Soft Adventure in Santiago, San Pedro de Atacama, Easter Island and Torres del Paine
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Duration: 15 days/14 nights
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Excursions: Shared
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Lodging: Included
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Starting Point: Santiago International Airport
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Language: Spanish/English
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Departure: Daily (October to April)
Description
Soft adventure and excursions in a circuit which lead you to the best of Santiago and surroundings, San Pedro de Atacama, Easter Island, Torres del Paine and the Chilean Patagonia.
- This program is not available for Meeting and Congresses season
- The Tourist category program includes the hotel Diego de Almagro near the Santiago Airport for the connecting nights in Santiago. To take the transfer from the airport to the hotel, you must go to the second floor of the airport, go to Gate 3, Transvip office and show your reservation at the hotel. Upon arrival at the hotel, you must go to the Reception desk to book your transfer to the airport the next day. In the case of the Superior Category Program, it includes the Holiday Inn Santiago Airport hotel, which is located just across the street, so you will not need transfers.
Itinerary
Day 01: Santiago Airport - Santiago
Reception at the Santiago Airport and transfer to your hotel.
Accommodation in Santiago.
Day 02: Santiago - Concha y Toro Winery Tour
Breakfast at hotel.
Half day tour. Starts at your hotel in Santiago. The trip takes about 45 minutes by car to the Concha y Toro winery. The visit begins at Don Melchor square where you will be cordially received by a bilingual guide, who will invite you to enjoy a panoramic tour of the Pirque vineyard accompanied by a glass of Casillero del Diablo white wine, so that you can soak up the aromas and flavors that emerge step by step in this century-old winery. With the glass in hand, the visitor participates in a walk through the old park, going back in time to appreciate the Pirque mansion, residence of the Concha y Toro family. In this place was born more than 100 years ago the largest wine company in our country. In the Pirque vineyards you will learn about the development of the vines, cultural and technological management that is responsible for a first quality yield. Upon entering the cellar you will be able to taste an excellent Casillero del Diablo Merlot, while you learn about the methodology and materials used in the production of the wine. To get to know the old facilities and witness the legend, Viña Concha y Toro offers you a glass of Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine that made Chilean wine famous. At the end of the tour, return to the hotel in Santiago.
Day 03: Santiago - Santiago Airport - Calama Airport - San Pedro de Atacama - Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley)
Departure to Santiago Airport to take the flight to Calama. Transfer from Calama Airport to San Pedro de Atacama.
In the afternoon, departure from the hotel to the Moon Valley (15:30 in summer and 14:30 in winter, previous confirmation). If you come to San Pedro de Atacama you can not miss this unique place in the world, the Valley of the Moon, in the middle of the deep aridity of the Cordillera de la Sal we find a landscape of salt and clay molded by water and wind over millions of years, in our walk we will visit the Tres Marias, the Canyon, the Duna Mayor and the Amphitheater by the extravagant forms that gives us the mountain range inciting the imagination and reflection for its tranquility. In the late afternoon, we will go to the Kari viewpoint (Piedra del Coyote) to enjoy one of the best views of the Valley of the Moon, to finally finish watching the sunset that, through its colors, gives us a wonderful end to our excursion.
Return to the hotel. Overnight at the hotel.
Day 04: San Pedro de Atacama - Cejar Lagoon, Tebinquinche - Astronomical Tour
In this tour we will visit the incredible Cejar Lagoon, where we can take an amazing bath to experience the sensation of floating thanks to the great concentration of salts it contains. We will also visit the Ojos del Salar and the beautiful Tebinquinche Lagoon.
At 22:00 approx. we will go to the outskirts of San Pedro where we will observe the deep sky with high-end telescopes, computerized and manual. We will observe: planets, open and closed clusters, galaxies and stars. We will be able to observe the visible constellations of the southern hemisphere
southern hemisphere with the help of a laser pointer. With an expert we will learn the Andean archaeo-astronomy of Latin America requesting the explanation to our guide who is the speaker in the explanatory talk of how our American ancestors related the cosmos to the geographical and cultural area of Atacama.
Return to the hotel. Lodging.
Day 05: San Pedro de Atacama - Route of the salt flats
We will leave the hotel at 08:00 am to visit the salt flats located in the border region between Chile, Argentina and Bolivia. We will travel over the famous and extensive Caldera de la Pakana, being able to be amazed by beautiful viewpoints, wetlands and salt flats. Wonders of the world where the mixture of colors forms a multicolored landscape over 4,000 meters of altitude.
Return to the hotel at 14:00 hrs.
