Tourism and Journeys in Chile, National Parks, Salt Lakes, Glaciers of Chile (16 days/ 15 nights)

Arrival in the city of Santiago, reception at the airport and transfer to the hotel, acommodation. In the afternoon we will realize a beautiful city tour through Santiago where we will visit the main attractions and enjoy some of the best views over the capital of Chile. Some of these points of interest are the mountain Santa Lucia, the Central Square, the Government Palace, the Market and the Mountain San Cristobal. Transfer to the hotel.

Breakfast in the hotel. In the morning we bring you to the airport of Santiago to take the flight to Arica. Arrival in Arica, transfer to the hotel.

We start from your hotel towards the Market Asoagro (typical fruit and vegetable market), then continue to the Azapa Valley where we observe various geoglyphs. Afterwards we visit the archaeological mueseum of Azapa, then cross the fertile Lluta Valley and pass the village of Poconchile. You will see the candelabra cactuses, the fort Pukara of Copaquilla, have lunch in Zapahuira and after visiting the village of Socoroma we finally get to Putre (3.500m).

Early in the morning we depart from Putre towards the National Park Lauca.  We realize a small hike at Las Cuevas („The Caves“), appreciating the beautiful landscapes, then we visit the viewpoints of Chucuyo and the Lagoons of Cotacotani, continuing the journey to Lake Chungará. Here we observe the volcanoes Payachatas, visit the village of Parinacota with its adorable colonial church and finish our tour at the Thermal Baths of Jurasi. After a relaxing bath, we return to the village of Putre.

Departure from Putre to the Vicuña National Reserve, passing the villages of Ancuta and Guallatire; appreciating the volcano Guallatire. We arrive at the Salt Lake Surire (4,200 m) around noon where you can enjoy small hikes, photographies and panoramic views. Picknick at the Thermal Baths of Pollowuere, then we cross the National Park Volcano Isluga, pass the lagoon Arabilla, the villages Enquelga and Isluga and finally arrive in Colchane at the end of the day.

We leave Colchane to the South to get to the Atacama Desert. We will observe the volcano Cariquima (5.390m over sea level) and then get to the Salt Lake Husco. This natural graben is surrounded by volcanoes and is located at an altitue of 3.700m over sea level. We move on furter south, following the Occidental Cordillera. The route will lead us to the Salt Lake Coposa (3.703m over sea level). In the afternoon we start descending to arrive in Pica, a small oasis full of oranges, lemons and guayaba.

We leave Pica to visit the geoglyphs “Pintados” that contain more that 400 figures in 66 panels representing humans, animals, birds and abstract paintings. From there we move on through the National Reserve of the Pampa of Tamarugal to later on get to the small oasis of Quillagua close to the river Loa. Here we will have lunch, then we cross the desert and make our way to San Pedro de Atacama.

Departure at 08:00 am. We leave San Pedro de Atacama to go south and cross the graben of the Salt Lake of the Atacama to visit the village of Toconao with its colonial church and the old fruit gardens. From there we move on to the Great Salt Lake of the Atacama, the third biggest in the world and the one with the highest Lithium production on earth.  Also we visit the Lagoon Chaxa, part of the Flamingo National Reserve. The excursion continues to the village of Socaire, located at an altitude of 3.250m over sea level and at a distance of 89km of San Pedro. It is a prehispanic village characterized by cultivated terraces and its beautiful church. Nowadays it is well known for the typical food of the Atacama. We move on to the Highland lagoons Miscanti and Meñiques, located over 3.500m over sea level and surrounded by the mountains of the Andes. It is one of the few places where you can find the Horned Tagua, among many other species of birds and mammals like the Andean Fox and the Vicuña. Return to San Pedro, arrival around 16:00 hrs.

Departure at 04:00 am northwards. We cross the hills and mountains of the Cordillera of the Andes to get to the Tatio Geysers after about 1,5 hours. They are located 89km from San Pedro at an altitude of 4.230m over sea level. The geothermic field consists of more than 80 active geysers of different magnitudes and has to be visited very early for in the morning the water shoots with more intensity. This is due to the high differece between water temperature and atmospheric temperature at sunrise which causes condensation of the steam. In Summer the atmospheric temperature reaches about - 6ºC and in Winter it can reach -20 ºC. You will get time to visit different geysers and steam columns and also to take a bath in the natural thermal pool. We will have breakfast at the geysers, then we return to San Pedro passing the village of Machuca. Arrival approximately at 12:00 hrs in San Pedro.

