Explorers and horse lovers will find their bliss with four days of horseback riding, great food, excellent views and encounters with glaciers, lakes and waterfalls. Staying at country-style Patagonian estancias and comfy campsites, this 6-day adventure is a wonderful trekking alternative for those who prefer life in the saddle.
PROGRAM ITINERARY:
DAY 1: Upon your arrival to the Punta Arenas airport, your private transfer will be waiting to take you to Torres del Paine via Puerto Natales. Leaving Punta Arenas we’ll see the Strait of Magellan and the island of Tierra del Fuego. Our 5-hour drive weaves through open pampas and huge estancias (ranches) with the chance of seeing the ñandus (similar to ostriches) that call these landscapes home. Passing through the fishing town of Puerto Natales, located on the Sound of Last Hope and surrounded by mountains, we’ll take an unsealed road to Cerro Castillo, a small village at the head of the Torres Del Paine commune.
DAY 2: After a hearty breakfast, we set out to our next destination in this Patagonia horseback riding trip - Tercera Barranca. Today we will enjoy a 7 hour slow Tercera Barranca ride adventure with trotting and cantering to a beautiful and quiet estancia where we will rest for the evening.
DAY 3: Our next destination in this Patagonia horseback riding is Salto Las Chinas waterfall on the east side of Torres del Paine National Park, a route taken more than a century ago by Lady Florence Dixie - and whose 1880 account of traveling Patagonia is still iconic. We’ll ride across pampas and plateaus and likely see condors matching our speed as they soar the skies above us. We’ll stop for lunch at the waterfall before making our way back to the ranch via the same trail. Our evening will be spent beside the fire, with Pisco sours and Patagonian lamb barbecue (BBQ confirmed with a min. of 8 people).
DAY 4: Today’s Patagonia horseback riding winds through native beech forests and around small lagoons. Splendid views will continually follow us - though you’ll find a particularly excellent picture-taking opportunity at today’s highest point, where we’ll observe how the Paine River fuses with the agua waters of Toro Lake, the largest in the region. From here, we’ll start the descent towards your home away from home for the next two nights: our own Chile Nativo Riverside Campsite. Sleep snugly in domes on the shores of the Serrano River beneath an impressive an view of the formidable twin black granite peaks, Los Cuernos.
DAY 5: We continue the Patagonia horseback riding with a morning ride across huge pampas and a suspension bridge over the Grey River takes us to Grey Lake’s superb viewpoint. From here we’ll see the numerous floating icebergs that have calved in a Grey Glacier tour and been whittled into fantastic shapes by the sun and wind. We’ll have lunch at this lookout point, then set off next on our Grey Glacier tour on a short hike through a beech forest to the pier. (While hiking, be sure to listen out for the woodpeckers and Austral parakeets that call this forest home!) Our hour-long cruise through Grey Lake and Grey Glacier tour weaves around blue-hued icebergs and stops right in front of Grey Glacier’s massive facade. Here, we’ll stay for a while to take pictures, observe the glacier’s intricate colors and icy textures - and maybe even see ice chunks calving. As we make our way back, watch out for the wind-sculpted “ice mushrooms” atop Paine Grande. Ashore once again and ending the Grey Glacier tour, a transfer will take us back to our campsite.
DAY 6: Your Patagonia horseback riding ends with a private transfer to Punta Arenas airport. (To allow for travel time, guests should arrange their return flights for after 1 pm.) If you would like to stay the night in Punta Arenas, we’ll take you to your hotel).
Trip Highlights
• Stay at typical Patagonian estancias
• Four days of horseback riding
• Get up close to Grey Glacier
• See the famous three Towers
• Remote camping experiences
• Pristine wilderness and Patagonia Landscapes
• See lakes, rivers, icebergs and wild peaks
• Observe condors, woodpeckers and parakeets
Prices for season 2020/2021 for 4 riders. Contact us for prices update.
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