A few weeks ago we went to the Parque de la Infancia in Recoleta, Santiago. If you’re wondering what makes this a ‘children’s park’ more than others, let me enlighten you…
It’s basically a huge, outdoor playground.
We came here on a public holiday. We often struggle with ideas of what to do when everything in Santiago shuts down. But hoorah, parks, including the Parque de la Infancia stay open all year round.
You’re greeted with a seemingly never ending hamster maze of slides, ramps and games. It just goes on and on and on…
Kids climb, jump or enter the labyrinth, stopping to play on the ‘cars’…
… or a chat with their friends on the ‘telephone’.
After all that running around they can move on to some musical down time…
or take a turn or two on the swings.
At the top of the hill there are a zillion slides. OK, perhaps not a zillion, but I reckon at least twenty.
If you’re too tired to walk, there’s also a free funicular which was closed on the day we visited, but reaches nearly 100 metres up the hill for some amazing views.
All this playing is rather hard work, so my kids cooled off on the water balls.
We left with wet, dirty, exhausted and very, very happy kids.
Need to know:
There are lots of buggy ramps, so it’s fine for a pushchair. The only area which might be tricky is the slide zone, however.
Strictly speaking the orange hamster like cage of ramps is for kids from 80cm-130cm only.
The slides are made of concrete and get rather hot in the height of summer. Our kids wore shorts and were fine, but if you have longer cargo pants for them, that might work out better.
There is also a little amphitheater, which occasionally hosts kids shows. Visit the website for more.
We spotted a stall selling snacks, but choices were very limited. While picnics are not allowed as such in the park, you might like to smuggle in something to keep your kids going, just in case. We couldn’t find a cafe we liked within walking distance, so we ended up eating at home.
Dogs are not allowed.
Entrance (including the funicular) is free of charge. The funicular carries about 15 people, so I imagine the queues get quite long.
Open Tuesday – Sunday from 10:00 – 17:00 (park closes its doors at 18:00) in winter and from 9:00 – 21:00 in summer. We visited on New Year’s day and it was open.
Address: Av. Peru 1001, Recoleta, Santiago. The nearest metro is Cementerios (line 2). There is very little designated parking, but you should be able to find a spot not too far away.
