Patagonia Hiking, Kayaking, and Glamping Multisport

After you land, you’ll be driven into our loving arms via private transfer. Your only job today is to arrive at our rendezvous hotel in the small fjord-side town of Puerto Natales and prepare for our delicious Welcome Dinner.

Accommodation: Hotel, Puerto Natales
Meals: D

After a delicious breakfast, we’ll board the trusty SHE-nanigan Shuttle through Chilean Pampas grasslands to our rugged home for the next five days. Torres del Paine National Park is a crown jewel of public land – bursting with mountains, glaciers, pristine lakes and winding rivers.

Paine (pronounced “PIE-neh”) is the native Tehuelche word for blue and Torres is the Spanish word for towers. So yeah, you aren’t going to need your fancy Insta filters.

Our first stop will be one of the most beautiful Estancias in the area. These large, private plots of land used for farming or raising livestock are a huge part of Patagonian culture, and we will be exploring several on your adventure!

Today’s Estancia is a massive working cattle ranch that dates back to the early 20th century. These bovines get to live their best lives roaming and munching amidst amazing views of Paine Massif and Laguna Verde.

Following our tour, we’ll hike through wildflowers and peer up at soaring condors as we take in panoramic views of Torres del Paine. The highest point of the trail connects to a rarely-trekked path from the Estancia to the Weber Bridge in the heart of the park.

Afterwards, we’ll march our buzzing bodies to our Glamping home for the next four nights, complete with a feastly meal inside our cozy dining lodge.

Transfer Time from Puerto Natales to Estancia: 90 mins
Transfer Time from Estancia to Camp: 90 mins
Hiking: 8.8 miles, 970’ gain, 5 hours

Accommodation: Riverside Glamping
Meals: B-L-D

After a plentiful breakfast, we’ll board our Shuttle for a quick 30 minute transfer to meet our professional kayaking guides on the shores of Grey Lake.

We’ll get the low-down on paddling 101 before slipping into the lake and two rivers. Our views of the magnificent Paine Massif will be so pristine, you’ll wonder if they’re Photoshopped. Speak the names of some of the most glorious peaks –Paine Grande, the Cordillera Olguin, and Los Cuernos.

Awaken new strength in your arms as you paddle through floes of ice that have descended from Glacier Grey, the namesake of these waters. These icebergs are scattered throughout the lake and have been sculpted into incredible shapes by the wind and sun, before being pushed to the shores of the lake.

After, we’ll descend into Grey River, which snakes through deep canyons with steep rock faces and rapids. Fear not, this is still a beginner-friendly paddle! We will continue on past the Paine Massif along the Grey River until it joins with the turquoise water of the Serrano.

After a day of paddling, we’ll arrive back at our Glampsite ready to rest our muscles, gorge our bellies and laugh like hyenas.

Transfer Time: 30 Minutes
Kayaking: 8-10 miles. 6 hours

Accommodation: Riverside Glamping
Meals: B-L-D

*To kayak, you must be under 250 pounds

It’s legs day, Explorer Chick! We’ll depart our camp at 9AM for a round-trip hike in the French Valley. Our loyal SHE-nanigan Shuttle will be waiting to escort us on a 45 minute transfer over a gravel road all the way to Pudeto Pier at Lake Pehoé.

Here we’ll take a 35 minute catamaran to the Paine Grande area. Our spectacular destination, the French Valley, is a natural basin surrounded by peaks and hanging glaciers. We’ll be greeted by a glacial moraine at the entrance and scramble over huge boulders to catch the first sight of the hanging glacier atop the valley. NBD, just being awesome over here.

We’ll ascend for an hour through a dreamlike Japanese garden landscape before arriving at the French Valley viewpoint aka the “Plateau”. Our reward is a heart-stirring condor’s view of MORE granite peaks and hanging glaciers. To one side, the French Glacier and Paine Grande (10,056′). To the other, La Espada, La Hoja, La Máscara and the main and north “horns” of Los Cuernos arching into the sky.

There are so many summits to spy here, it feels like attendance day in homeroom. Cerro Catedral? Here! Cerro Fortaleza? Here! These peaks loom like turrets above the landscape, and you’ll start to wonder if all the GOOD tectonic plates decided to migrate here.

We’ll scarf our chef-prepared organic box lunches at the viewpoint, surrounded by imposing peaks and open sky. Depending on the weather conditions and group vibe, we can continue to the Britanico Lookout which offers impressive 360 degree views.

We return the same way we came to enjoy a well-deserved dinner at camp.

Transfer Time to Pudeto Pier: 45 minutes
Catamaran to Paine Grande: 35 minutes
Hiking: 10 miles. 1,900’ gain. 8-9 hours

Accommodation: Riverside Glamping
Meals: B-L-D

Where are our Planet Earth nerds at?! Early in the morning after a hearty breakfast, we’ll hop on our Shuttle for an hour’s drive to meet with a local puma tracking guide. (It’s impossible to say that casually.) Our destination will depend on where the pumas were last spotted, but generally they are found near a nature trail along the border of Lago Sarmiento and Juncos Lagoon, about 45 minutes from the Riverside Glampsite. Board the van and get your cameras ready! We’ll alternate between driving and hiking on an easy/moderate trail where guanacos (cute puma food) are found.

