Discover, Plan & Go!

Day 1 (Santiago, Puerto Montt, Parque Pumalín) From Santiago, hop a charter flight to Chaiten, then drive through lush temperate rain forest to Caleta Gonzalo, our accommodations for the next two nights. This afternoon we trek to an impressive waterfall in Parque Pumalín, a nature reserve about the size of Yosemite National Park. Parque Pumalín is about 98 percent wilderness, with the rest in small farms which produce cheese, honey, organic produce, and wool handicrafts.

Day 2 (Parque Pumalín) After breakfast we take a fast boat up the gulf waters past a sea lion rookery to a village where we visit a farming family that produces honey and organic produce. After our local tour, we hike to Leptepu, where we hop another boat to Porcelana Hot Springs and the Vodudahue Valley, before circling back to Caleta Gonzalo.

Day 3 (Puyuhuapi, Dorita Bay) After an early breakfast, we drive to the village of Puyuhuapi, stopping along the way for a short walk through a forest of ancient alerce trees, and a hike toward the Yelcho Glacier. At Puyuhuapi, a small boat escorts us across a fjord to our spa lodgings, set at the edge of the temperate rain forest on a tranquil inlet.

Days 4-9 (Estancia de los Rios) After leaving Termas de Puyuhuapi this morning, we stop at a salmon farm on the fjord, then, it’s straight to Estancia de los Rios, where we have six incredible days to put down a few roots at this historic, 360,000-acre private working ranch. Fill your days as you wish. Explore the estancia on horseback with gauchos, fly-fish in solitude on a variety of waters, from Rio Cisnes to spring creeks. Go birding down by the river, and meet with the ranch manager to learn about ranch operations. Most of all, relax and enjoy the first-class accommodations, great meals, and wonderful selection of local wines. Off the Beaten Path’s long-term relationship with the estancia has led to a special invitation for our group to walk into a small gaucho camp to share lunch and a visit with a family living a largely subsistence lifestyle.

Day 10 (Estancia de los Rios, Coyhaique) On your last day at Estancia de los Rios (or your first day, if you travel on the second departure), experience the annual La Tapera Gaucho Festival. This is a local rodeo event and social gathering for the people who live on remote estancias in the region, and we’re likely to be the only gringos there. Unlike American rodeos, you won’t see any horse trailers—gauchos and their families ride to the fiesta.

Day 11 (Balmaceda and homeward) Drive a short distance from Coyhaique to Balmaceda to begin your return trip home.