We traveled from the Casablanca Valley to Santiago through the Zapata tunnel on modern highway 78. A wonderful view point for the city is San Cristobal Hill - Its original indigenous name was Tupahue. It was named by the Spanish conquistadors for St Christopher, in recognition of its use as a landmark.
At the peak, there is a church with an amphitheater, and a 22 meter statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary donated by France in the 1920s. Pope John Paul II gave mass there in 1987. The spot is a superb location from which to view the city.
"Santiago, capital city of Chile- Set in a ring of spectacular mountain peaks, the city was founded in 1541 by Spanish Captain Pedro de Valdivia and is nestled some 2,000 feet above sea level in Chile’s great central Maipo valley. With five million inhabitants and a finely developed economy, Santiago offers all the amenities and excitement of any modern capital city but unlike most others, is blessed with a Mediterranean climate."
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