Salto del Laja – a wonderful waterfall near Los Angeles, Chile
On my way back to Santiago from Pucón I made a quick stop in Los Angeles. Wait? LA? Yes, there is a city called Los Angeles in Chile too. Neither the one California not the one in Chile are particularly exciting though.
Los Angeles is the perfect starting point for a short day trip. My bus from Pucon (Turbus) arrived shortly after lunch time and my connection to Santiago wasn’t until 10:30 pm. Enough time to visit the waterfall Salto the Laja, also called Iguazú of Chile or Niagara Falls of Chile.
How to get to Salto de Laja
Zoom in on the map to see different bus terminals. Buses to Salto del Laja depart frequently from Jota B in the centre and Pullman in the Northeast of Los Angeles. Let the driver know to tell you when to get off.
It took about thirty minutes to drive from Los Angeles to Salto del Laja.
The bus ticket set me back 1000 Chilean Pesos (approx. 1,30 €) each way. You can buy the ticket at the station and when you’ll take the bus back you can buy them on the buy.
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The Salto del Laja
Getting around is really easy. You can already see the stunning waterfall from the bridge:
The waterfall must be really busy and full of tourists in the summer (= December to February = peak season). I walked past a lot of souvenir stands and restaurant on my way to the Salto.
The walk to the river, leading away from the waterfall, is very easy and straightforward. There’s a lot of drizzle from the Salto del Laja – similar to Niagara Falls.
Steps lead up to a higher level and you can enjoy an amazing view over the Salto.
September is a very slow month and not many people visit the waterfall. I think I passed about ten people in total. Compared to the number of tourists that were there, the number of street vendors is exorbitant.
I treated myself to a blueberry smoothie and walked back to the bus terminal. Luckily the wait wasn’t long at all and it didn’t take long to make my way back into the city.
Los Angeles itself
Sadly the city of Los Angeles really isn’t all that spectacular and I am not in the slightest surprised that there aren’t many useful tips and articles on the internet. I did find an awesome Sushi restaurant: Saiko Sushi. I enjoyed maki with avocado and caramelised onions, which were very tasty, before I made my way back to the bus terminal. I had a couple of hours to spare before boarding my night bus back to Santiago de Chile.
