The upper basin of the Río Claro marks the beginning of the ecological transition between the drought-tolerant Mediterranean vegetation to the north and the moist evergreen forests to the south. Here, 78km southeast of Curicó along a narrow gravel road, lies the Reserva Nacional Radal Siete Tazas.
Conaf's main post is at the Parque Inglés sector, 9km beyond the park entrance at Radal, but there are two interesting stop-offs between the two points. The Velo de la Novia (literally, 'the bridal veil') is a 40m waterfall which you can see from a small roadside viewing point 2.6km from Radal. Another 4.4km on is the car park and Conaf ranger hut (usually only used in summer) that mark the access point for the 400m trail to the Siete Tazas (literally, 'seven cups'), a breathtaking series of seven waterfalls and pools carved out of black basalt rock by the Río Claro. From here, another short trail leads to a viewpoint for the Salto la Leona, a waterfall that drops more than 50m from a narrow gorge to the main channel of the Río Claro.
Two well-marked hiking trails loop from Camping Los Robles at Parque Inglés: the 1km Sendero el Coigüe and 7km Sendero Los Chiquillanes, which has great views of the Valle del Indio (plan on about four hours in total). The first segment of this trail is part of the Sendero de Chile, which continues to El Bolsón, where there is a refuge, and Valle del Indio. From here you can trek across the drainage of the Río Claro to Reserva Nacional Altos de Lircay, taking about two days: the route is unsigned and crosses private land, so either do it with a guide or get detailed information from Conaf and carry a topographical map, compass and adequate supplies.