Day 06: San Pedro de Atacama - Geyser del Tatio - Calama Airport - Santiago Airport
Breakfast at Geysers del Tatio Excursion
Tatio Geysers Tour
Transfer San Pedro de Atacama - Calama Airport
Departure during the early morning from hotel in San Pedro de Atacama (05:30 hrs. Pick up at 05:00, subject to confirmation) We will head towards the Geysers del Tatio. Our trip to the altiplano begins during the early morning to finally reach one of the most important geothermal fields in the world, the Tatio Geysers, surrounded by water and steam emanations we will enjoy the beauty of the Andes and with this natural scenery we will offer you a replenishing breakfast. Then we will visit the Pozon Rustico where you can enjoy the hot springs that the mountain range gives us. Taking the road back to San Pedro de Atacama you will enjoy the beauty of the landscape, native flora and fauna and finally from a viewpoint we will observe the village of Machuca, a place of ancestral llama shepherds. We will observe flora and fauna of the Putana River as vicuñas, llamas, rheas, vizcachas, flamingos, ducks and seagulls. Transfer to the airport.
Overnight at hotel near Santiago Airport.
Day 07: Santiago Airport - Mataveri Airport - Ahu Akivi (The 7 Explorers)
Departure from Santiago Airport. Arrival at Easter Island Airport. Reception at the airport with welcome with flower necklace and transfer to the hotel of your choice.
Our tour starts around 15:00 hrs. from Hanga Roa to Ahu Akivi, the first scientifically restored Ahu on the island in 1960. This Ahu with 7 Moai is one of the few in the center of the island, with its statues facing the rising sun. According to the story, they represent the 7 explorers sent before the arrival of Hotu Matua to reconnoiter the island.
Then we will visit the Puna Pau quarry, in a small crater of red slag. Here the Pukao or headdresses that crowned the Moai were obtained. There are still some unfinished and abandoned. And we finish in the Ahu Huri to Urenga, whose four-armed moai is also called the astronomer because it is aligned with the southern winter solstice (June 21).
Return to Hanga Roa. Overnight.
Day 08: Easter Island - The Hotu Matua Route: Ahu Akahanga - Tongariki - Rano Raraku Volcano - Anakena Beach
Breakfast at hotel in Easter Island.
Departing from the town of Hanga Roa around 9:00 hrs. we will head towards Ahu Akahanga, also called the king's platform. Legend has it that the tomb of Hotu Matua'a would be near this place. Here we will find 4 platforms, 12 Moai, 8 Pukao and towards the interior of this Ahu you can appreciate one of the best preserved villages of the island.
Then we will continue the journey to Ahu Tongariki, which with its 15 Moai is the largest Ahu on the island. Following the route we will find Ahu Te Pito Kura, which has the tallest statue of the island erected on an Ahu, the Moai Paro (10 meters high and 85 tons with a Pukao of 11.5 tons) and next to this ceremonial temple is a large spherical stone that is identified as the Navel of the World (Te Pito or Te Henua), which according to legend, was brought to the island by Hotu Matua'a in his boat. Continuing our journey we arrive at Ahu Nau Nau, a temple of complex construction due to its different levels where we will find 5 Moai with Pukao where we can see petroglyphs on the backs of the statues. We continue our excursion until we reach the volcano and quarry Rano Raraku, where most of the Moai of the island were carved using the volcanic rock of its inner and outer slopes. Nearly 400 Moai can be seen in various stages of carving.
To end our adventure, we head to the wonderful Anakena Beach, a white coral sand beach chosen for the arrival of the Ariki Hotu Matua'a and her sister Avareipua. Anakena corresponds to the name of a small cave in an adjacent creek. Return to Hanga Roa village, total duration 8 hours.
Overnight in Easter Island.
Day 09: Easter Island - Orongo Ceremonial Village
Breakfast at hotel in Easter Island.
We start our tour around 09:00 hrs. from Hanga Roa towards the natural cave of Ana Kai Tangata where it is possible to see some cave paintings depicting birds such as the "manutara" and where it is possible to see the waves crashing on the cliffs. We will continue our tour visiting the Rano Kau volcano from where we can see the largest crater on the island and one of the largest reserves of fresh water in the place. Finally, we will visit the Ceremonial Village of Orongo, an ancient and magnificent ceremonial city located on the western summit of the Rano Kau volcano, composed of 53 elliptical houses with slab walls and a small square entrance facing the sea. In this place the most important ceremony of the second period of the island, the election of the Tangata Manu (bird man) which was stopped approximately 150 years ago, product of the arrival of the first Christian missionaries.
