During our 16-day climbing trip to Cochamó, Will and I took notes for things we did well and things we’d do differently next time. I thought it would be useful to publish some of the more general notes here in case anyone is frantically googling before their trip as I was. I know this is pretty boring for my usual audience (hi mom) so apologies and feel free to skip this one.

For context, we were focused on climbing during this trip, so these tips are less relevant to hikers/backpackers. Note that cochamo.com has contact info for the campgrounds and horse people (arrieros) and private transfers and such. You may also pick up some tips by reading my day-by-day journal of our 16-day trip.

Camping / Arrival

  • If you stay in Puerto Montt the night before you want to hike in, the bus leaves around 8am and you end up starting the hike around noon or so and it’s a super long day. We instead stayed in the town of Cochamó the night before and had a much more pleasant morning before starting our hike around 11am (because we had to wait for the horse guy who was scheduled at 10am but this is Chile so he showed up at 11am). But if we were to do it again, we think we’d stay the night in Puerto Varas which is much nicer and has a big grocery store and some good restaurants. Then we’d get a private taxi (pre-arranged) the next morning down to the trailhead in Cochamó (~2 hours). 
  • Getting a horse to take most of your stuff in to the valley is super worth it (and also super common, you’re not lazy or a schmuck for doing it). The limit is 65 kg per horse so we had two bags (each 32.5 kg) for a 16-day trip. Next time we’d probably just get a second horse since there are additional things we realized we want to bring. In 2025 horses were ~$40 USD each, arranged via WhatsApp. 
  • We also wanted a horse to bring our stuff back out, but since we didn’t know exactly which day we were going to leave, we didn’t arrange that ahead of time. There’s no connectivity up in the valley to send a request to the arrieros via WhatsApp but they go up all the time so you can just talk to them in person a day or two before leaving to schedule the horses going down. I was a bit stressed about this but it ended up being very easy, and the camp hosts were also really helpful in getting me in contact with the arrieros.
  • We brought one giant haulbag (metolius el cap, 157 liters), one big duffel bag (80 ish liters), and two backpacking packs (~45 liters each), along with a foldable backpack (luzon del día from Cotopaxi, 18 liters) and a smaller haulpack (metolius mescalito, 24 liters). The giant haulbag was incredibly useful to just throw things into, but I’m a little too short for it to be comfortable to hike in so Will always had to carry it. Next time I’d add the 125 liter “half dome” metolius haulbag, so that when we’re hiking from base camp up into the valleys we’d each have a haulbag to carry. (I say “add the haulbag” instead of “replace the duffel” because I think next time we’ll definitely have more stuff to carry in and will need more bags for the initial ascent up to base camp.) The mescalito haulpack was great for on the wall and the foldable backpack was great for around camp, so I’d keep those for sure. I’d also bring a few more smaller organizing bags or stuffsacks, like drawstring bags or packing cubes, to be able to sort the food and clothes a bit more efficiently instead of having everything thrown together.
  • There are snacks and wifi for sale at the trailhead in a little shop (where the horses are). The sopaipillas tasted extra amazing after our hike out.
  • We used regular hiking boots not approach shoes on the way in. This was the right call, the trail can get super muddy.
  • We didn’t need a water filter. In the campsites, the water from the tap is good for drinking, and in the upper valleys (Trinidad and Anfiteatro) we drank straight from the river without any issues. I’d probably bring some purifying tablets as a backup in case there is an algae bloom or something but you can skip the bulky backcountry water filter.
  • We brought a three-person backpacking tent (for two of us) and honestly next time I’d bring a bigger tent even if it’s heavy (thank you horses). We didn’t have enough room store our stuff in the tent with us so we had to tidily pack all our gear in backpacks and in the haul bag at night and then we put all those bags in trashbags to waterproof them. It worked fine but was very annoying to pack and unpack so much, and with a bigger tent we could have left more stuff in the tent with us for easy access while in camp. Bigger tents are also easier to get into and out of when it’s raining. And it will definitely be raining at some point while you’re there. Or many points.
  • Don’t trade comfort for weight when thinking about base camp, assuming you’ll be there for at least two weeks. Use the horses to bring in extra comfy sleeping pads (we used G7s), a bigger tent, and even a big tarp to create a dry area over and around your tent. Camping chairs were super useful too.
  • You will be cold and you will be hot and you will be wet. Have appropriate clothing for all of these. We brought micropuffs (thin puffy jackets) but next time I’d bring a warmer belay puff for the especially cold nights. Plus I forgot to bring a beanie which was a botch. (Will had one and used it at night when sleeping in open-air bivys and was very happy.) We also found that it was much better to wear shorts and a t-shirt basically anytime you’re hiking and then change into a dry sun hoodie and pants when you actually start climbing, or when you get to the bivy, etc.
  • We used one 2oz bottle of Camp Suds for laundry, dishwashing, and showers for two and a half weeks and it was convenient to just have one bottle for everything, plus that size was more than enough.
  • This is pure preference, but we think Camping La Junta is the best campsite (for climbers) followed by Camping Vista Hermosa and then Trawen (mostly because Trawen is louder and more crowded). Camping Los Manzanos is far away (30 minutes walking) and not recommended.
  • Kindles were a lifesaver. Download a ton of books ahead of time, assuming reading is your thing. If not, think of something else to keep you entertained on rainy days. We saw a lot of people sketching, playing cards, doing yoga on the covered porch, etc.

Climbing

  • Download Chile mountain project before you lose signal. Also the mountain project photos since they’re really helpful as references.
  • Similarly, download all of the topos from cochamo.com to your phone before you lose signal. There is a hard copy in Camping La Junta to browse but you’ll want to reference it on your phone too.
  • The Trinidad and Anfiteatro Valleys essentially run north south so there is an east wall and a west wall. The east wall gets shade until midday and then the west wall gets shade in the afternoon, so plan climbing routes accordingly.
  • Both upper valleys have a baño seco (pit toilet) (actually Trinidad has two) so plan to use those when you camp there. The first Trinidad bivy spot is right next to the route Bienvenidos a mi Insomnia, and it’s about an hour further to get to the cave, which is SUPER worth it if it’s going to rain at all. We will not make that mistake again.
  • Consider bringing a multipurpose tarp (waterproof, decent size, durable) that you take with you to the bivys to be a ground cloth or sorting area or cover for your sleeping area in case of rain. We didn’t bring one but we did use two that were stashed in the forest on the two nights we got rained on and wished we had a better one of our own because we still got pretty wet.
  • The general strategy is to wait for a weather window in base camp and then hike 3 hours uphill into one of the upper valleys for with enough food for 2-5 days because that’s where the vast majority of the climbing routes are. Tents are not allowed in the upper valleys, so most climbers sleep in the open air or in bivy sacks. There is a large cave in the Trinidad Valley (sleeps maybe 15 people) and a smaller one in the Anfiteatro Valley (sleeps maybe 6 people). Get there early to claim a spot if the weather will be bad.
  • For us, having a Garmin Inreach was critical for weather updates. It’s much more detailed than what they provide on camp message boards. And checking in with the family occasionally, of course.
  • The camp hosts at Camping La Junta have a lot of information about climbing and are usually pretty happy to chat. There were several that spoke English which was helpful as well.

Above all, have fun and don’t stress too much! Cochamó is an incredible place and it’s hard to have a bad time, even when you have to sleep in the rain (as we did, twice).