REGION: Central Chile. Covers Northern to Southern Patagonia. Activities include Santiago, Puerto Varas, Chiloe Island, Puerto Natales, and Torres Del Paine National Park.
ACTIVITY LEVEL: 1 (Easy) to 3 (Moderate).
SUMMARY:
Customized 8-day Program Central Valley Santiago and Maipo Wine Valley. North Patagonia (Lake District): Puerto Montt, Puerto Varas, and Chiloé Island. Magellan District Puerto Natales and Torres del Paine.
This adventure itinerary blends urban sophistication with remote wilderness adventures. The Patagonia Lake District and Torres Del Paine are famous for these adventures. The best wines and vineyards are in the Central Valley region, in the Maipo Valley, and around Santiago, the capital. Chile’s rich history and culinary scene. The journey then takes in the stunning natural landscapes of the Chilean Lake District, Puerto Varas, and Chiloe Island. It also includes the amazing Torres Del Paine National Park and Puerto Natales. Activities range from hiking Osorno volcano and Torres Del Paine to exploring the culture in Chiloé Island. You can enjoy birdwatching on the Penguin colony tour. There is also a wildlife photographic tour in Torres Del Paine. You can also go horseback riding to explore the vast Patagonia region in Chile.
DURATION: 8 days (or as customized).
Min. / Max. PEOPLE: 4 – 12; more by prior arrangement. Min. age 8 or above. Tour departs with a least 6 people.
SEASON: Seasonal from October to April.
ACCOMMODATIONS: 3 Plus – 4 star (Can be arranged superior level under order, if you travel in a Private Group).
DATES & PRICES:
The earlier you book, the more choice you’ll have and the discount on your final price. Talk with one of our travel experts at +56 975040256(phone/whatsapp) or by Meet or with your Travel Agent.
We kindly ask for a 20% refundable deposit fee upon booking to confirm your reservation. We process tour payments with Bank wires tour our bank account or by our payment partner, WeTravel.com or PayPal.com
Scheduled Dates Season 2025 – 2026. Fixed departures from late September to May. Notes: We do not visit Penguin Colony(seasonal) in September, April, and May. We do another tour.
For private departures, please send us your contact information by email to: info@patagoniasouthernlandexpeditions.com and we’ll get back to you within the next 24 hours.
Internal Air: USD $ 850: This trip includes flights between cities & towns in Chile. There is a supplemental cost. The price is subject to change according to the airline’s policies. We can get/booking for your ticket. Let us know.
ITINERARY:
DAY 1: Welcome to Chile – Santiago – City Walk Tour – Wine tour (8 Hours)
Activity Level: 1 (Easy)
Welcome to Chile! We meet in Santiago to start our week together. And what a city it is. Never have skyscrapers had to fight so hard to look tall. After all, snow-capped Andes ring the city and dwarf the unmade peaks. We’ll take a guided walk in the historic center where grand Spanish Colonial architecture is the rule. Then we’re off to the nearby Maipo Valley, one of the richest growing areas in Chile’s expansive wine region. A fine lunch awaits us at the Santa Rita Estate. This property is a national monument with more than 200 years of history. Of course, there will be pairings and tastings, sure to include Cabernet Sauvignon and some of other signature varietals. Afterward, we’ll take a leisurely walk in the French-style vineyards. Our hosts will show off their whole operation. This ranges from the vines to bottling. (One of our most vivid images of Chile is how the meticulous geometry of the vineyards contrasts with the jagged, mountainous backdrop.) Back in Santiago, our welcome dinner offers a glimpse of the city’s lively nightlife.
Overnight: Santiago. Meals: L, D.
DAY 2: North Patagonia Lake District – National Park Vicente Perez Rosales – Puerto Varas (10 Hours)
Activity Level: 1 (Easy ) to 3 (Easy – Moderate)
Breakfast. Transfer out to Santiago airport and flight to North Patagonia, Lake and Volcanoes District. Chile is spaghetti thin and just as long. And its entire backbone is the remarkable Andes Mountain range. You’ll begin to see all of that for yourself this morning. Take a flight south to Puerto Montt, the gateway of North Patagonia. Welcome by our Representative and drive to Puerto Varas.