If we spot a puma (or a family!) we will spend just enough time to take photos without disrupting their routine. We’ll continue to track these spectacular felines while hiking sectors of the park, making our way to Laguna Azul to creep on waterfowl preening and fishing in the wetlands.

We will be treated by exceptional views of Torres del Paine in the distance and the ever-changing Patagonia sky. After a dishy picnic lunch, we’ll make our way back to the Serrano sector to our camp. Dinner in the lodge is served before our last night’s rest in our Lotus Belle tents.

Guided Puma Tracking By Van: 4-5 Hours
Hiking Distance: 4-5 miles. 300’ gain. 3 hours

Accommodation: Riverside Glamping
Meals: B-L-D

Wave goodbye to camp! An early morning transfer to the Las Torres sector of the park is where we’ll begin our trek to the iconic Base of Las Torres.

Our initial climb follows the Ascencio River into the Ascencio Valley. After about an hour, we’ll stop to observe how the valley’s beauty unfolds with rich beech forests, glaciers and waterfalls. Past this lookout point, we continue uphill and through lush beech forests before ascending a gigantic terminal moraine, which is the ridge formed at a glacier’s end point. Here is where we witness the money shot of the three Towers themselves.

We’ll pause at this lookout point 2950’ above sea level, have a rest, take photos and snack like we’ve never snacked before. Our descent is along the same path, taking us back to our Shuttle which will take us onto our next two overnights.

Transfer Time to Las Torres: 2 hrs
Transfer Time to Cerro Guido: 45 mins
Hiking: 13 miles. 3,330’ gain. 8-9 hours

Accommodation: Estancia Lodging
Meals: B-L-D

Our gorgeous Estancia stay is actively protecting one of the most biodiverse regions in Patagonia. It is home to puma, the Colocolo cat, Geoffroy’s cat, birds of prey, and a host of other creatures, including armadillos, guanacos, caiquenes, skunks and woodpeckers.

We’ll learn more about the Estancia culture through a guided tour as well as the work of the Gauchos as we saddle up for our day’s adventure. We will ride on Criollo horses, a Patagonian breed that is highly adapted to the terrain – AND HIGHLY CUTE. These Criollo are lucky enough to roam wide-open pampas, green southern beech forests and the rugged coastline with a gaucho and our guide.

No previous horseback riding experience is needed, but this won’t be a slow pony ride! We will be riding guacha-style past native flora, fauna and an archaeological site.

After we give our Criollo a loving snout rub goodbye, we’ll settle in for a sheep shearing demonstration (compete with working dogs!) and enjoy a delicious traditional Patagonian barbeque aka asado at the Estancia. Life is good, mi Amiga.

Estancia Tour: 4-5 hours
Horseback Riding: 2-3 hours

Accommodation: Estancia Lodging
Meals: B-L-D

*To ride horseback, you must be under 200 pounds

Our last day is all about scenic drives, slow ambling and soaking in the memories of your adventure. After chowing down breakfast, we’ll hop aboard the SHE-nanigan Shuttle to Baguales River. This drive is stunning – zooming past the coastline of Puerto Natales and along several ranches.

When the road turns rural, keep an eye out for ñandus (Darwin’s Rhea), flamingos, skunks, foxes, a variety of birds and many iconic sheep as they graze the endless Patagonia landscapes.

We’ll go until the road runs out, ending at Las Cumbres, a very rustic Patagonian Estancia. We’ll begin a very pleasant trek along the eastern bank of the Baguales River following guanaco tracks through the rolling hills. Our gentle walk leads us to an amazing landscape made up of green valleys surrounded by mountain peaks that were built by lava flows.

Just when you think your eyeballs can’t take anymore, we’ll come across a secret lagoon called Rodas, which is hidden by red rock cliffs. Here we’ll rest and peer down at wild trout as they swim through the algae.

We’ll return along the same trail to meet our Shuttle at the outpost, which will take us back to Puerto Natales for the evening. Prepare for an epic, boisterous, super emo farewell dinner.

Transfer Time to Baguales: 1 hour
Transfer Time from Baguales to Puerto Natales: 1.5 hours
Hiking: 5 miles. Minimal gains. 4-5 hours

Accommodation: Hotel, Puerto Natales
Meals: B-L-D

Enjoy one last breakfast together before parting ways. We will provide a final chauffeur in the SHE-nanigan Shuttle to Puerto Natales because we just can’t let go.

You can schedule your departure anytime today.

Transfer Time: 10 mins
Meals: B

Explorer Chick reserves the option to modify trip itineraries at the discretion of your tour manager as necessary due to weather, conditions, illness, injury, group dynamics, safety, or other unforeseen incidents.