Highlights Of Chile

Joining the tour in Santiago today, our intention this afternoon is to take an orientation tour of the city by bus and metro. One of the most scenic cities in South America, Santiago lies in the shadow of the Andes and the old part of the city, around the Alameda, contains a number of fine buildings, statues and gardens, including the impressive Presidential Palace and the monastery of San Francisco. The city is filled with museums to its colonial and pre-Columbian past and in the Bellavista district we can find the unusual house of the famous Chilean poet and Nobel Prize winner Pablo Neruda.

Overnight Standard Hotel

Today has been left free to explore some more of the city, to wander its streets and parks, and perhaps visit the vineyards that lie on the outskirts of the city. The Maipo Valley is considered by many to be the best wine-growing region in the country. Certainly the oldest, it is renowned for its Cabernet Sauvignon and a tour of the vineyards, lying in the shadow of the magnificent Andes is the perfect combination of sensory delights. Alternatively there is the option of a trip to the nearby city of Valparaiso, Chile’s culture capital. Once a colonial port linking trade with neighbouring Peru, the city suffered numerous raids at the hands of pirates, including Sir Francis Drake. Reaching the height of its prosperity during the 19th century it finally fell into decline with the onset of the steam age and the opening of the Panama Canal. Much of its colonial past has been destroyed by a number of powerful earthquakes over the years, but the city still retains some of the grandeur of its past The city today is a major port and its surrounding hills, a natural amphitheatre covered in colourful houses and mansions, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

Flying to Calama this morning we transfer by private bus to the oasis town of San Pedro de Atacama, set high amongst the spectacular volcanoes of Los Andes Cordillera and our gateway to the dramatic landscapes of the Atacama Desert. Arriving later this morning there will be time to relax, or perhaps take an optional visit to the impressive archaeological museum containing the collection of artefacts assembled by Padre Gustave Paige, a Belgian missionary who spent some 25 years here during the later years of the last century. This afternoon we will take a walk amongst the dunes of the nearby Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley), a nature reserve to the west of the town, where the surreal landscape has been formed by the erosion of the salt mountains. We intend to watch the setting sun cast its golden glow across the spectacular landscape, before returning by bus back to San Pedro.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

San Pedro was once the centre of the Atacama culture, before the arrival of the Spanish, and its dusty streets and evocative setting still exudes an air of times long past. Over the next two days we have the chance to explore in more depth this remarkable town and its fascinating cultural and natural diversity. Our first day sees us transferring out to Puritama to spend the day walking amongst the desert landscapes of the remarkable Atacama, one of the most barren and dramatic natural features in the entire country. We will walk through a terrain peppered with hot springs, with views back across to San Pedro and the vast expanse of the Salar de Atacama. Our second day has been left free, affording the chance to do some exploring on your own. You may like to take an early morning trip out to the El Tatio Hot Springs, a geothermal field of spouting geysers and steaming fumaroles surrounded by a vista of volcanic mountains. Watching these active geysers erupting in the light of the rising sun is an impressive sight, and it will leave your afternoon free to visit the extensive salt flats of the Salar de Atacama, at 300,000 hectares the third largest area of salt flats on the planet. Rich in minerals the lake is home to flocks of pink flamingos during the winter months and the air is so dry that the views across the Salar have to be seen to be believed.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

Today we fly to Puerto Montt, the most important port in the south of Chile and, in a very real sense, the spot where the developed or settled population of Chile comes to a full stop. This is the gateway to the wild and rugged regions to the south and from here we drive to Puerto Varas and our hotel, based beside the shores of lake Llanquihue. With some free time to explore we’ll take a stroll on the lake shore, the second largest in Chile and one of the shimmering jewels of Chile’s Lake District. Set against the backdrop of snow capped volcanoes, this is the third largest expanse of natural water on the South American continent and presents us with a quite breathtaking setting.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

