The Nevado tour - Santiago, lake district and Torres del Paine
Regular departures from the UK
Duration - 17 days, 14 nights
Santiago 1 night, Pucón 2n, Puerto Varas 2n, Bariloche 2n, El Calafate 3n, Torres del Paine 3n, Santiago 1n.
Itinerary
Day 1 Depart from the UK.
Day 2 Arrive Santiago, rest of the day at leisure.
Days 3&4 Fly and drive south to lakeside Pucón. Half-day excursion to the sylvan landscape surrounding this pleasant resort.
Day 5 Drive to Puerto Varas in the shadow of Volcán Osorno’s perfect cone.
Day 6 At leisure.
Day 7 A full day’s journey by road and boat, crossing the Andes via a series of crystal clear lakes defined by the towering snow-capped volcanoes on their fringes (in low season, overnight in Peulla en route). Arrive Bariloche in Argentina.
Day 8 Free day to explore and make optional excursions into the mountains of Nahual Huapi National Park (walks and riding in summer, skiing in winter).
Day 9 Fly to El Calafate in Patagonia.
Day 10 Full day excursion to Perito Moreno Glacier, where you can observe the calving of tower block-sized shards of ice.
Day 11 At leisure in El Calafate, optional excursions available.
Day 12 Drive back across the border into Chile to Torres del Paine National Park. Three nights based at a comfortable hotel.
Days 13-14 Explore Torres del Paine National Park.
Day 15 Drive to Punta Arenas airport for your flight to Santiago. Overnight.
Day 16 Fly to the UK arriving day 17.
Crossing the Andes to Argentina - the alternatives
The icy peaks of the Andes may seem like an impenetrable wall separating Chile and Argentina but there are several passes which you can traverse in a day by road, boat, and even on horseback.
- The most northerly crossing is the high altitude road from San Pedro in the Atacama desert to Salta in north-west Argentina.
- Drive from Santiago to Mendoza, centre of the Argentine wine district and the Colchagua Valley, a compellingly scenic route and the shortest.
- The most southerly and most dramatic route connects Torres del Paine National Park in Chile with El Calafate in Argentina’s Parque Nacional de los Glaciares or route by sea via Cape Horn on the Australis cruise.
The above optional excursions may dovetail into the existing 14 night itinerary, or require extra nights. | 
|