Cruises

The calm of its 170 Km2 that forms the lagoon, with floating icebergs and the snowstorm with its constants and uproarious ice loosenings of thousands of years, are the main attractive of the route. On board from our zodiac boats, will leave for the still more near encounter of the San Rafael snowstorm and the numerous icebergs that float around it. At the end of the excursion you will be able to enjoy an exquisite Whisky with millenarian ice that dates from more than 20,000 years.

Day 1 Santiago-Balmaceda- Puerto Chacabuco: Reception at Balmaceda Airport and transfer to Hotel Loberias del Sur, located in Puerto Chacabuco. To get there you will go across part of the Austral Road, which goes through Llanquihue and Palena provinces, on the side of the continent, up to Aysen region, passing by the beautiful city of Coyhaique. On the ride to the hotel, you will have the opportunity to appreciate a small sample of this astonishing landscape that makes part of these latitudes, as we will cross the Andes mountain range through the Chilean Patagonia.

Arrival to Hotel Loberias del Sur having the beautiful bay of Puerto Chacabuco as scenery. You will stay three nights in the hotel.

At nightfall a Welcome Dinner will be offered in the hotel, including appetizers, main course, dessert and coffee.

Day 2 Laguna San Rafael: At 8:00 a.m. you will take part of an unforgettable trip on board of a catamaran that will take you across islands, channels, and fiords inside unimaginable scenery until reaching the marvelous Laguna San Rafael at about 2:00 p.m. The main tour attraction is the peacefulness of this lagoon with a surface of 170 square kilometers, floes and snowdrifts letting millenary ice rocks fall down constantly and thunderously. Then on board of a zodiac you will get in closer contact with San Rafael snowdrift and a number of floes moving around. Upon the end of the excursion you will taste a whisky on the rocks with cubes of ice being more than 20,000 years old. You will stay there for 2 - 3 hours and then will go back to Puerto Chacabuco, where you will be at about 9:00 p.m. Back in the hotel, you will enjoy a refreshing relax time after a long day full of magic and unforgettable emotions.

Day 3 Visit to Aiken del Sur private Park At 10:00 a.m. in the morning a bus will take you from Hotel Loberias del Sur to the Aiken del Sur Private Park across a landscape of unique beauty in the Patagonia. You will start there an excursion combining adventure, close contact with Patagonian virgin nature, emotion, and the tasteful local food (Patagonian barbecues).

The Aiken del Sur Park offers natural beauties such as the area on the shore of Lago Riesco. The lake has a surface of 14 km2, quiet and blue crystal clear waters; a waterfall 22 meters high; native woodlands with perennial species, annual plants, humid species such as a ferns, some of them first found in Chile, moss and liverworts; widespread prairies where aged myrtles and tepa trees as chilco and calafate mix together; taro and mallin plants; swamp lands.

The park has been adequately implemented for providing comfort to visitors. It consists of:

*Visitors' Center equipped with sanitary services for women, men, and impaired people, a first aid room, handicraft shop and interactive exhibitions giving information on local flora, fauna and anthropology. Visitors will be hosted by bilingual guides who will escort them all over the visit.

*Three natural properly paved footpaths with catwalks, fencing, bridges, observatory points, and resting places that will give information on the biogeographical history of each place by means of educational stations. There you will enjoy the wonderful sceneries of the lake, river and hills that make up the Andes mountain range in the Patagonia. You will also have the opportunity to hear the singing of some of local birds such as Chucao and Hueta birds.

*A Quincho, which is a typical Patagonian lounge, with capacity for over 140 people consisting of a main fireplace for preparing the traditional "Patagonian Lamb Barbecue" and a bar for tasting a pisco sour reception toast and the finest Chilean wines. This location also has sanitary services for women, men and impaired people and a local handicraft shop as well.

*The lunch (barbecue) to be served at the Quincho lounge will be cheered up by a local folk group. After lunch, visitors may have a rest or walk across the other two footpaths in the park, which have a low difficulty. Later on a previously agreed time, visitors will be taken back to the hotel for relaxing after a long day full of unforgettable experiences and adventures. At nightfall you can taste a pleasant dinner, which is a proper opportunity for talking about the day's adventures; all this accompanied by the best seafood and finest wines.

*The lunch (barbecue) to be served at the Quincho lounge will be cheered up by a local folk group. After lunch, visitors may have a rest or walk across the other two footpaths in the park, which have a low difficulty. Later on a previously agreed time, visitors will be taken back to the hotel for relaxing after a long day full of unforgettable experiences and adventures. At nightfall you can taste a pleasant dinner, which is a proper opportunity for talking about the day's adventures; all this accompanied by the best seafood and finest wines.

Day 4 Optional Excursion After an abundant breakfast at the hotel, visitors may choose one of the three following excursion:

-Horse riding across the valley of Rio Simpson, approximately one hour away from the hotel on the way to Coyhaique. Amid a spectacular landscape in Simpson valley we arrive at a typical Patagonian hacienda where a guided tour will be made to visit the mansion house and accommodation houses which have been preserved exactly as they were built. After visiting the house and nearby area, a box lunch will be served, which includes from pisco sour to coffee. After lunch, the group will go through the hacienda on horseback amid unforgettable autochthonous woodlands, rivers and landscapes. The tour takes about three hours, including some stops for eating snacks and relaxing. Flora and fauna is impressive and visitors will be able to watch any species of birds, rabbits, hares and other local animals.

-Fishing on Simpson River, approximately one hour away from the hotel on the way to Coyhaique. Amid a spectacular landscape in Simpson valley we arrive at a typical Patagonian hacienda where a guided tour will be made to visit the mansion house and accommodation houses which have been preserved exactly as they were built. After visiting the house and nearby area, a box lunch will be served, which includes from pisco sour to coffee. After lunch, the guides will take fishermen to a specific fishing place starting at Simpson river. Fishermen will be provided with fishing rods, flies, fishhooks, clothing and will be trained on the technique for fly fishing or trolling. Over the excursion that may take about three hours, a pause will taken for having a snack or relaxing (fishing must be always carried out in the afternoon).

Day 5 Trip Back to SantiagoAfter a well-deserved night rest in the comfortable guestrooms at Hotel Lober�as del Sur and a breakfast, visitors will be taken to Balmaceda Airport for the flight back to Santiago.