Patagonia Hiking & Walking Tour

Overview

Welcome to Patagonia! Your guides will meet you at 9:00 AM in the lobby of Mirador del Lago. After introductions and a 90-minute drive across the windswept Patagonian steppe, stretch your legs along the glacial shores of Lake Argentino, the largest lake in Argentina, its waters a distinctive milky turquoise fed by the ice fields above. After a short walk, sit down to a picnic lunch at a local estancia—a traditional Patagonian ranch. Then it's back in the van for another 90-minute drive to El Chaltén, where you'll set out on an afternoon hike to the Cóndores and Águilas viewpoints. The trail climbs above town to wide-open views of the steppe, Lake Viedma, and the first real sense of the scale of this landscape, with Andean condors riding the thermals overhead if the conditions are right. Tonight, unwind with a social hour as your guides welcome you to the region, then dine at the hotel restaurant as the light fades behind the peaks.

Overview

Wake to the crisp mountain air of El Chaltén and lace up for one of Argentina's most celebrated hikes. The trail to Laguna Capri rises gently from the Río de las Vueltas valley through native lenga beech forest, a species found only in southern South America, before opening onto the lagoon's shore. On a calm day, the full Fitz Roy massif reflects in the still blue water, the granite spires rising some 11,000 feet above sea level from the valley floor. Here you’ll pause on the small shingle beach, lunch in hand, before descending back to town. The evening is yours to explore El Chaltén's restaurants and craft breweries at your own pace.

Overview

Today belongs to the trail. We’ll set out early for the longest hike of the trip as you head towards Laguna Torre. The path follows the Fitz Roy River through a dramatic canyon laced with waterfalls, then opens into a broad glacial valley leading to De Agostini Base Camp. At the lagoon's edge, icebergs drift silently below the vertical needle of Cerro Torre, a sight that defines this corner of Patagonia. You'll have lunch trailside with that backdrop in full view. Back in town, unwind at the hotel before heading out for dinner, rich in Patagonian flavors and a fitting end to a great day on the trail.

Overview

Say goodbye to El Chaltén and head south across the Patagonian steppe, Fitz Roy slowly fading behind you. After 90 minutes on the road, we’ll stop to explore the La Leona Petrified Forest, a sprawling site where massive fossilized logs, some over three feet wide, lie scattered across an open landscape that hasn't changed much in millions of years. A packed lunch keeps you fueled as you take in this prehistoric terrain. Another 90-minute drive brings you to El Calafate, where you'll settle into a lakefront room at the Mirador del Lago overlooking Lake Argentino. We'll gather for dinner at a local restaurant to close out the day.

Overview

Your morning coffee comes with sweeping views of Lake Argentino before heading into Los Glaciares National Park for one of the most remarkable days of the trip. After a 90-minute shuttle, you'll arrive at an estancia, where a sheep-shearing demonstration sets the scene before an asado—the traditional open-fire barbecue of the region—paired with local wines. After lunch, a short boat crossing of the Brazo Rico brings you to the far shore, where a walk through lenga forest leads to a glacier viewpoint few visitors reach. You'll then sail along the south face of Perito Moreno Glacier, one of the world's great living glaciers, its ice wall rising more than 200 feet from the water. The day closes at the walkways, where the deep cracking sounds of the glacier surround you as you stand face-to-face with the ice. Back at Mirador del Lago after an hour-long shuttle, dinner is on your own. Venture out with your guides' restaurant recommendations in hand.

Overview

Following breakfast, you leave Argentina behind and head west toward Chile. A five-hour transfer from El Calafate brings you to the border crossing at Cerro Castillo, where the open steppe gives way to the jagged granite silhouettes of the Paine massif. You'll reach the border at midday, where we will pause for lunch. From there, a two-and-a-half-hour drive takes you deeper into the park, broken up by stops at various viewpoints along the way. We'll hike to Mirador Cuernos, where the towers of the Cuernos del Paine rise above the turquoise lakes below. You'll then check into the Rio Serrano Hotel & Spa as the Paine massif fills the windows, before sitting down as a group for our first Chilean dinner.

Overview

Today's hike is one of the great walks of South America. You'll follow a section of the W Trek deep into the French Valley, where hanging glaciers cling to sheer granite walls and waterfalls thunder through native forest into the valley below. A forty-five-minute shuttle and thirty-minute ferry ride across the lake bring you to the trailhead, and from there the path climbs steadily into the heart of one of Patagonia's most dramatic landscapes. With lunch in your pack, you'll push deeper into the valley until those towering granite walls rise on either side and glaciers spill from the ridgeline above, a setting that few places on earth can match. Retrace your steps back to the trailhead, where the ferry and shuttle return you to the Rio Serrano Hotel & Spa and a well-earned dinner waiting at the end of an extraordinary day.

Overview

Savor one last breakfast with the Paine massif in full view before leaving Torres del Paine behind. A one-hour shuttle brings you to Estancia Ernesto Helmer at the base of Cerro Benítez, where you'll set off on a trail through towering Magellanic forest—the ancient woodland of the far south—and open terrain with long views across the steppe. The path leads into ancient caves where 3,500-year-old rock paintings still mark the walls. From there, a short drive brings you to The Singular Patagonia, a refined retreat set in a restored 1915 industrial building overlooking the Fjord of Last Hope Sound. Spend the afternoon at their expansive eco-spa before the group gathers for a social hour to raise a glass to an incredible week in Patagonia, followed by a final celebratory dinner overlooking the water.

Overview

Wake to the fjord outside your window one last time, then head into Puerto Natales, a town the first European sailor to chart these waters named Última Esperanza, or Last Hope. Your guide leads you along the restored waterfront, through the main square, past the church, and into the Historical Museum, where the story of the wool-trade port founded in 1911 comes to life. Stop by the artisan fishermen's dock, then take free time for souvenirs or a final café con leche before heading back to the hotel to check out. Your guides will see you off at Puerto Natales Airport, a fifteen-minute shuttle away, closing out nine days across two countries and the wild edge of South America.