-
Start: Balmaceda Airport.
-
Departure: Daily
Description
Visit one of the lesser-known places in the world to enjoy virgin forests, lush green landscapes, emerald colored lakes and the Northern Ice Field glaciers.
Itinerary
Visit one of the lesser-known places in the world to enjoy virgin forests, lush green landscapes, emerald colored lakes and the Northern Ice Field glaciers. The areas that you will visit on this tour include some of Chile’s most pristine and beautiful locations: General Carrera Lake and its famous Marble Caves, Baker River, and San Rafael Glacier. The Southern Road traverses one of the least populated areas in the world.
Day 1: Balmaceda –General Carrera Lake
After we welcome you at the Balmaceda airport, we will drive South along the Carretera Austral (Southern Road) through valleys, forests, mountains and then along the shore of the enormous General Carrera Lake. It will be a full day trip, because we will stop many times along the road to take pictures. We will arrive in the evening to the Mallin Colorado Ecolodge, in time to check into your cabin and join us in the main dining room for dinner.
Day 2: Mallín Colorado Hike
After breakfast, we will go hiking or horseback riding to the Mallín Colorado Lagoon. We will be traveling through native forests of coigues, lengas and ñirre with open views of the emerald colored waters of General Carrera Lake surrounded by high mountain ranges. We continue to see the glaciers of the Cordón Contreras mountain range with its eternal snow in the background and Bertrand Lake in the foreground. We will have lunch in the lodge followed by a free afternoon to take shorter walks and enjoy the landscape.
Day 3: Marble Caves and River Baker
After breakfast we will start, a one-hour-drive north in order to visit the famous rock formations on the shores of General Carrera Lake called the Marble Caves. We will visit the peninsula of marble by boat and you will have the chance to take close up photos of the sculptural reflections of marble in the clear calypso waters of the lake. After the visit to this unique place, we will drive back to the lodge for lunching. After lunch, we will drive south to see the Baker River and its confluence with Nef River, making a short stop in the small village of Puerto Bertrand on the shores of Bertrand Lake. We will overlook the river to view its rapids and appreciate the color and the power of the largest river in Chile, which is threatened by the proposed construction of hydro-electrical dams. After that, we will arrive in the majestic point called La Confluencia, where the Baker River meets the Nef River and the Baker River’s emerald colored waters are changed forever. We will come back to the lodge in the evening, for dinner and lodging.
Day 4: Driving from Mallín Colorado to Puerto Aisén
We start our trip to Puerto Aisén early in the morning, visiting Coyhaique downtown and several attractions on the road to the coast. Much of the trip along the paved road passes through extraordinary landscapes of dense forests between mountains and cliffs. In the afternoon, we arrive in Puerto Aisén. Lodging and dinner.
Day 5: Full day Cruise to San Rafael glacier
Early in the morning, you will be driven to Puerto Chacabuco pier to take the cruise for a whole day to San Rafael Glacier. There you will get breakfast, lunch, snacks and drinks. After navigating the fjords and channels, you will enter San Rafael Lagoon and take small boats to get closer to the ice walls and luckily see ice breaks in the clear water. Late arrival in Puerto Chacabuco and transfer to your lodge. Dinner included.
Day 6: Lamb barbecue in Parque Aikén
Morning excursion to Parque Aikén, where you will walk through dense and wet forests, with a nice blue lake and high mountains around. For lunch, a typical lamb barbecue in the “quincho” (barbecue place) of the park. Afternoon free for a city tour in Puerto Aisén. Dinner and lodging.
Day 7: Transfer to Balmaceda Airport
After breakfast, 3-hour transfer to Balmaceda Airport End of our services.