Southern Chile Explorer - Multi activity Trip

Accommodation

Accommodation is well appointed camping or in 3 and 4 star local 'Hostelerias', private cabins or hotels.

Kitty Notes

Single supplement of $250USD

Itineraries

After picking up everybody at Puerto Montt’s airport we have lunch in Puerto Varas in front of Volcanoes Osorno, Calbuco and Tronador. The afternoon is free to walk around in Puerto Varas and enjoy the view of the volcanoes and the Lago Llanquihue.
If you are feeling active you can raft the Rio Petrohue (class III+) in Vicente Perez Rosales N.P. This 251.000 hectare park was the first created In Chile in 1926 and has the name of the government agent in charge of German settler’s immigration to Southern Chile.
Chileans eat later on....so we have our dinner at 9pm. We have typical food in Ensenada and discover the Pisco Sour. After that, it is time to go to bed and pack for the next few days.

We leave early in the morning to reach Lake Todos los Santos, the lake district’s jewel… due to the color of the water we call it Lake Esmeralda.
At the foot of Osorno volcano we board a fisherman’s motor boat to cross the lake (1h30) and reach the beginning of the trail. We meet local Huasos (Chilean name for Gauchos) and our horses, after packing the bags on gear horses we are ready to ride up the Río Callao valley.
We are in the foothills of the Puntiagudo volcano and will ride all day in the forest. We may see many native animal and bird species along the way.
In the afternoon we reach our base camp (around 5 hours ride) in a clearing in the middle of the forest, a small river flows beside us. We are camping at Don Ramon’s place; our host will feed us with our first lamb Asado…
Before dinner we can walk the 20 minutes trail that takes us to El Callao hot springs. This is a great spot for relaxing after the ride. The “Río Sin Nombre” flows beside our camp and you can go trout fishing, swimming or simply relax by the water.

We leave Ramon’s house after breakfast and a hot shower and start our ride in the dense forest… The beginning of the trail is really steep and in some cases we have to walk the horses up… after a while we reach the small lake Golondrina where we enjoy a break.
In the early afternoon we reach the green meadows that are surrounding Lake Rupanco, in front of Casablanca and Puyehue volcanoes. The lake is the goal of today’s ride… we go on for an hour along the shore line until meeting back the civilization and our van for the drive to Ensenada and our lodge.

After breakfast we visit the boat house to choose the right sea kayak for each of us and the right partner for the tandem kayak buddies.
After 30 minutes drive we are at Ralun, where the clear waters of the Río Petrohué meet the salt water of the Pacific Ocean in Reloncavi Fjord.
We get used to our sea kayaks in some quiet paddling conditions, surrounded by steep cliffs covered by the typical Valdivian rain Forrest. Lunch is at Señora Laura’s on the fjord bank.
When the fjord opens up we reach the tiny fishing village of Cochamo. We pass by and paddle up the Río Cochamo reaching our lodge for tonight.
The lodge is on river bank and is a perfect spot for resting after the paddling, or why not fishing brown trout from the shore line….
You will sleep in comfortable private cabins and enjoy great cuisine.

We put in from the lodge and reach the fjord back. We cross to the western coast and meet Don Julio. The fisherman who carries the gear (it’s much better to paddle a light sea kayak) and who makes sure we will do the entire route…
Our goal for today is reaching Sotomo cove and its Hot springs… after the ones in the mountains these one are 2 small pools on the fjord bank… with high tide there is no pools… and almost no cove…
Our base for tonight is at Señora Henrietta, she owns a beautiful German style house (from her family of settlers) she has been transforming in a great Bed and Breakfast on the fjord.
Tonight dinner is a typical one and this is another great place to spend a night.

From Señora Henrietta’s we paddle to Mari Meli Island and its sea lion colony. This is an impressive spot where we paddle surrounded by huge sea lions and local dolphins (Toninas in Chilean).
Today will be a magnificent day of sea kayaking at the foot of the Volcanoes and close to the mouth of the Pacific.
In the afternoon we load the kayaks on Julio’s boat and launch back to Cochamo where we find our driver.

After these days of hard work today is a rest day spent between Ensenada and Puerto Montt.
A good day to go looking for souvenirs, a walk in town, a long sleep in front of the volcanoes or if you feel active we can organize a great hike to Volcano Osorno, a Mountain Bike ride, a canyoning experience down the Río Poto, fly fishing and more

After a short (45 minute flight) we head to the Rio Futalaefu. Upon arrival you will receive a complete safety briefing about what to do in the rafts. The Bridge to Bridge is one of the classic sections on the Futa … 2 hours of great class IV + rapids. The water is calm at the beginning, perfect to work out our strokes and swimming abilities… then we begin with Entrada and will then go on with big rapids coming like the impressive Pillow, the huge wave of Mundaca, Toro and plenty more…
We meet our van back and drive up the valley until our base camp for next days…
With an ox cart (the most useful AWD here) we get our gear and tents to the camp and meet another part of our staff.
We set up tents, have time for a shower and then enjoy dinner cooked before relaxing the night away.

We put in directly from the camp today on the Rio Azul (a tributary of the Fu) and then run the Terminator section. The first hour on the water is mellow and allows us to warm up in this beautiful canyon before reaching the class V that gives its name to the section.
The Terminator section runs through huge holes and exploding waves. Before eddying out we will scout from the left shore line and decide on our route. Safety kayakers will lead the way downstream; they paddle the rapid and wait for us downstream to help out any swimmers if anyone falls out.
We will have lunch on the river bank and dinner will be cooked and eaten by the campfire back at camp.

It seems all these river sections have very imposing names doesn’t it………
After breakfast and a short drive we put on and the action starts immediately in the first canyon, lots of continuous Class IV rafting. We portage (walk around) Zeta and Throne Room due to their size and complexity and we rope the rafts down to avoid carrying them
We have lunch on the river and continue paddling to our base camp. Today’s paddling is one of the most challenging Rafting sections in South America
During the evening we can enjoy a short horse ride or hike to the Cerro Tres Monjas, we can also enjoy a nap in these green fields… for the more active ones it’s always possible to grab a paddle and go and practice some skills on the water.
At night time we have our good bye Asado with some Vino Tinto as we do not have to work hard tomorrow…
Tonight is our final night of camping.

On dau 11 we leave our camp early and drive back to Chaiten.
From Chaiten we get a flight back to Puerto Montt and say goodbye to Patagonia.
The afternoon is at your own leisure and we will meet later in the evening for a farewell dinner.
Day 12 you will be transfered to the airport in time for your flight home.