Tour Itinerary:
Day 1: Santiago
Arrive into Santiago’s international airport where a transfer will be waiting to take you to your hotel for the night. This afternoon you have the chance to see Santiago in detail through an afternoon City Tour visiting all the key sites, ending with an optional “Pisco Sour”, Chile’s national drink. Transfer back to your hotel.
Day 2: Puerto Varas
Morning transfer to the airport for your flight to the southern city of Puerto Montt. Transfer for the short drive to Puerto Varas, the “City of Roses”, where you will check in your hotel with a view of the lake and volcanoes. You will have an afternoon trip up the Osorno Volcano or a tour around the west side of Lake Llanquihue, Chile’s 2nd largest lake, giving you an insight into the daily lives of the original German immigrants who began settling in this region during the 1850s. You will visit the lakeside towns of Frutillar with its open-air museum and then have lunch. Upon your return to Puerto Varas, you will have the rest of the afternoon and evening free to explore this quaint lakeside town.
Day 3: Puerto Varas
Today you have a Full day trip through the Perez Rosales National Park, Petrohue Falls, a unique waterfall system through volcanic rock, and on to Lake Todos Los Santos, where you will take a catamaran across the lake, with unbeatable views of both the Osorno and Puntiagudo Volcanoes, to Peulla, where you can have lunch (price not included) and optional activities such as hiking before returning to Puerto Varas.
Day 4: Estancia Cerro Guido,Torres del Paine
Transfer to the airport outside Puerto Montt for your flight down to Punta Arenas, where you will begin your 4-night all-inclusive program. Your guide from Cerro Guido Lodge will meet you at the airport, with the following itinerary: We drive northwards to Puerto Natales stopping at the traditional Hotel Río Rubens to enjoy our lunch. After 3½ hours we will arrive at Puerto Natales where we take the road to Torres del Paine National Park to reach the Estancia Cerro Guido.
Day 5: Estancia Cerro Guido, Torres del Paine
After breakfast you will have a guided tour of the Estancia, visiting the kitchen, dining room, shearing shed and other buildings of the estancia. Then you can choose between three excursions:
* Horseback Ride to the Estancia Las Flores (full-day)
Level of difficulty: Intermediate
Terrain: Open pampas, rolling hills and meadows
Duration (round trip): 7 hours
Description: This lovely, gentle horse-ride across flat terrain and open fields is ideal for galloping. The ride passes Vega Nash and after 3 hours reaches the Puesto Las Flores, an old shepherd hut, where there is one of the only adobe (mud clay) houses in the region. Beautiful view of the Sierra Baguales. Involves crossing the River Baguales.
* Horseback Ride + lunch in the country - half-day (fishing possible when in season)
Level of difficulty: Easy to intermediate
Terrain: Grassy fields, open pampas
Duration (round trip): 5 hours
Description: Easy to intermediate ride which allows the rider to observe the land use and to appreciate the size of the grazing land belonging to the estancia. Rest at Puesto Vega Nash. Involves crossing the River Baguales. Great views of the stunning Sierra Baguales.
* Trek to the Estancia Las Chinas
Level of difficulty: Intermediate to advanced
Duration: 6 hour trek + 1 hour transfer.
Description: Vehicle transfer to the Puesto Las Chinas in the Sierra Baguales sector where we start our trek bordering the Las Chinas River heading northwards. After about 10 minutes we will start to ascend gentle hills to the west of the river, after reaching a pronounced ridge we will head into the valley of a side tributary of the Las Chinas River. After passing the tree line we will climb to the peak which offers great views of Torres del Paine, Laguna Azul and Sierra Baguales.
Day 6: Estancia Cerro Guido, Torres del Paine
Today we will have a mini full-day trip to Torres del Paine National Park, with a navigation on Lake Grey. After breakfast we set off for Torres del Paine NP visiting the main points of interest such as the Nordenskjöld Lookout, Salto Grande (the waterfall that connects the Nordenskjöld and Pehoe lakes) and the visitor’s center (the administrative center of the TPNP) before continuing on to Hosteria Lago Grey. We will enjoy our picnic in the area around the Grey sector before check in for the navigation. We set sail around 15.00 and sail up Lake Grey to get close to the glacier. The boat trip lasts about 3 hours and then we return to Estancia Cerro Guido.
Day 7: Estancia Cerro Guido, Torres del Paine
Today you can choose between three distinct activities:
* Trek to the Base of Las Torres
Level of difficulty: Intermediate to advanced
Duration: 7-8 hours
Description: After breakfast we will drive to Torres del Paine National Park to the Estancia Cerro Paine sector, where we will start our trek to the base of the towers. We follow the Ascencio River before entering the Ascencio Valley. The walk will be uphill for about an hour, until we reach Campamento El Chileno (an excellent place to recover our energies). Afterwards we will walk through century-old forests of beech (“lenga” Nothofagus pumilio), and then continue ascending through a terminal moraine up to the Torres del Paine viewpoint. The descent follows the same path back to Estancia Cerro Paine.
* Trek from Laguna Verde to Weber Bridge
Level: Easy
Length of trek: 4 – 5 hours.
Description: After breakfast we will head towards Estancia Lazo, where we start our 5-hour trek (approx.). For the first 45 minutes we follow the western shore of Laguna Verde, and then continue through a Magellanic deciduous forest of Lenga (Nothofagus pumilio) and Ñirre (Nothofagus antarctica) beech trees. This is a good place to have lunch. Finally we will arrive at the highlight of the excursion: an amazing view of the Paine Massif, Paine River, Lake Toro and Serrano River. Then we will enter the park and walk to Weber Bridge where our transfer will be waiting for us.
* Horse Ride to the Aónikenk Tombs (full-day for experienced riders only)
Level of difficulty: Advanced
Terrain: Ridges, ravines, steep terrain
Duration (round trip): 6 hours
Description: This wonderful, advanced ride goes up Cerro Guido to the highest point of the Estancia. From here the beautiful River Las Chinas Valley and the Sierra Baguales can be observed as well as the immensity of the Patagonian pampas. The ride reaches the peak of Cerro Guido where tombs from Pre-Hispanic cultures have been found. These tombs are believed to be religious and sacred offerings.
Day 8: International Flight
After breakfast and our farewells we will head back to Punta Arenas, ending the Estancia Cerro Guido experience. Have a safe trip home!
Notes:
Airfare is included in the tour price.
Single supplement, if required, is $600.
Price Includes:
- Internal airfare from Santiago (SCL – PMC – PUQ – SCL),
- All airport and hotel transfers,
- 1 night in Santiago, 4-star hotel with breakfast and City Tour,
- 2 nights in Puerto Varas, 4-star hotel with breakfasts and 2 Excursions,
- All-inclusive 4 night program at Cerro Guido Boutique Estancia,
(Superior room, all meals, range of excursions into Torres del Paine, etc.)
- Adventure insurance for Estancia Program (horseback riding).
- Daily departures October – April
Also see tour packages in:
South America
Chile
Outdoor: Land Rambler
Horse Riding
Wildlife Viewing
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