Chile Guide
The Central Valley
Salto del Laja
The Salto del Laja ranks among the most impressive waterfalls in Chile. It's still a good break spot on the long drive from Santiago, but beware of old maps that show the Panamerican highway cruising by the falls. To actually get to the Salto del Laja, you'll need to follow the turn off-signs for the "Salto", which lead to the old highway. From there you will see the falls – cascading almost 50m from two crescent-shaped cliffs down to a rocky canyon, they appear as a broad white curtain of foam, almost like a miniature Niagara Falls.
There are parking spaces around the bridge (surrounded by tacky souvenir stalls), and a short path passes through the cabins and campground of the Complejo Turístico Los Manantiales ( 
& 
43/314275; Price: CH$15000-25000) to a closer viewpoint. Other options include the rooms at Hotel Salto del Laja, Panamericana km 480, about 30km north of Los Angeles ( 43/321706, 43/313996, 
saltodellaja@entelchile.net, 
www.saltodellaja.cl ; Price: CH$25000-35000), which has 60 acres of parks, delightful swimming holes, Jacuzzis and waterfall views. For low-budget camping, you'll find numerous places convenient to public transport. One kilometre south of the falls, the road east (by the church) holds two year-round campsites, jointly run. The first, Salta Chica ( 43/314772 or 43/318220; Price: CH$5000-10000), lies 800m from the highway and has beautiful but noisy campsites. Up the road 1.5km is Playa Caliboro ( 43/318220; Price: CH$5000-10000) with a mini beach and swimming natural pool. Both are CH$8000 for up to five people, including hot water all day. Further south at km 495, the year-round hotel, El Rincon ( 09/4415019, 43/317168, elrincon@cvmail.cl, www.contactchile.cl/elrincon ; Price: CH$25000-35000), has cheap single rooms (Price: CH$5000-10000) in addition to regular doubles, as well as pricey campsites (CH$15,000) in lovely surroundings. It also offers excursions into the practically uninhabited foothills. If you're relying on public transport, your best bet is to visit the falls on a short trip from Los Angeles on one of the frequent Buses Bío Bío services to Chillán – they run every fifteen minutes in both directions, so when you're ready to come back you can just flag one down without having to wait too long.