Gran Fondo Portillo

Characteristics

Distance to the top = 85 kms Max Altitude = 2.880 masl (Portillo Hotel) Elevation = 2400 mts Max Gradient: 14%

Location

Start point in Enjoy Santiago, casino and hotel located in Rinconada de los Andes, Valparaiso Region, Chile.

Finish point in Portillo Hotel, you can ride also 5km more to a Chilean immigration point and then another 2km to the start of an old road which leads to the statue of Christ the Redeemer up to 3.800 masl.

When I started to ride, it would have been impossible to imagine myself climbing these road, however after I did it I only want to come back. This climb is one of the historic cycling routes in Chile and when the stage road race called “Vuelta Chile” used to be made “Los Caracoles” was considered as the Queen Stage because of its high exigency.

As this is an international road, for cyclists its main hazards are the cargo trucks, cars and tourist buses that travel through the road on a daily basis. For safety reasons as the road was closed, first time I did the climb was as part of race called “Gran Fondo Portillo” which I will repeat on April this year. 85kms total starting from “Enjoy Santiago”, a casino outside the Capital up to the Portillo Hotel with a total elevation gain of 2.400 mts, fun and tough just as I like.

The view in the summit is amazing, a calm scenery surrounded by mountains. The view I love the most is the Inca Lagoon just behind the Portillo Hotel.