Ten days of a world wide unique contrast : San Pedro de Atacama, located in the worldwide driest desert and Torres del Paine Nacional Park : a wonder of mother nature, between rivers, lakes and glaciers. An incredible experience
Itinerary
Validity: October to March.
Departures: Under request.
Day 01: Santiago
Reception at Santiago airport. Transfer to Hotel. Lodging.
Day 02: Punta Arenas – Otway Penguin colony - Puerto Natales
(we recommend the first flight to reach Punta Arenas before 12:00 hrs.). Reception at the Punta Arenas. At 16:00 hrs. app. visit to Otway pinguin colony at 15:30 hrs (visit to penguin colony since october 15). Transfer to bus station in Punta Aremas to take a regular bus to Puerto Natales.. (249 km / 03 hours of trip). Arrival to the city of Puerto Natales. Lodging.
Day 03: Torres del Paine National Park Excursion
Breakfast. At 07:30 hrs. departure from your hotel to begin the full day excursion to Torres del Paine National Park where we will have a panoramic view of Paine mountains as welcome. Also we will admire lakes such as Sarmiento, Nordenskjold and Pehoe. Its fauna will be present through guanacos and foxes, among others, and big variety of birds of easy observation during the trip. A short trek will take us to a big waterfall called Salto Grande which is part of park hidrographical net. Later, retaking the main way, it access to CONAF central office, to continue to Grey Lake, where after a 30 minutes walk through a millenium forest we will get to its beach to admire a great number leading offs floes from glacier. A box lunch is included. The end of this day will be dropping off in a Hosteria located in Serrano River area, border of the park. Accommodation.
Day 04: Trekking to the Base of the Towers or Navigation through Grey Lake
Breakfast. Excursion with English speaking guide to the Base of the Towers (we have other optional tours as well). Trekking of 8 hrs. (high difficulty) through a trail that goes into Ascencio Valley. It is possible to cross among lenga and coihues native forests. When the forest ends, the trekking will consists on big rocks that were in a moment crawled by a glacier. If the climatic conditions allow it, you will be a privileged tourist that could admire these three granite towers (South, Central and North Tower). After 1 hour of pictures and admiration, the bus returns to the Hosteria. Accommodation. This trip includes lunch type box lunch.
Navigation through Grey Lake
Breakfast. Transfer at 07:30 am from the Hosteria to Grey Lake area to start a sailing trip through Grey Lake up to get to the wonderful walls of Grey Glacier. This tour takes 3 hours round trip and depends on climatic conditions. It includes menu lunch in Hosteria Lago Grey. At 15:00 hrs, return to your Hosteria.
Notes: We recomend you to take the first navigation departing at 09:00 hrs. so you will be able to walk near Hosteria by your own during the afternoon.
Day 05: Sailing down Serrano River– Punta Arenas
Breakfast. At 09:00 you will start a sailing trip down Serrano River with zodiac boats with capacity for 10 people. It includes waterproof clothes. The route is 32 kms and it lasts 4 hours. It is possible to get a beautiful view of this area not so visited such as Tyndall and Geike Glaciers, leafy native forests and several places covered with snow. Ending this excursion you will arrive to Bernardo O’Higgins National Park where there is a walk to get closer Serrano Glacier. (1 hr.) At 14:00 there is a connection with a bigger vessel to return to Puerto Natales. It includes box lunch. Once in Puerto Natales, there is a next bus departing to Punta Arenas. Transfer to your Hotel. Accommodation and lodging (dinner is not included).
Day 06: Punta Arenas - Santiago
Transfer to Punta Arenas airport, flight to Santiago, transfer to Airport Hotel in Santiago, accomodation.
Day 07: Santiago – Calama – San Pedro de Atacama / Moon Valley
Transfer to airport, flight to Calama.
Reception and transfer from the Airport of Calama to your hotel in San Pedro de Atacama. In the afternoon, departure from the hotel to the moon valley (16:00 hrs. in summer / 15:00 hrs. in winter; summer season begin on october 1st).
19 km from San Pedro, in the Salt Mountain Range, is the Moon Valley, declared a nature sanctuary and monument and protected by the uniqueness of its beauty. It consists of a depression surrounded by small hills with impressively sharp peaks. The tour is an imaginary trip to landscapes that do not belong in our world, but to other planets. We will see Dinosaur Valley and Death Valley, where there is a spectacular panoramic view of the area. We continue to Moon Valley, where we will find geological formations that are the result of successive foldings of the earth's crust.
In the valley is possible to appreciate the salt sculptures known as Las Tres Marias, formed by wind erosion.
Continuing with the tour we will walk through the interior of the caves that remain from the old deposits, to get closer to valley where is the Big Dune. After a break, we will climb this dune, which impresses with its size and is used for extreme sports as snowboarding
Towards dusk, a bold palette of golds and reds appear, touching the soul and sensibilities of the visitor.
Come back to hotel. Lodging.
Day 08: Atacama salt and Toconao town
In the afternoon (at 16:00 hrs. in summer/ 15:00 hrs. in winter; summer season begin on october 1st) departure to The Atacama salt. We travel to Toconao in the Atacama Salt Flat. Toconao is a small Atacama town, with a church and bell tower built out of only adobe and straw, and handicraft workshops full of items like alpaca wool and cactus crafts. The protected beauty of the National Reserves will captivate us. The park contains many species of flora and fauna, some in danger of extinction. The Atacama Salt Flat is part of the reserve, and a large number of flamingo colonies have chosen Chaxa Lake as their favorite place for nesting. The geomorphology of the Salt Flat makes for a unique landscape, and with its rugged surface and difficult access, it becomes the perfect location for many species of birds.
Come back to hotel. Lodging in the selected hotel.
Day 09: Archeological Tour
Breakfast in the hotel. At 09:00 hrs. departure from the hotel.
A landscape without history loses the richness that time and people have brought to it. Therefore, on this excursion, we invite you to discover the richness of the Atacama, or Likan Antai, culture. We will gather fascinating information about who lived in the area and how they did it, from pre-Columbian to colonial times. We will learn about the customs and traditions of the different cultures that lived in the area by visiting the most notable archaeological sites such as Tulor and Pukara de Quitor. The miraculously preserved village of Tulor is the oldest remaining ancient dwelling place in the Atacama Basin, and the first human settlement, called "Cuna de los Likan Antai (Cradle of the Likan Antai people)".Pukara de Quitor, a construction from the twelfth century, was a witness to decisive historic events that are part of the local culture. We ended our trip in San Pedro de Atacama, with a visit to the church before the return to hotels.
Lodging.
Day 10: Geyser and Towns / Calama
Departure at 04:30 hrs. from the hotel
We leave at dawn from San Pedro de Atacama Hotel to go to the Tatio Geysers, a geothermal center with geysers that can only be seen very early in the morning. After seeing this spectacular sight in a magnificent natural setting, we eat breakfast. On the way back, we see the majestic Andes mountain range, whose peaks seem close enough to touch. We then arrive at Machuca, a small llama herder settlement. The village is filled with adobe houses with thatched roofs. Green wetlands lend a special charm.
Transfer to airport to take the flight to Santiago. Reception at Santiago airport and transfer to selected hotel, lodging.
Day 11:
Breakfast in hotel and transfer to airport.
End of services.