Today, we will visit the oldest national park in Chile “Vicente Perez Rosales National Park” created in 1926. Just like always in Chile, the mountains loom. Only here, the environment is a temperate rain forest. The terrain is an incredible mix of natural landmarks. We’ll drive through vast fields of black volcanic ash spewed by Osorno Volcano. At Petrohué Falls, whitewater plunges through narrow channels in the basalt dam that an eruption threw across the river. Our morning walk is across the black lava sands that cover the ground near Todos los Santos Lake. The photo ops here are fantastic.
This afternoon, we approach the Osorno Volcano itself. Its steep-sided cone is about as perfectly symmetrical as they come. (The most recent eruption was in 1869.) The upper slopes are covered in glaciers. On a walk on the lower slopes, we get a close-up look at the lava formations. We also see plants and animals that have slowly retaken the area over the last century and a half. Not to be missed: the reflection of Osorno volcano in the smooth sapphire surface of Llanquihue Lake. The whole day is a fascinating look at the many ways volcanic activity shapes the environment. Dinner tonight is at your own.
Overnight: Puerto Varas. Meals: B,BL.
DAY 3: Chiloe Island – Penguin Colony – Local Family Experience (10 Hours)
Activity Level: 1 (Easy)
Breakfast. Chiloé is a world unto itself. South America’s second largest island, it’s geographically close to the mainland, but home to a very different culture. We get there via a ferry ride across Chacao Channel. The channel is home to sea lions. It also hosts a tremendous number of sea birds. On a beach walk, we see the “Islotes de Puñihuil”. These three rocky knobs jut out of the sea near to shore. They are the only known shared breeding site for Humboldt and Magellanic penguins. We see the endangered birds up close on a boat ride that circles the islets. Midday, we join our friends Maria Luisa and her family for a Curanto. This means hot rocks in the Huilliche-Mapuche language. It’s a local social event built around a feast of shellfish, meat, and potatoes.
The food is cooked in a covered pit. If it feels something like a luau, that’s because this food tradition migrated across the Pacific. It came from Polynesia by way of Easter Island. We get a unique look at how the meal is assembled. It includes mussels, smoked pork, and some of the 150 kinds of potatoes that are native to the island. We love it. The whole afternoon is a great time with this typical Chilota family. The eating is very fine, too! Afterward, we ferry back to the mainland. Dinner is on your own tonight – and you may be ready for a lighter meal after the earlier feast!
Notes: Navigation of Penguin colony can be canceled for bad weather conditions or decision of Majority Authority Armada de Chile. An optional tour we will done in this case. In off season, we change this day “Penguin tour”. We offer a hiking to “Alerce Andino National Park” or LLanquihue National Reserve. The hiking includes visiting Calbuco volcano.
Overnight: Puerto Varas. Meals: B, L.
DAY 4: South Patagonia Magellan & Antarctica District – Puerto Natales (2 Hours)
Activity Level: 1 (Easy)
Breakfast. Transfer to El Tepual airport in Puerto Montt city and a flight to Magellan district South Patagonia. This morning, we will landing at Puerto Natales or Punta Arenas airport. It depends on our flight schedule. Our final destination of the day is Puerto Natales city. It was founded as a port for the sheep industry in a region called Ultima Esperanza (Last Hope). Our hotel is nearby. Dinner tonight is at your own.
Overnight: Puerto Natales. Meals: B.
DAY 5: Torres Del Paine National Park – Photography Hiking Tour (10 – 12 Hours)
Activity Level: 2 (Easy) to 3 (Moderate)
Early Breakfast. This is the morning for a hearty breakfast because the day to come is all about exploring the wilds of Patagonia. You’re visit famous Torres del Paine National Park. The Torres – soaring, spikey “towers” of granite carved by ancient glaciers – are one of the signature sights of Chile. You’re headed to part of the park that was declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. It is part of the Route of Parks of Patagonia Network.
