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10 Days Patagonia: Exploring the Remote Regions of Chile Tour Package
Tour Itinerary Days 1 & 2 U.S. / Santiago, Chile We depart the U. S. on an overnight flight to Santiago, Chile’s capital, and transfer to the Hotel Plaza San Francisco. In the afternoon we see the Presidential Palace, Plaza de Armas, Metropolitan Cathedral and some of Santiago’s residential neighborhoods. We have a welcome dinner at our hotel. (Day 1: Meals Aloft; Day 2: D) Day 3 We fly to Punta Arenas, the main port for the Strait of Magellan. Weather permitting we fly over the Southern Patagonia ice field for great views of the mountains we will later be exploring. We meet our guide and depart for Puerto Natales, with lunch in a fine local restaurant. We stop to watch our first Andean condors at the Rio Verde condor roosts and stay at the Hotel Costa Australis in Puerto Natales. (B,L,D) Day 4 In the morning we explore beautiful Last Hope Fjord by ship, sailing beneath the impressive tidewater Balmaceda Glacier, and with good chances of seeing Chilean dolphin, South American sea lion and king cormorants. After lunch we proceed to Torres del Paine National Park, our drive taking us through spectacular scenery with lots of wildlife including lesser rheas, guanacos, a large population of condors and more bird life. We spend two nights at the Hotel Río Serrano, in the western reaches of Torres del Paine. (B,L,D) Day 5 In the early morning we depart for Nordenskjöld Lake in time for sunrise. This is one of the best locations to see the 6,300-foot “Cuernos del Paine” (the Paine Horns), a magnificent formation. We have breakfast at a lodge on an island in the turquoise Pehoé Lake, then continue to the park’s eastern side and Grey Lake and Glacier. We take a ship along the 15-mile long lake, formed by the retreat of the glacier and surrounded by mountains including Paine Grande — at 10,006 feet the park’s highest point. Grey Lake is full of icebergs calved from the Grey Glacier, the final tongue of the 300 mile long Southern Patagonia Ice Field. We explore the glacier on foot. Back aboard the ship we can enjoy drinks served with 20,000-year-old ice! In the afternoon, we’ll walk to a beech forest and the Ice Beach, where the icebergs from the glacier end their journey. (B,L,D) Day 6 After breakfast we take a walk with our guide exploring the Nothafagus forest in the area to look for Magellanic woodpecker, Chilean flickers, Austral parakeets, foxes, and unique flora. We then depart for the eastern part of the park, en route visiting the impressive Salto Grande and Salto Chico waterfalls. Both this evening and tomorrow we will look for pumas, in an area that boasts the highest concentration of pumas in the world. We spend two nights at Hostería Las Torres. (B,L,D) Day 7 We start early to see sunrise paint the park’s renowned granite towers red. We spend the day in the secluded eastern part of the park, taking nature hikes and enjoying varied views of the towers. We may find torrent ducks swimming in the rapids, and Chilean flamingos and grebes on the lakes. (B,L,D) Day 8 We leave for Punta Arenas, stopping at a private gaucho farm where we enjoy a classic gaucho barbecue. It’s a great chance to learn about the way of life of people who have lived in Patagonia for generations. We continue to the Otway Magellanic penguin colony, arriving when penguins typically return to the colony after a day of fishing. There should be great photographic opportunities. We stay at the Cabo de Hornos Hotel in Punta Arenas. (B,L,D) Days 9 & 10 After a short tour of Punta Arenas, we fly back to Santiago and connect with flights home, arriving in the U.S. Day 10. (Day 9: B, Meals Aloft; Day 10: Meals Aloft)
Save time, money and stress! For reservations: Fill out the vacation planner to be contacted by our Patagonia vacation specialist. Contact : Travelwizard.com Phone: 1-800-330-8820 or 1-415-446-5252 12/09 |
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