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Duration of journey: 23 days, 22 nights
Total drive distance: about 3000 km
Best months to travel: October to April
Visiting: San Martin de los Andes, San Carlos de Bariloche,
Puerto Aisen, Laguna San Rafael, San Valentín glacier, Puyuhuapí,
Cerro Castillo, Cueva de las Manos cave paintings, El Chaltén,
Fitz Roy, Cerro Torre, Perito Moreno glacier, El Calafate.
Price: contact
us!
Includes: Accommodation in double or triple bed rooms
with private bathroom, breakfast included. Tour in minibus Mercedes
Sprinter with driver and bilingual tour conductor. All fuel costs.
Local guides in Bariloche, to the San Lorenzo base camp and to the
cave paintings. Boat excursion on Argentino lake to the glaciers.
Flight over the Northern icecap to Laguna San Rafael. National park
entrance fees. City tour in Buenos Aires. Transfers from/to airports
in Buenos Aires. .
 Day
1:
Arrival at Buenos Aires airport, private transfer with guide
to the hotel. Afternoon free to explore the overwhelming city.
Overnight
in a 4 star hotel..
Day
2:
In the morning 9 am city tour (3 hours) visiting the city
center of Buenos Aires. Private transfer to the domestic airport,
flight to San Martín de los Andes in Northern Patagonia, Lanin
National park. Meeting with the driver and guide.
Overnight stay.
Day 3:
Day excursion to Tromen lake, passing through an old Araucarian
forest, which lays on the feet of impressive Lanin volcano.
Overnight as day before.
Day 4:
 We
leave San Martín on the "Road of 7 lakes" towards Bariloche,
on huge Nahuel Huapí lake.
Overnight stay at cozy posada.
Drive distance: 170
km..
Day 5:
Full day trekking with mountain guide.
Overnight as
day before..
Day 6:
Drive southwards to El Bolsón, visit of a famous beer producer,
than further on to Esquel, a fly fishing paradise.
1 overnight
stay.
Distance covered: 320
km on pavement.
Day 7:
 The
trip continues southwards, crossing the Chilean border, along
the Carretera Austral through sub-tropical rainforest, a road
lined by giant ferns and leaves of wild rhubarb. We stay overnight
at Puyuhuapi, a small harbor lying on the Ventisquero fjord,
surrounded by the Queulat National Park. The inhabitants are
principally descendants from German immigrants, who have built a
flourishing trade here and a carpet weaving industry which continues
to prosper to this day.
Overnight stay at a cozy Bed & Breakfast
at Frau Ludwig's.
Distance covered: 200
km gravel road.
Day 8:
A short road trip and a two-hour hike through the forest,
at the end of which one is suddenly rewarded with an incredible
view of a glacier, which seems to appear out of thin air from
above, bulldozing its way down through this thick forest and coming
to a halt against a vertical rock face. With some luck we may
experience the thunderous reports of huge blocks of ice breaking
free crashing into the depths below.
Same overnight stay as previous
day. .
Day 9:
Today we continue southward until we reach Coyhaique. On
this stretch of road we notice the forest becoming denser and
more humid in the Queulat National Park, which eventually turns
into a more open agricultural region. Overnight stay in a hotel.
Distance covered: 240
km, partly pavement, partly gravel.
 Day
10:
We continue along the Carretera Austral, through wonderful
meadow landscapes up through a pass and past Cerro Castillo,
impressive because of its shape (Castillo means castle). To
our right lies the Hudson Volcano, which covered wide tracts of
land in both Chile and Argentina in volcanic ashes during the last
eruption in 1991. Overnight stay in Puerto Guadal on the huge
General Carrera Lake.
3 overnights at Terra Luna Lodge.
Distance covered: 280
km mostly gravel road.
Day 11:
Flight to Laguna San Rafael, over flying the Northern ice
field, one of the greatest attractions of Chilean Patagonia. The
San Valentín Glacier (also called the San Rafael Glacier)
flows into this lagoon. For a few hours the boat is left adrift
close to the glacier face among floating icebergs, which
makes it possible to observe the breaking off of ice blocks from
very close quarters. We are presented with one of the most incredible
"polar scenes" ever. Overnight stay same as previous day..
Day 12:
Half day visit on a boat of pure granite caves along the
lake shore of Puerto Tranquilo.
Day 13:
An incredible road along the lake shore, followed by the
border crossing to Argentina and reaching the legendary
Ruta 40, takes us to Estancia Telken, one of the first estancias
in Patagonia. Here we now find ourselves in the endlessly far-reaching
Patagonian steppe, on the horizon the ever present ice-capped
mountain tops.
