Torres del Paine, Perito Moreno, Ushuaia and Cruise
11 Days / 10 Nights - Per person on a double basis - Code CTV033
Day 1: Punta Arenas - Puerto Natales
(we recommend the first flight to reach Punta Arenas before 12:00 hrs.). Reception at the Punta Arenas airport. City tour. Return to Punta Arenas. Transfer to bus station in Punta Arenas to take a regular bus to Puerto Natales. (249 km / 03 hours of trip). Arrival to the city of Puerto Natales. Lodging.
Day 2: Puerto Natales - Torres del Paine
Breakfast. Departure from 07.30 am from your hotel to begin a day long excursion that will take you to the impressive Natural Monument “Milodon Cave” and, later on the day, to the Torres del Paine National Park, where you will be welcomed by a beautiful panoramic of the Paine mountains. You will also be able to admire lakes, such as Sarmiento, Nordenskjold and Pehoe. Its rich fauna will be present through guanacos and foxes, and other animals, as well as dozens of species of birds, which you can easily see and photograph on the way there. A short walk will take you to the Salto Grande, a marvelous waterfall. Then, taking the main road again, you will be able to see the administrative office of CONAF, and then continue the trip to Grey Lake, where you can walk through a millenary forest that ends by a beach that shows the huge ice blocks that get detached from the even more impressive glaciers. Lunch included. Lodging in Torres del Paine.
Day 3: Torres del Paine
Breakfast. Day off. Lodging in Torres del Paine.
Day 4: Torres del Paine - Perito Moreno Glacier - Calafate
Breakfast. Early exit to begin an excursion to the famous Glacier Perito Moreno, located in Argentino Lake, the only glacier in the world that continues to advance and offers the most beautiful display of nature when ice blocks detach from it and fall into the lake below. The huge ice mass has 195 km2, a frontal wall of 2.500 mts. and over 60 meters of height. Of the 356 glaciers found in "Los Glaciares National Park", Perito Moreno is the most famous and known world-wide. Ride to the bus terminal and then to your hotel. Accommodations in El Calafate.
Day 5: Calafate
Breakfast. Departure to the Ice River excursion with box lunch and entrance fee included. The embarkation time in the private port of Punta Bandera (47 kms away from the El Calafate city) will be at 08:30 am and the starting time will be at 09:00 am after passenger will be informed about security and sailing conditions. Once onboard, we will sail through the Northern side of the Argentino Lake until we get the Upsala Channel, where we meet the Ice Block. From there we will enjoy a panoramic view of the Upsala Glacier. After that, we will sail the Spegazzi Channel where we will see the Seco Glacier. until we get to the Spegazzi Glacier, the highest glacier in the National Park. Return to the private port of Punta Bandera at 2:00 pm. Afternoon at leisure.
Day 6: Calafate - Ushuaia
Continental breakfast. Ride from the hotel to the airport in Calafate.
Receptin at the Ushuaia airport and ride to the hotel. In the afternoon, tour around the city to visit the Museum at the End of the World. Lodging in Ushuaia. Air ticket are not included.
Day 7: Ushuaia
Breakfast. Departure to Tierra del Fuego National Park, located only 12 kilometers away from the city. There, you can see several species of andes-Patagonia forest, spread on 63.000 hectares. Before going into the National Park, we will ride on the End of the World Train to experience an unforgettable ride down the original railway that used to move, until 1947, the train that took prisoners to the jail in Ushuaia. The greatest attraction in the park is Lapataia Bay, the most southern point in the American continent, where you can see the wonders of the Beagle Channel. Return to hotel. Lodging in Ushuaia.
Day 8: Ushuaia – Cape Horn
Breakfast at the hotel and transfer to the offices of Cruises Australis in Ushuaia. Check in at San Martín 245, Ushuaia, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Australis Cruise ship boarding from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Captain and crew give a welcome cocktail reception on board. Immediately afterward, the ship departs for “the uttermost part of the earth.” Our excursion will take us through Beagle Channel and the Strait of Magellan to explore one of the most captivating wilderness regions in the world: Southern Patagonia, and Tierra del Fuego.
Day 9: Cape Horn - Wulaia Bay
We sail through Beagle and Murray channels to reach and disembark in Cape Horn National Park (weather permitting). Cape Horn, on Hornos Island, is a sheer, 425-meter (1,394-foot) high rocky promontory. This mythical place is known as the “End of the Earth”; a visit is a singular privilege. The park was declared a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in June 2005. In the afternoon, we go ashore in historic Wulaia Bay, once the site of one of the region’s largest aboriginal settlements. This area is also renowned for the mesmerizing beauty of its vegetation and geography. We walk through a Magellanic forest of Lengas, Coigües, Canelos, ferns and other native vegetation to reach a lookout point.
Day 10: Gunther Plüschow Glacier
In the afternoon, we view awe-inspiring Gunther Plüschow Glacier, named after the region’s pioneering German aviator. Then we sail to Chico Sound, where we disembark in Zodiacs to observe majestic Piloto and Nena glaciers.
Day 11: Magdalena Island - Punta Arenas
Early in the morning, we go ashore on Magdalena Island, the home of an immense colony of more than 120,000 Magellanic Penguins that we can watch during our walk to a lighthouse, which guides ships on their way through the Strait of Magellan. The island’s penguins migrate in April; as a replacement we visit Marta Island, to observe a sea lion colony. After our visit, we sail to Punta Arenas, disembarking at 11:30 a.m.
End of the services.