Best Of Patagonia & Chile

Welcome to Santiago, the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the biggest cities in the Americas. It is situated smack bang in the center of Santiago Metropolitan Region, which is Chile most densely populated region, with a population of 7 million. Filling the country’s central valley, was founded in 1541 by the Spanish conquistador Pedro de Valdivia, Santiago is rare among South American capital cities in that it has served as the capital city since the colonial occupation.

Downtown and central Santiago is largely made-up of 19th-century neoclassical architecture and winding side-streets, but has smatterings of art-deco and neo-gothic architecture, amongst others. Like many cities in along the Western confines of the continent, Santiago is surrounded by hills as the Andes begin to rise behind it. The main river in the city is the fast-flowing Mapocho River, and Santiago is known in South America for being modern, organized, and very safe, as well as a clean, prosperous city with important financial and industrial clout in South America.

Upon arrival in Chile, you will be picked up at the airport and taken to your hotel.

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On this wonderful tour, we will experience Santiago guided by our senses. Our first stop is a visit to the historic Santa Lucía Hill, the oldest part of the city and a spectacular steep rock that is adorned with wonderful facades, fountains, stairways, and where the city was founded in 1541. From there we head on to the París-Londres neighborhood where we will find examples of famous European architecture showing the heavy influence of the people that founded the city. Our next stop is at one of the cities’ many “café con piernas”. Unique to Santiago and its culture, we pass a moment sipping coffee at one of these famous cafes. 

From there we embark on a tour of some of the most popular streets in the city as our guide fills you in on the history of this fine city and even gives you a chance to browse the bustling commercial areas. Our next stop is the Central Market of Santiago, which is known throughout South America for its food stalls and exotic fish stores and also the Vega Chica Market which is a colorful market and home to the scents, flavors, and colors of Chile. Here we stop for a refreshment in the form of one of Chile’s most famous and traditional drinks – known locally as Cola de Mono. As we start to call it a day one of our final stops will be a renowned flower market filled with colorful displays and beautiful scents. Our last activity will be a tour of the cultural Lastarria Neighborhood, where we will find sights and sounds unique to this amazing city. 

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This morning we will enjoy our last breakfast in Santiago before a short trip to the airport and our flight to the next destination, Atacama.

Today you begin your stay at the beautiful Awasi Atacama Hotel. The first of two Awasi properties on your trip, this promises to be a fantastically luxurious stay at one of the finest hotels in South America. Allow us to think of everything, we include drinks and excursions, and these take the form of private daily explorations with an English-speaking guide, picnic if appropriate and a private 4×4 vehicle only for you. Over the course of your stay, you can choose excursions a la carte, and as such, the program listed in this itinerary is merely one combination and should be taken as an example of the different trips you can take. At night, please be sure to take advantage of the fantastic Chilean wines that are included in your package. 

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Possible excursions are as follows: San Pedro de Atacama is known as the archaeological capital of Chile. The settlement is very old, with the first settlers having stayed permanently over 2,500 years ago. On this excursion, you will be able to visit the town square and the church, both places representative of the village, and the two major archaeological sites of San Pedro: the Pukará de Quitor, a tenth-century fort built with mud and white volcanic rock, and the village of Tulor, built with adobe in curved and organic forms, with an enigmatic history that represents the origin of the people of this area.

Or: Located less than ten miles from San Pedro, in the middle of the Cordillera de la Sal is the Valle de la Luna or the Valley of the Moon. Its gigantic sedimentary rock walls, with their red and white tones, are contorted by the huge tectonic pressure acting upon the Atacama Desert. Some of the most popular sites in the sector are La Duna Mayor, Las Tres Marías, El Mirador de Kari, and El Cañón de la Sal. 

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Possible excursions are as follows: The Valle de la Luna hides a secret of great beauty, the little frequented: Cañón de Kari, which is known for the green color of its copper ore (minerals as removed from the mine) of copper. This a journey that never ceases to amaze, from the heights of the Mirador, passing through a salt flat, until reaching the serpentine path of the water between blades of clay and salt.

Or: Garganta del Diablo, or Devil’s Throat is an alternative destination situated at the end of a section of the Cordillera de la Sal and composed of endless riverbeds which are normally dry and as such create spectacular moon-like scenery. If the riverbeds are with water the sight is equally as spectacular mirroring the landscape of the planet Mars. One of them stands out for the enormity of its walls of clay and gypsum. You can expect fantastic views from behind every nook and cranny of the route, which finishes in a great dry waterfall: the Devil’s Ravine or Throat of the Devil.

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Today we bid farewell to the first of our iconic hotels and set off to another. We transfer you from the Awasi Atacama to your next destination, Punta Arenas.

Punta Arenas offers us the chance to explore the cultural and natural wonders of one of the most southerly cities on the continent. We can learn about its history and follow the footprints of brave polar explorers who preceded us many years before, with these immigrants being an important part of the development of the area. The first European to visit the area where the city is located was Juan Ladrillero, a Spanish explorer who was looking for the Strait of Magellan’s western passage in 1557. A host of European settlers followed from countries such as Germany, Britain, Croatia, Greece, Italy, and of course Spain.

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Today sees our transfer to the second Awasi property on our itinerary, the Awasi Patagonia. In much the same vein as our stay in Atacama, you have your meals and private excursions included and the following days in this itinerary reflect possible excursions and are not an exhaustive list.

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Possible excursions are as follows: Torres del Paine Base Camp – Whilst not an easy hike, this path is the most visited in the park and for a very good reason: the prize of being so close under the wonderful Torres del Paine towers, which will make you feel like you are in one of the famous picture-postcard scenes of the area, right at the base of the towers. After that, we reach a glacial lagoon and have a first-hand experience of 12 million years of history that sculpted them from the granite that they are composed of. To reach this much-venerated location you would need to be a regular hiker and wear appropriate gear.

Or Lomo Guanaco: Due to its variety of wildlife and the attractive views that it provides, this tour is considered an interesting alternative for traveling through the eastern sector of the national park. Not only can you enjoy watching the guanacos and ñandúes but you also get the chance to admire the spectacular views of the three towers of the Torres del Paine, as well as the spectacular panoramic views of the surrounding grasslands.

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Possible excursions are as follows: Salto de las Chinas: Travel through the northeast sector of the ranch that houses the hotel’s private reserve and enjoy the spectacular beauty of the landscapes that surround this place. If the weather allows, apart from admiring the Salto Las Chinas waterfall, you can also enjoy privileged views of such famous landmarks as Laguna Azul with the Torres del Paine in the background or Lake Sarmiento with the extensive grasslands of the Pampas that surround it. One thing is for sure, this is the scenery you will never forget!

Or Sendero de los Fósiles, (the path of fossils) is a wonderfully unique and fascinating trip, we enter the Parque Geológico y Paleontológico La Cumbre – Baguales geological and paleontological park and walk through the landscape of the high steppe. We visit places where you can observe and discover the flora and fauna that have existed in this area during the last 40 million years. Plants, mollusks, shark teeth, and tree trunks are among the vestiges that appear fossilized in the middle of gullies and cliffs. Guanacos accompany you on this trip, where the environment is dominated by rocky formations of great beauty and attraction.

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Today we will enjoy our last breakfast in Awasi before a short trip to the airport and our flight on to the next destination.

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