At about 13:00 hours we return to the village.
Overnight in Easter Island.
Day 10: Easter Island - Free Day (Optional Tours)
Breakfast at hotel in Easter Island.
We have several options (not included) to do in Easter Island:
Te Ana Circuit
Departure time: 09:30 am
Duration: 3 to 4 hours
This tour specializes in cave exploration. A whole subway world where Rapa Nui has the number ten worldwide with galleries reaching up to 10 kilometers in total. Here we will visit important caves and caverns of the island and understand how its inhabitants were able to survive the scarcity of resources and the inclement weather. We will also learn about the volcanic origin of the island and its geographical formation.
Trekking Adventure Excursion
Departure time: 09:30 am
Duration: 3 to 4 hours
Departing from the town of Hanga Roa we will visit part of the northwest coast of Rapa Nui, Ahu Akapu, Kakenga cavern, Te Pora, Te Pahu and finally Ahu Te Peu. Return at 14:00 hours.
Horseback riding to Easter Island Caverns
Departure time: 09:00 or 14:30 hours.
Duration: 4.5 hours
Departing from the hotel in Easter Island, we will enjoy a unique horseback ride to the caves sector. These caves that populate the island were used as habitation centers, as a burial place and as a refuge in times of war. We will ride, visiting the caves of Ana Kakenga and the Caves of the 2 Windows, located on the northwest coastal edge of the island. It is accessed through a hole at ground level. Then we will continue to the Ana te Pahu Cave, a place little visited on the island, but of great beauty, then we will continue to Ahu Akivi, an important sacred altar and platform of the island, and we will finish in Maunga Roiho.
Day 11: Easter Island - Mataveri Airport - Santiago Airport
Breakfast at the hotel in Easter Island. At the agreed time, transfer to Mataveri Airport with island souvenir.
Overnight at hotel in Santiago Airport.
Day 12: Santiago Airport - Punta Arenas - Puerto Natales
Reception at Punta Arenas Airport (we recommend taking the first flight to Punta Arenas to arrive before 12:00 noon). Transfer to the city to the local terminal to board regular bus to Puerto Natales. Duration 03:15 hrs. Arrival to the city. Transfer from bus terminal to hotel and lodging.
Day 13: Excursion to Torres del Paine National Park.
Departure from your hotel to start a full day excursion to Torres del Paine National Park visiting Silla del Diablo, Milodon Cave, Laguna Sofia, Cordillera Prat, Lago Porteño, Lago y Sierra del Toro, Sierra Ballena, Cuernos del Paine, Lago Grey, Paine River, Salto Grande, Mirador del Lago Nordenskjold, Lago Sarmiento, Laguna Amarga, Cascada Paine. Return to Puerto Natales at the end of the day. Drop-off at the passenger's hotel. For this day we will have lunch during the excursion.
Day 14: Hiking Base Torres in Torres del Paine National Park
Departure at 7:00 AM from the hotel in Puerto Natales, heading to Torres del Paine National Park. We leave the vehicle at the beginning of the trail, starting a hike of medium to high difficulty and an approximate duration of 7 to 8 hrs. that will take us to the base of the three granite towers (Torres del Paine). For this day we have contemplated a Box Lunch during the excursion. At sunset we return to Puerto Natales.
Day 15: Puerto Natales - Punta Arenas Airport
Transfer from the hotel to the regular bus terminal to start a two and a half hour trip directly to Punta Arenas airport.
End of services.
Accommodations
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Tourist
- Santiago: Ibis Providencia, Diego de Almagro Providencia, Diego de Almagro Aeropuerto- San Pedro de Atacama: Hotel La Casa de Don Tomás, Hotel Diego de Almagro San Pedro de Atacama- Puerto Natales: Hotel Lady Florence Dixie, Vendaval- Rapa Nui: Matariki Sunset Apart Hotel, Hotel Vai Moanaor similar category, depending on availability.
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Superior
- Santiago: Radisson Blu Plaza El Bosque, Cumbres Lastarria, Hotel Holiday Inn Santiago Aeropuerto- San Pedro de Atacama: Hotel Noi Casa Atacama, Hotel Terrantai- Isla de Pascua: Hotel Otai- Rapa Nui: Hotel Taha Tai- Puerto Natales: Hotel Costaustralis, Hotel Martín Gusindeor similar category, depending on availability.
Important note: In the event that one of the hotels does not have availability, it will be exchanged for a hotel with similar characteristics.