Distance covered: 210
km, gravel.
Day 14:
Short
drive and 2 hour walk along the Rio Pinturas canyon to cave paintings
"Cueva de las Manos". The easily discernible paintwork - mainly
hands but also hunting scenes - are a testimony of ancient Indian
cultures, dating back more than 9000 years.
Overnight as previous
day.
 Day 15:
Today we reach one of the nicest national parks of Argentina, the
Perito Moreno NP, where we will stay for the next three nights on
Estancia La Oriental.
Distance covered: 290
km gravel
Day 16:
Day
hike to Peninsula Belgrano, a real paradise of wild animals
and views over the snow covered mountains of the area..
Day 17:
Day trip to the base camp of the notorious Cerro San Lorenzo,
well known by mountaineers world wide. A short drive, then a hike
led by a local guide, which is also possible on horseback (however
only in good weather, otherwise a different excursion). During
this hike we can observe the very rich fauna of the region, mainly guanacos, pampa hares, armadillos, foxes and a variety of birds.
Same overnight stay as previous day..
Day 18:
We travel in an easterly direction, where after 90 km, run onto
the legendary Ruta 40 southwards, through the vastness of
the Patagonian steppes, until reaching the estancia La Angostura,
where we stay for one night.
Distance covered: 230
km gravel.
 Day 19:
Returning to Ruta 40, southwards, then along Viedma lake
towards the mountains, we reach El Chaltén. This brand new
site is the starting point of all expeditions to the renowned
peaks of Fitz Roy and Torre.
Overnight stay at hostería.
Drive distance: 270 km
gravel and paved road.
Day 20:
Hiking tour to Laguna de los Tres, at the foot of Cerro Fitz
Roy, the most famous peak of the southern -Patagonian Andes.
For three hours we wander through wonderful forest and mountain
landscapes until we reach the base camp Rio Blanco, with
Cerro Fitz Roy and neighboring granite peaks always in sight. We
then set out on a continuous and steep one-hour climb up the
moraine until we reach Laguna de los Tres, directly in front
of Cerro Fitz Roy, a grandiose observation point of the impressive
Fitz Roy.
Easy 6-7 hour hiking, which may also be interrupted after
a maximum of 2 hours hiking, specially considering that from this
point on hikers will be feasted with incredible panoramas of
the mountains.
Overnight stay same as previous day.
Day 21:
Hiking to Laguna Torre, at the foot of legendary Cerro Torre,
one of the most demanding mountaineering targets worldwide. Its
1400m high steep walls of flat granite are proof of this,
the climate being the main factor, which is why mountaineers must
often wait for months before the final assault can be made. The
suggested hike extends only to Laguna Torre which lies directly
at the foot of the mountain. From here one has breathtaking
views of a series of windswept granite spires and huge glaciers.
At the afternoon drive to El Calafate.
Overnight stay at estancia
Huyliche.
Distance covered: 220km
gravel and pavement
Day 22:
Day tour by boat, visiting the Upsala, Onelli and Spegazzini
glaciers. Countless house sized ice blocks are floating in the
huge Argentino lake.
Overnight stay same as previous day..
Day 23:
Tour to the Perito Moreno glacier, unquestionably one of
the greatest attractions Patagonia can offer. From terrace vantage
points directly opposite the glacier face, one can observe the thundering
breaking off of ice blocks crashing down into the waters of
the vast Lago Argentino below. At the afternoon flight back to
Buenos Aires, transfer to the hotel.
Optional: tango-show in typical tango bar in San Telmo.
Overnight stay at Wilton Palace hotel.
Day 24: Transfer to the international airport and departure
flight.
Price: contact
us! (min. 6 participants) Domestic flights total approx.
EUR 190 (additional) Extra daily costs (lunch and evening meals)
approx. u$d 20.
Includes: Accommodation in double or triple bed rooms
with private bathroom, breakfast included. Tour in minibus Mercedes
Sprinter with driver and bilingual tour conductor. All fuel costs.
Local guides in Bariloche, to the San Lorenzo base camp and to the
cave paintings. Boat excursion on Argentino lake to the glaciers.
Flight over the Northern icecap to Laguna San Rafael. National park
entrance fees. City tour in Buenos Aires. Transfers from/to airports
in Buenos Aires.
Not Included: flights, airport
taxes, optional excursion and activities, insurance, medical insurance,
extras, not specified meals, extras tips and gratitude to the guides.
If this
tour is not what you expected and you are looking for a different
itinerary or activities, please check our tailor-made trip offer,
clicking
here
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San Carlos de Bariloche
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