José de Maipo or further up?

San José de Maipo is the valley’s main town, 28.8 km by road from Plaza de Puente Alto. It is nearer Santiago than the places further up, and the picnic tours pass through it on their way up.

Further up the valley, towards San Gabriel and El Volcán, you are closer to El Yeso, El Morado and the baths. The El Yeso road is closed to vehicles from km 21.7 under a ban that runs “until the month of November 2026” (see the road status).

A day trip from Santiago instead

If you are in Santiago for a few days, a hotel there and the picnic day trip is the simple plan: pickup at your hotel, the valley and the picnic, and back the same evening. Regular prices start at US$45 per adult (November 2026), with options for breakfast and VIP seats (US$65) or hiking gear (US$80).

Check dates for the day trip

For the drive and the buses, see how to get to the Cajón del Maipo from Santiago; for a day at the baths, see Termas Valle de Colina.