El Calafate, Torres del Paine & Ushuaia

Upon arrival, we will transfer you from El Calafate airport to your accommodation for the night. The rest of the day is at leisure to visit the city or choose any optional excursion that this incredible place has to offer us.

Optional Excursion: Nativo Experience, Lakes and Caverns

Ideal for the day of arrival or departure, this excursion takes you on a 4x4 along the coast of Lake Argentino. Rediscover the stories of the first expeditions and the people who ventured into the unknown. Between the cliffs and overlooking the Andes Mountains, the tour focuses on the first contact between the expeditioners and the natives, and their entry to the Tehuelche world. On the banks of the lakes are caves where cultures left their marks thousands of years ago. The excursion culminates in another cave where lunch or dinner is included.

Today, we will be exploring the Moreno glacier – the only glacier in the world that shows a closure and rupture process. The road leads to the front of the glacier, only meters away from your eyes. The roar of the ice chunks falling inside the glacier or from the glacier into the lake makes for a unique experience.

Then, we will head up to “Bajo de las Sombras” from where, we will board the catamaran boat to navigate the Lago Rico for views of Perito Moreno Glacier ice wall and its icebergs. After that, we go back to our accommodation in El Calafate.

Optional Excursion Recommended: Minitrekking - Ice Trek on Perito Moreno Glacier

Optional Dinner Experience: Rancho a Parte Restaurant

Rancho Aparte experience allows you to savor home-cooked meal in a warm and friendly atmosphere. The menu is accompanied with a selection of wine pairings from Argentine and Patagonian wineries. We have four fixed menus; two of them "traditional", based on regional cuisine and local products. The other two menus are "vegetarians or vegans", designed for those who can enjoy the local experience, where most of the ingredients are selected from organic farms in the area.

Enjoy leisure day in El Calafate today. You are free to explore around on your own or choose any of the optional excursions that El Calafate has to offer. Our suggestion is to take a full day El Chalten tour, a picturesque village at the foot of Mount Fitz Roy.

Optional Excursion Recommended: Full Day El Chalten

The excursion begins at 7.00 AM from El Calafate. We take Route 40 that goes along the Argentino Lake up to La Leona River. We will pass by the canyon with the same name, Cañadón La Leona, and after a 1.15-hour ride, we will arrive to the ancient route hotel "La Leona", almost a museum of the Route 40, where you can have coffee and cakes.

Our trip continues along Lake Viedma. Here, we can enjoy amazing views of glaciers, hidden lakes and the overpowering presence of the Mount Fitz Roy. We will make some photo stops at the viewpoint of the Viedma Glacier and Lake and after a 3-hour ride, we will arrive to an Andean village called “The Capital of the Trekking”. As soon as we arrive at El Chalten, we make another stop at the National Park Interpretation Centre. Once at Chalten, the activities will continue according to the option booked.

After breakfast, we transfer to the bus station to take our bus to Puerto Natales in Chile. We will cross the border and upon arrival, a transfer will be waiting for us in the bus station to take us to our hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure.

Today, we will explore Torres del Paine National Park – a UNESCO World Heritage site. We will visit the Mirador del Lago Sarmiento de Gamboa, Saltos del Rio Paine, Upper Mirador Cerro Almirante Nieto, Cuernos del Paine and the entrance of Laguna Amarga.

Upon arrival in Torres del Paine National Park, we will walk by different trekking trails. Accompanied by our local experts, we will continue exploring the southernmost part of Patagonia, discover its native flora and fauna. Then, we return to Puerto Natales.

Optional adventure activity: Trek to viewpoint las Torres in Torres del Paine National Park

We will leave Puerto Natales and head north towards Torres del Paine National Park. After a 2-hour trip, we will reach the Estancia Torres del Paine – the starting point of our hike. Before beginning the hike, our guide will provide a short presentation about the trek. Then, we will head on the trail and cross the Asencio River. After about an hour, we will rach El Chileno Campsite.

We will make a short stop and continue our journey to the next lookout point at an altitude of 700 meters. From here, the trail gets steeper. About half an hour later, we will reach Las Torres Base from the eastern side of the lagoon. Enjoy stunning views of the three towers (Central, Monzino, and Dagostini) and the Peineta and Nido de Cóndores Mountains. We will rest for a while before returning back. After we reach the starting point, we will drive back to Puerto Natales via vehicle.

Note: Reaching the Las Torres Base lookout point depends on the physical conditions of the participants and current weather conditions. No refunds will be given in the event that a participant is not able to reach the lookout point due to the aforementioned reasons.

Enjoy leisure day in Puerto Natales. In the afternoon, we will transfer you to the bus station for your ride to Punta Arenas where we will spend the night before we start our journey to Ushuaia.

Optional Excursion: Balmaseda and Serrano Navigation

The trip will start in Puerto Natales and on our way, we can see the buildings that belongs to “Frigorífico Bories”, one of the biggest meat industries in Patagonia. You can also observe an imperial cormorant colony, a small sea-lions colony and a huge variety of plants that form the flora such as coigüe, cinnamon tree, lenga, ñirre and the calafate. Balmaceda Glacier can be seen from the boat while for Serrano Glacier, a 20 minutes’ walk is necessary. On our way back, we will have a typical Patagonian lunch at a farm in “Última Esperanza” bay.

At the indicated time, we will transfer you to Punta Arenas´s bus station for your bus to Ushuaia. Upon arrival, a transfer will be waiting for you to take you to your accommodation for the night.

After breakfast, we will head towards Alicia Island, where you will find a colony of South American sea lions. Then, we sail to Bird Island to watch king shags and imperial shags living close to their nests. Then, we head east towards another small island. Depending on the season, we can spot South American fur seals here. Very close to this island is Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse, an authentic symbol of Ushuaia, built in 1919. From there, we have a view of the island where rock shags live.

On our way back to Ushuaia, we disembark at Bridges Island to walk along a path for the interpretation of wildlife, while listening to the history of the native inhabitants, the Yamanas. On this island, we can find the largest Yamana's "concheros" (shelly deposits) of the region. As this is the largest island, we reach the highest panoramic point from which we can enjoy amazing views of the Beagle Channel with the town of Ushuaia in the distance. During the trip, we offer coffee with liquor, different types of tea, a delicious hot chocolate with biscuits and cookies and, of course, the typical Argentine beverage, the mate.

Today we will leave the city of Ushuaia and head southwest. We will travel the national route No. 3, towards Tierra del Fuego National Park. After crossing the Pipo River bridge, next to the Ushuaia Golf Club, we will arrive at the station of the Austral Fueguino Railway, and onboard the End of the World Train.

Along the road surrounded by Lenga forests and peat bogs, we will arrive at Lake Acigami (formerly Lake Roca), a lake of glacial origin, framed by mountains and forests, where it is possible to spot specimens of native birds. The last section of the tour takes us to Bahía Lapataia, after crossing the cormorant archipelago, peat bogs and a visit to a beaver dam.

In Bahía Lapataia, in addition to the marine coast, rich in mollusks and mussels, we will find vestiges of the ancient aboriginal people that inhabited the region. There, we will have time to walk the walkway from which we can take pictures and enjoy the feeling of being at the end of the world. Then, we will return to our accommodation in Uhsuaia.

After breakfast, spend some time by visiting the town on your own. In the afternoon, we will transfer you to Ushuaia airport or the port.