Afternoon: Moon Valley

Departure from the hotel at 16:00 hrs to enjoy a panoramic view over the Cordillera of the Andes, the Great Salt Lake of the Atacama, the Oasis of San Pedro and the Cordillera of the Salt. We move on to visit the Death Valley (also called Mars Valley), exploring its labyrinths and canyons on an easy hike of about 35 minutes. After a stop at the Salt Caves, where you can appreciate the heart of salt, gypsum  and clay, we continue to the Moon Valley, visiting the Amphitheater, the Three Marias and finishing the day with an impressive view over the Andes.

Breakfast in the hotel. At the indicated time we realice the transfer to the airport of Calama to take the flight to Santiago. Arrival in Santiago and transfer to the hotel.

Breakfast in the hotel, at 08:30 am we start our trip of about 120km towards the pacific coast. On the way you can appreciate the diversity of the landscapes. We will pass the Valley Curacaví and the Valley of Casablanca which mainly is known for the production of the white wine Sauvignon Blanc, among others.

We will get to Valparaíso (Legislative Capital and main harbor of Chile), recently declared Cultural Patrimony . The city surprises with its colorful houses that are enclaved in the hills and make it a pintoresque place.

You will get to see the main attractions such as the Victoria Square, Sotomayor Square, the Monument to the Naval Glories May 21st (viewing point from where you can appreciate the impressive harbor) and also we will walk up some of the hills of the city. Taking the old lift of “Cerro Alegre” (Happy Hill) will help you appreciate even more the interesting ambience of Valparaíso. Afterwards we make a stop at the house of Pablo Neruda “La Sebastiana”.

Continuing the tour we get to Viña del Mar, known as the Garden City. Here we will visit the Flower Clock, the Casino and then have lunch after taking a short walk on the beach.On our way back to Santiago you can get to know the „Quinta Vergara“, place where every year an international music festival takes place. Return to Santiago, arrival at the hotel around 19:00 hrs.

Breakfast in the hotel and transfer to the airport of Santiago to take the flight to Punta Arenas. Arrival, reception at the airport and transfer to the beautiful city of Punta Arenas, one of the southernmost cities in the world. In the afternoon we will visit the penguins of Seno Otway where during the time of October to March more than one million species are to find. We return to Punta Arenas and then take a bus to Puerto Natales.

Breakfast in the hotel, then we realize one of the most important excursions of the whole trip, the journey to Torres del Paine. We start the day visiting the Cave Milodon where good preserved relicts of prehistoric mammals were found that lived in the region 12.000 years ago. From there we continue towards the National Park Torres del Paine. We visit the Bitter Lagoon which fascinates with its white shore covered by salt and the great number of birds habiting in it. Afterwards you can observe the mountain massifs of Paine in the company of some guanacos until we get to the viewing point Lake Nordenskjold. Here you will have an ideal view to see the Mount Almirante Nieto and the Peaks of Paine. We move on to the Lake Pehoé, a beautiful lake of turquoise water due to the sediments of the glaciers, and take a walk to the Salto Grande (Big Waterfall) where you can appreciate the great views over the Big Mount Paine, the Peaks of Paine, the glacier The French and the Small Mount Paine, also knows as Mount Almirante Nieto. After  this great moments we will have lunch.

We continue to the sector Grey and if we are lucky we will be able to see more than one huemul on the route. We will cross a forest full of woodpeckers before we get to the shore of the Lake Greak. Here we can realize a hike towards the viewing point of the glacier Grey. Then we make our way back to Puerto Natales. Arrival at the hotel.

Breakfast in the hotel. We will realize an amazing boat trip through the fjord of the Last Hope towards the glaciers Balmaceda and Serrano. On the way you can observe various colonies of seals and cormorants. After arriving at the glaciers we take a walk of about 1.000 meters on the route of Puerto Toro through a beautiful forest until we get to the impressive Glacier Serrano. Here we have time to take some pictures, then we return to the boat to continue to the Glacier Balmaceda, a wonderful glacier located in Mount Balmaceda (2.222m). After a tasty patagonian lunch we finally make our way back to Puerto Natales where we will arrive around 17:00 hrs. Transfer to the hotel.

Breakfast in the hotel. At the indicated time we take a bus to the airport of Punta Arenas. Return to Santiago, arrival at the airport and transfer to the hotel. Afternoon free.

Breakfast at the hotel, at the convenient time we realize the transfer to the airport.