Cascada de las Animas

My wife and I went just for a day (and no nights). We purchased the "Full Day" package, which included a guided 2hr horse ride, a lunch, access to the pool, and a guided hike to the waterfall. All 4 of those activities vastly exceeded our expectations. Valentina was an excellent guide for our horse ride, and gave us a fair bit more trust with our mounts than is typical in the USA. That was a pleasant surprise for us as intermediate riders, but the experience would have been accessible to newbies as well, provided that you are not particularly fearful of that type of experience. The lunch was fantastic, and although the "free" menu was limited, the fish and steak could easily have run us $50 apiece in the States. The dessert was great too, and the pisco sours were very refreshing as we ate overlooking the valley. During our afternoon free time, we wandered down to the pool, which is really more of a lagoon. We spent a few hours in the beautiful turquoise water in an idyllic setting in a partly-shaded meadow right up against the mountain. Finally, Sebastian took us on a hike up to the waterfall while sharing interesting and practical information about the local flora, fauna, history, and mythology. He was very engaging and very good at his job. Even though we speak Spanish, the Chilean dialect can be hard for us to understand. Although the staff was happy to talk with us in Spanish, they knew we were from the USA and also ensured we were always paired with guides who spoke excellent English, which was very helpful through the day. The only downside was the distance from Santiago. It wasn't that big of a deal, but one needs to either schedule transportation with Cascada de las Ánimas, or else plan to navigate the public transportation there with little help. Thankfully, we didn't meet a single unhelpful person during our time in Chile, so it wasn't a terribly intimidating affair. If we make it back to Santiago in the future (which I hope we do), we will definitely plan to spend more than just 1 day at Cascada de las Ánimas next time.