Team building in the Cajón del Maipo: a full day an hour and a half from Santiago

If there is one team building day that almost always works with a Santiago team, it is the Cajón del Maipo. An hour and a half from the centre, out and back the same day, and it fits a demanding activity, a long lunch and a quiet close into one go.

We run it all year, and this is what we have learned doing it with real company groups.

Why rafting works so well with a team

Because it cannot be faked. In a boat of six or eight there is one instruction from the guide, a few seconds to carry it out, and an immediate consequence if half the boat paddles differently or out of time. There is no delegating it, no doing it halfway, and no watching from the side.

Two things happen every time, which is why the activity gets used so much. First: the role each person takes in the boat almost never matches the org chart, and that gets discussed over lunch. Second: the group finishes wet, cold and laughing, which is a state in which people talk differently.

The stretch of the Maipo used with groups is medium grade, needs no previous experience, and goes with a guide in every boat. It is covered in detail in rafting in the Cajón del Maipo.

How the day is built, with real timings

This is the pattern that works best for a group of 20 to 60:

1. 08:00, departure from Santiago. Any later and you lose the best morning flow, and the return lands in rush hour.
2. 09:30, arrival and safety briefing. Changing, wetsuits, life jackets and helmets handed out. With a large group this takes longer than it sounds: allow a real 40 minutes.
3. 10:30, rafting. An hour to an hour and a half on the water, depending on the stretch.
4. 12:30, lunch. The most underrated part of the day. It is where people talk about what just happened, and cutting it short to squeeze in another activity is the commonest mistake.
5. 14:30, second activity. The Colina hot springs or the El Yeso reservoir, depending on what the group wants. The springs are the quiet close; the reservoir is a short walk with a view that justifies the drive. Both are described in Cajón del Maipo and the Colina hot springs.
6. 18:00, return. Back in Santiago between 19:00 and 20:00, traffic depending.

Above 60 people, rafting goes in waves and the day is built as a mirror: while one group paddles, the other does the land activity, and they swap at midday. That gets decided when quoting, not the night before.

Season: when it makes sense

September to April. The most interesting flow comes with the spring snowmelt, between October and December. In deep winter the river drops and the water is genuinely cold, so from June to August it is better to swap plans and head up to the snow: that is in team building in the snow near Santiago.

Who cannot take part, and what that person does instead

Better said in advance than on the riverbank:

• There is a minimum age and a minimum weight set by the operator, and they are not negotiable.
• Pregnancy, recent heart problems, recent surgery or shoulder injuries keep someone out of the boat.
• You do not have to be a strong swimmer, but the guide has to be told before boarding.

We never build a day with rafting as the only option. There is always a land alternative that finishes at the same time in the same place, so that person has lunch with everyone else rather than spending the day apart. It is the detail that separates a well-built day from one that leaves someone out.

What to ask before booking

• Which stretch of the river it is, by name. Grades differ and not all of them suit a mixed company group.
• Whether transport is included or charged separately. That is the price difference that usually turns up at the end.
• How many guides per boat and how many boats at a time, because that determines how long the group waits on the bank.
• What happens if the weather turns. Plan B has to be quoted alongside plan A.
• Where lunch is and what it covers. Dietary restrictions are collected from the team two weeks ahead, never estimated.

What to pack, for the team briefing

Swimwear on from the morning, a full change of dry clothes, shoes that can get wet, a towel and sunscreen. In the mountains the sun is stronger than it looks, even on a cloudy day. And something warm for the way back: by six in the afternoon the valley cools down.

Where this fits in a bigger programme

If the event is one day, this day is the event. If it runs two or three days with a meeting involved, it works better as the second day's activity, once the group has loosened up. The company convention checklist covers rooms and logistics, and team building in Chile compares it with the other options within two hours of Santiago.