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This tour is available November through April with both fixed and custom departures dates. Highlights include:
- Navigate the Bernardo O'Higgins National Park on zodiacs
- Visit the Balmaceda, Serrano and Tyndall glaciers
- Cruise up the fjord of Last Hope Sound past the Balmaceda hanging glacier
- Sail to the face of Grey Glacier
- Hike to the French Valley, a spectacular granite ampitheatre and the Towers, massive granite monoliths
- Visit the amusing Magellanic Penguins
- See guanacos, rheas, condors, and other wildlife
- Follow the gorgeous trail to the base of the Towers and see emerald pools filled by hanging glaciers
Day 1: Punta Arenas/Puerto Natales. We will meet you at the airport or hotel in Punta Arenas and drive to see the burrowing Magellanic Penguins at their colony in Otway Sound. Continuing on across the Patagonian Steppe we will have your first opportunity to see some of the unusual plant and animal life that exists in this area. We will continue on to our destination for the night, Puerto Natales. Located beside the picturesque Last Hope Sound, there will be time to walk along the waterfront and enjoy dinner in one of the many fine restaurants in town. Night at the newly built Hotel Weskar. Situated a short walk from Puerto Natales, this wooden built hotel has lovely views of Last Hope Sound and the Serrano Glaciar in the distance. Rooms are light, airy and comfortable and there is laundry and internet available. Dinner included, excluding wine & drinks.
Day 2: Last Hope Sound/Bernardo O'Higgins National Park. After breakfast we will board a cutter for a fantastic cruise up the fjord and to Mount Balmaceda and the Balmaceda hanging glacier. We will make a short hike to the Serrano Glacier that tumbles into an iceberg-filled lake. After lunch we will board zodiacs and cruise up the Serrano River to enter Bernardo O'Higgins National Park, where we will pass the massive Tyndall Glacier and then arrive at Torres del Paine National Park. Our first night camping is on the bank of the peaceful Serrano River with spectacular views across the pampas and toward the Paine Massif.
Day 3: Torres del Paine National Park. Heading to Lago Grey, we will board the new Grey 2 launch and set off into the iceberg-filled lake toward this spectacular Glacier. The boat trip will bring us up next to the glacier and provide stunning views of Paine Grande and the surrounding mountains. We will leave the boat at the far end of the lake and start our hike along the shores. One of the classic hikes in the park today we climb up and out of the valley enjoying views of Grey glacier, the Patagonian icecap and innumerable mountains. Our destination and camp for the night is the shores of beautiful Lake Pehoe, an organized camp with full facilities. Meals taken in the Refugio.
Day 4: Torres del Paine National Park. Today we will hike in the French Valley and along the edge of Lake Nordjenskold. This is a full-day hike and we will enjoy fantastic views of the amphitheatre of granite peaks that make up this enclosed valley, as well as the waterscapes below including lakes Pehoe, Scottsburg, Toro, and Nordenskjold. Our destination is lively Refugio Cuernos set below the imposing Horns of Paine. The night is spent camping with full facilities. Meals taken in the Refugio.
Day 5: Torres del Paine National Park. Today’s hike takes us along the foothills of the Horns of Paine with the tranquil shores of Lake Nordjenskold to our right. For the brave, there will be a chance to swim in the frigid waters of this spectacular lake as we hike towards the three granite spires that give the park its name, the Towers of Paine. We will camp in Las Torres at the trailhead, an organized camp with full facilities.
Day 6: Torres del Paine National Park. Today’s hike is our most arduous but worthwhile as we climb to the Towers themselves. A roundtrip hike we will climb up into the Ascending Valley and through beautiful old growth beech forests to a rock moraine just under the towers. A steep climb over the moraine will reward us with one of the most spectacular views in the park, and weather permitting, we will enjoy our last trail lunch at this amazing vantage point. We will return to camp for our last night under canvas, and enjoy a fireside dinner.
Day 7: Puerto Natales/Punta Arenas. We will pack up camp and drive back to Punta Arenas airport, arriving in the early afternoon. Time permitting, we will make a short stop in Puerto Natales to purchase any last-minute souvenirs.
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