Our first full day here sees us hiking around the area dominated by the classic volcanic cone of Osorno (2680m), an almost picture perfect representation of a snowy volcanic peak. Our walk takes us through the lush landscapes of the Valdivian rainforest, the slopes of the mountain sprinkled with Andean birch, providing a haven for chingue (Patagonian skunk), culpeo (Patagonian fox), weasels and puma, whilst the bird populations boast hummingbirds, woodpeckers and kestrel. Our second day has been left free for optional activities, perhaps trying your hand at mountain biking, rafting, or maybe doing some more trekking around the area. There is also the chance to take a full day excursion to Chiloe Island, the second largest in South America (after Tierra del Fuego) and a captivating place of verdant beauty and legend, whose people are amongst the friendliest anywhere in South America. The island’s rich colonial heritage has seen its capital, Castro, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and its vibrant mix of Catholic beliefs and native mythology, Jesuits churches and traditional stilted houses make it an absolute treasure to explore.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

Today we fly to Punta Arenas and transfer to our hotel after which the rest of the afternoon is free to explore at your leisure. Founded in the mid 19th century the city began life as a penal colony, growing rich on the facilities that it offered to shipping on the routes through the southern oceans, as well as its importance as a centre for sheep ranching. Many of the grandiose mansions that are dotted around the Plaza Muñoz Gamero date from this period and a visit to the Palacio Sara Braun affords an interesting insight into life during those heady days. The city is littered with memorials to its colonial past, whilst the cypress lined cemetery offers a fascinating perspective on the rich diversity of cultures and peoples that helped to build this city.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

Leaving Punta Arenas this morning we travel by public bus to Puerto Natales, where we meet our charter bus to resume the journey via Laguna Azul, Paine River Falls and Milodon cave to the Torres del Paine National Park. Later this afternoon we arrive in Torres del Paine National Park, arguably one of the world’s most beautiful national parks, described by Alberto de Agostini as "one of the most spectacular sights that the human imagination can conceive". Blessed with an abundance of natural wonders the area was turned into a national park in 1959 and covers some 934 square miles of land. Taking its name from the Tehuelche Indian word payne, meaning pale blue, it is a landscape of rugged mountains, turquoise coloured glacial lakes and spectacular wildlife. The majestic vistas of Chilean Patagonia are one of the most scenic and environmentally diverse regions on the planet, home to a wide variety flora and fauna.

Overnight Standard Guest House Included meals: Breakfast

Torres del Paine is situated amidst a region of ice-capped peaks, silent blue glacial lakes and wild hill country. Here it is not unusual to see large numbers of guanacos here, as well as black-necked swans, upland geese, pink flamingos and the odd grey fox snooping around the human food areas looking for an easy meal. We may even be fortunate enough to spot condors, or the elusive puma, larger here than in any other place in the Andes. Our days here afford us an opportunity to take some walks in the surrounding lake country and have views of the ‘Torres’, imposing pinnacles of sharp granite that are surrounded by glacial lakes and craggy ranges that formed millions of years ago. Reaching over 2600 metres these towers are just part of an impressive range of some 15 peaks rising above 200 metres, the highest of which is the Cerro Paine Grande, presenting us with one of the most beathtaking mountain vistas on the planet. This is a place to keep an eye out for condors, rheas and guanacos. The itinerary here is kept flexible so we can make the best choices depending on weather conditions as some walks may not be possible due to high winds.

Overnight Standard Guest House Included meals: Breakfast

Today we may have the chance to experience the icebergs of Lago Grey, with an opportunity to take an optional boat trip out onto the waters of one of the largest lakes in the park, where icebergs calved from a huge glacier float down towards the beach to be transformed into bizarre formations of incredible blue-hued majesty by the wind and water. Alternatively we can do some shorter walks in the park today and soaking up the magnificent scenery before travelling by bus in the late afternoon to Puerto Natales; a good place to spend the evening relaxing and perhaps eating out at one of the many fish restaurants.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

This morning we transfer by public bus to Punta Arenas, from where we fly back this afternoon to Santiago. On arrival we will transfer to our hotel for the final evening of our journey through this remarkable country.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

The tour ends in Santiago after breakfast.

Included meals: Breakfast