12 Days / 11 Nights
Day 1 -
Santiago City Tour
A Aqua Motion representative will await you at the Santiago airport to
take you to your hotel. Afternoon city tour of Santiago. Dinner.
Day 2 - Santiago
- Punta Arenas
Transfer from the hotel to airport for the flight to Punta Arenas, the
Patagonian gateway on the northern coast of the Strait of Magellan. The
four-hour flight to Punta Arenas offers a spectacular view of the Andes
Mountain, as well as the dramatic Northern and Southern Ice Fields, the
third-largest reserve of freshwater in the world. A guide will meet you
at the Punta Arenas airport. Transfer to Puerto Natales, a three-hour
drive through the Patagonian pampa. Lodging in Puerto Natales at hostal
Concepto Indigo, dinner, slide show and meeting to discuss trip program.
Day 3 - Trek
to base of the Towers in Paine
Transfer by van to Torres del Paine National Park. This two-hour journey
through ranch country includes a stop in Cerro Castillo, the principal
site of wool and meat exportation to Europe during the 1960s. Arrival
at Torres del Paine. Trek to the base of The Towers (7 hours roundtrip),
a spectacular hike to view the three pink granite towers that made the
park famous. Lodging and dinner at Refugio Chileno, situated in the Ascencio
Valley.
Day 4 - Trek
the base of Los Cuernos
Trek along Lake Nordenskjold and below the hanging glaciers of Mount Admiral
Nieto, to the base of Los Cuernos (5 hours). Lodging and dinner at Refugio
Los Cuernos.
Trek to the French Valley (4 hours). This valley, the most beautiful in the park and one of the most unique in the world, is surrounded by hanging glaciers and an amphitheater of granite walls and spires. Afterward, we will trek to the extraordinary turquoise Lake Pehoe (2 hours).
Trek along enchanting Lake Grey (3 hours) with magnificent views of Glacier Grey and floating icebergs. Visit to the glacier lookout point and to the lakeshore for upclose views of vibrant-blue icebergs (Paine is a Tehuelche Indian word for "blue"). Free afternoon for relaxing. In the evening, we will meet to plan the walk on Glacier Grey the following day. Lodging and dinner at Refugio Grey.
After a hearty breakfast, we begin the walk to Glacier Grey. There, our guides will give an introductory course regarding the basics of trekking on ice, as well as how to use technical equipment, before beginning our blue adventure on Glacier Grey. An optional introductory course to ice climbing will be offered. Lodging and dinner at Refugio Grey.
Return to Lake Pehoe. Horseback ride for 3 hours, bordering Lake Pehoe and crossing the Patagonian pampa. Afterward, our van will take us to River Serrano, where we will begin our descent in kayaks. In the evening, we will camp near a waterfall.
Continue paddling toward Mount Balmaceda and Glacier Serrano, where we will set up camp amid a beautiful beech forest.
In the morning, we will paddle through a magical lake replete with icebergs. Return to Puerto Natales by boat through the Last Hope Sound. Arrival time: 5 p.m. Lodging and dinner at hostal Concepto Indigo.
Visit to Estancia Consuelo on the Eberhard Fjord for a Patagonian barbecue. This wonderful, historic site is where the first white settler, Captain Hermann Eberhard, built his home at the end of the 19th century, including a site especially designed for barbecues on the shore of the fjord. Visit to the Milodon Cave National Monument and the Devil's Chair. Lodging and farewell dinner at hostal Concepto Indigo.
Transfer to Punta Arenas airport, with a stop at the Seno Otway penguin reserve. End of trip