Passage to Patagonia

13 days from £1,849

Did you think a visit to these dramatic glaciers and icy Andean peaks would be just too far, too expensive? We give you the chance to experience this amazing wilderness landscape, just north of Antarctica, at an affordable price.Contrast the vibrant energy of two of Latin America’s greatest capitals with the wilderness landscapes of Andean Patagonia in the far south of Chile and Argentina.

Suggested holiday itinerary (flexible)

Day 1:Fly to Santiago arriving the following day.. Your hotel in Santiago is the bright and modern Torremayor, in the ritzy Providencia district of the Chilean capital.

Days 3-5  Fly to Punta Arenas, on the southernmost tip of Chilean Patagonia and continue by scenic road - via a stop at the cave of the Milodon (megalithic giant sloth) - to Torres del Paine National Park. This is one of the most staggeringly beautiful protected areas on the continent, if not in the world, with towering, jagged mountain peaks sliced through by blue-tinged glaciers, iceberg-dotted turquoise lakes, wind-bent trees speckled over grasslands grazed by guanacos and prowled by fox and puma. You might even spot a condor here off season.

You will stay full-board in at the Eco Camp, with warm and cosy, fully-furnished domed tents with en suite facilities right in the heart of the Park, in contact with nature (gaze at the stars through the ceiling window) but insulated from the vagaries of the weather. Over 2 days there are gentle guided hikes, boat rides, trips to waterfalls and gem-clear lagoons and glaciers, culminating in a well-deserved Patagonian lamb barbeque.

Eco-Camp's Chilean owners have impressed us with their highly commended approach to responsible tourism built upon 15 years of experience. It’s Eco-Camp’s policy to employ Chilean guides as much as possible. It’s the only property in the National Park without a permanent structure, meaning that its long-term impact on the landscape is minimal. Your igloo is comfortable but with due consideration to the environment: electricity is solar-powered and waste is disposed of by a composting system. 

Day 6: It’s a magnificent trans-Andean road journey (by local bus) across remote wilderness over the border into Argentina, where the mountain scenery is equally staggering and where the lakes and glaciers are on an even larger scale. Stay at Hotel Sierra Nevada, a bright and modern lodge on the edge of the lakeside resort of El Calafate.

Day 7: A definite highlight if your trip – an excursion in Los Glaciares National Park to the Perito Moreno glacier, where you get right up close to the towering walls from which giant shards of ice the size of tower blocks thunder into the waters below.

Day 8: At leisure –  optional excursion by catamaran to Estancia Cristina, an isolated former ranch founded almost a century ago by English pioneers. You may catch a glimpse of the magnificent Upsala glacier en route.

Days  9-11: Fly to Buenos Aires, the continent’s most elegant and cosmopolitan city and stay at the centrally located Tanguero. You have 2 days to explore the imposing colonial centre, the antiques and tango bar quarter of San Telmo, the flamboyant Italian-influenced La Boca and the cemetery of Recoleta, resting place of Eva Peron. Breakfast included.

Day 12: Depart for your flight home.arriving day 13.