We’ll depart from your hotel in Puerto Natales to enjoy this photographic journey into the Torres Del Paine National Park. You will marvel at the beauty of its topography. You_will also be amazed by its abundant flora and fauna. You will visit Laguna Azul and hike around this sector. It is the best area to see the peaks of the Torres Del Paine. You will also visit Laguna Amarga the entrance of the National Park. Additionally, visit Cuernos Del Paine lookout, Salto Grande Waterfall, Pehoe lake, Nordenskjöld lake, and Mirador Pehoe. Also visit Lake Toro, Serrano river, and lots of other lookouts. Enjoy moments in this World Biosphere Reserve and visit other places.
This is the natural habitat of the puma lion, guanaco, long-legged rheas, endangered Andean deer, and the Andean condor. And you’re likely to spot them during your hiking throughout the day. There are lagoons, too, that are breeding and feeding grounds for a variety of birds. Right from the trails, the views of the snow-capped mountains are stupendous. You can take your time to absorb it all as you linger over a picnic lunch. Back at the hotel, you’ll have leisure time to relax and rest or visit the town. Dinner tonight is at your own.
Overnight: Puerto Natales. Meals: B, BL.
DAY 6: Patagonian “Gaucho Experience” Estancia Ranch (6 – 7 Hours)
Activity Level: 2 (Easy)
Breakfast. Your day in between ocean, pampas and mountains yesterday could leave you with the feeling. It might seem nearly impossible to live in this region of Patagonia. Yesterday, you experienced the ocean, pampas, and mountains. This could make you feel that it would be nearly impossible to live in this region of Patagonia. In fact, there’s a hardy population who live and work here, and you’ll meet them today. You’re off to a working Estancia. It is a vast ranch where the sheep, cattle, and horses drastically outnumber the gauchos who tend them.
Once again, you can choose your adventure. Decide how you want to get a firsthand look at life on the pampas. If you like, climb into the saddle for a guided look at the land on horseback. The tour is led by one of the gauchos who work the land daily. If you prefer to keep both feet on the ground, join your host for a guided walk around Estancia. Enjoy conversation with the Gaucho in charge or your “Patagonian Lamb Asado” (Barbacue chilean style). You will explore the Estancia on one of its scenic trails. Either way, you’ll see how the gauchos go about their work. You will see demonstrations of sheep shearing. They team up with shepherd dogs to control their flocks in the wild terrain. You’ll especially love this time at the Estancia. It is an unforgettable glimpse into how man and nature coexist. They coexist in ways that are unimaginable back home.
The day is capped with a gaucho barbecue, and the centerpiece is succulent lamb grilled over open fires. It’s a traditional feast that perfectly captures the rustic, natural spirit of the day. This evening dinner is at your own.
Overnight: Puerto Natales. Meals: B, L.
DAY 7: Grey Glacier Navigation – Puerto Natales (9 – 10 Hours)
Activity Level: 2 (Easy)
Breakfast. This morning, you’re headed for a completely different view of Torres Del Paine. At the entry to the park, Serrano river signals the theme of the day. Its waters are intensely turquoise. The theme of the day is water, both liquid and frozen. Nearby, recently calved ice floes float in the lake fed by Grey Glacier. Lunch at Grey sector. With an experienced captain at the helm, we take to the water for an unforgettable boat ride. The ride puts us just a short distance from the sheer face of the glacier. We’ve all heard how glaciers carve landscape. They move mountains and scour out fjords. But it’s only from this perspective that you can truly appreciate their awesome scale and power. Lounge on the deck—maybe with a Pisco Sour chilled by glacial ice—and take it all in. This evening, we celebrate over a farewell dinner of sophisticated local fare served in a restaurant overlooking the Patagonian landscape.
Overnight: Puerto Natales. Meals: B, BL, D.
DAY 8: Puerto Natales – Santiago (3.5 Hours)
Activity Level: 1 (Easy)
Breakfast. This morning, we drive to Puerto Natales or Punta Arenas airport, according to our flight schedule. Lunch at your own. An afternoon flight gets us to Santiago. We make late-day connections for return home or take a post tour around Chile. End of the Adventure and Cultural Program in Chile. Meals: B.