Horse Back Riding in Torres del Paine |
THE GLACIER TRAIL (9 DAYS)
1st DAYWe suggest you take the early flight Santiago - Punta Arenas (4 hours), flying over Los Andes observing incredible views of the Patagonian Ice Fields.Upon your arrival to Punta Arenas, considered the most southern city in the continent, a private transfer will be waiting to drive you to Estancia-Hostería Lazo.
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As we leave the airport we will be able to see the Straights of Magellan and the mystic Tierra del Fuego. During a 2-hour trip we will drive through open pampas and huge ranches (estancias), and chances are we will be able to observe one of the most typical animals in this zone, the lesser rhea, (rare South American ostrich), to arrive at Puerto Natales, located on the Sound of Last Hope, a typical fishing town surrounded by mountains. We will follow an unpaved road heading to Estancia Lazo where we will stay overnight, after enjoy a welcome barbecue. (5 hours, 370 kms).
2nd Day: We will start early in the morning, meeting our baqueano (local cowboy) and assigning the saddles and horses. We will begin our ride through native Nothofagus forests, going around small lagoons, with incredible views of the Paine Massif and surrounding areas. While crossing Laguna Verde (named for its green-turquoise waters), we will enter Torres del Paine National Park, reaching the highest peak of our day with excellent picture taking opportunities of the Paine River emptying into Toro Lake (the largest in the region). From this view point we will begin our descent to the visitor´s center, where we will spend the night in Posada Serrano. (4-5 hours, slow riding, trotting and cantering).
3rd Day: Today we head off towards the Grey River where we will turn off onto the Esmeralda circuit, a beautiful loop taking in forests, rivers, waterfalls and fantastic views with the chance of a great gallop along the beach at Laguna de los Choros.We will circle back to the Grey bridge where our transfer will take us to Lake Grey
with its impressive glacier, part of the southern ice field which is the third largest reserve of fresh water in the world. We will have lunch on the shores of the Pingo River and a short rest before walking through a beech forest onto the beach of Lake Grey with its blue icebergs. We will carry on to a viewpoint with a stunning view of woods, icebergs, glaciers and mountains. We will return in the transfer, to spend a second night at the Posada Serrano (1 hour transfer, 2 hours walk, 3 hours ride).
4th Day Today we will start our trip taking a private transfer to the river Serrano where we cross the river by ferry to arrive at Aniseto Astorga’s farmhouse. There we’ll choose our horses to begin a ride to an unexplored valley at the border of Torres del Paine national park. We cross several rivers and go through a landscape filled with lakes and wetlands, constantly being surprised by the changing views of the Paine massif and the last glaciers of the Southern Ice Field. We’ll spend the night here after setting up camp on the shores of Lake Brush. (10 mins transfer, 4 hours slow riding, trotting and galloping)
5th Day We start our way along the same path, leading us to the Serrano River. We stay in the Cabañas del Paine. Here we enjoy lunch together and then you have the afternoon on your own. While dinner is being prepared we will enjoy an excellent Pisco Sour, the favorite Chilean drink made from pisco, a liquor destilled from Muscatel type grapes and mixed with lemon juice, sugar and ice. (4 hours slow riding, trotting and galloping).
6th Day We will begin the day by selecting our horses to enter further into the unexplored border valleys between the Torres del Paine and Bernardo O'Higgins National Parks. This path takes us through humid forests, similar to the austral channels, crossing rivers, lakes and swampy zones. As we enter we will be overwhelmed with views of the Tyndall galcier one of the last glaciers of the Southern Ice Field. We will have lunch by the river, next to an old cattle barrack. We will continue into the valley until arriving at the Serrano River where we will take a motor boat to cross to Pekin Guerrero's estancia, the only privately owned estancia right between two national parks. We stay in a rustic cabin and we will enjoy the gaucho´s hospitality. (5 hours slow riding and trotting).
7th Day Early morning we will start our day by selecting suitable horses and saddles for a long ride. We will head deep into the estancia's valleys, being guided towards mystical Geike Lake. This path is varies greatly with cliffs giving way to humid forests and beaches, where sometimes it will be necessary to get off the horses due to steep slopes. This area is rarely visited, and nature is virtually untouched. We will have lunch in front of Geike Lake, looking across at the icebergs and Geike Glacier before following the same path back to the estancia to stay overnight, after enjoying a farewell barbecue. (7-8 hours slow ride).
8th Day We will begin this day by going down the Serrano River in a motor boat right to the beginning of the Seno de Ultima Esperanza, in front of the impressive Serrano Glacier at the base of Balmaceda mountain (2148 m). From here we will make a short walk to the glacier through a flat
and easy path. Then we will take a boat, the Cutter 21 de Mayo, through the canals, before arriving to Puerto Natales for a farewell dinner and an overnight stay in a hotel. (20 minutes in zodiac, 45 minutes walk and 3 hours by boat).
9th Day: A private transfer will take you to Punta Arenas to take the afternoon flight to Santiago (3 hours by transfer, 250 kms).
*REGARDING THE SCHEDULE:
The schedules indicated above are subject to change due to weather conditions or unexpected circumstances beyond our control, but we will try our best to keep them unaltered
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