Heart of Patagonia: Two-Week Tour of Chile and Argentina

Artistic, energetic, and history help describe the spirit of Chile’s capital city. Food carts line the streets, the marketplaces brim with colorful produce, and the panoramas spread to the peaks of the Andes Mountains. Your private transfer will meet you at Arturo Merino Benitez Airport upon your arrival and escort you to the comforts of your luxury accommodations. Your guide will introduce you to the beauty of Santiago at your pace as you explore the historic center and experience the heart of the city’s culture and heritage. At Mercado Central, you can enjoy the aromas of the city’s best seafood.

After breakfast, your private transfer will escort you from your hotel to the airport for your flight to Punta Arenas. The southern city has become a metropolis that edges the Strait of Magellan. With elaborate mansions that embody the former wool-boom and rugged surroundings that lead to the untouched beauty of the Patagonian steppe, you can experience the city at your pace. After you settle into your hotel, you can tour the streets, visit Plaza Munoz Gamero, or view Museo Regional de Magallanes to witness the opulence of wool barons in the French-nouveau furnishings and intricate wooden inlaid floors.

Your guide will take you out of Punta Arenas for the day to reach Magdalena Island, where thousands of Magellanic penguins roam free, protected in the remote ecosystem. The aroma of the sea may meet the echoing bray of the penguin colony that averages around 60,000 in number. If you can reach the top of the ice-capped Mentolat Volcano, you will be rewarded with a view overlooking the forest, bays, islets, and Patagonian fiord. After returning to Punta Arenas, your private transfer will guide you through the remote wilderness to reach your accommodations inside Torres del Paine National Park.

The Torres del Paine granite towers have become the iconic embodiment of the national park. After an early breakfast, your guide will lead you into the wilderness to follow the trail leading to the renowned massif. You can embrace the expansive scenery as you walk through dense forest and along the valley floor. You may find grazing vicunas or enjoy the earthy aroma of the lenga trees as you reach the glacial moraine. At the base of the granite spires, you can bask in the shimmering blue glacial lake and experience the natural splendor of the sparkling spires above.

The French Valley is one of the highlights of the famous “W” Trek and will immerse you in the grandeur of Patagonian nature. As you travel across Lake Pehoe, you can enjoy the distinctive morning air before you reach the Paine Grande Ranger Station. The steep and scenic hike will skirt the edge of the massif as you travel upwards into the mountains. At the French lookout, you can take your time to enjoy the view over the lakes and the glinting ice of the hanging glacier. You may hear an iceberg calving away from the mountain walls.

You will set out once more with your guide to discover one of Torres del Paine’s best panoramas. The marvels of nature will take center stage as you once more cross Lake Pehoe and follow that path to Paine Grande. You will cross undulating ravines and can look back to see sweeping landscapes until you reach the central viewpoint for a panorama of Grey Lake and the looming glacier above. Icebergs float in the water and the Patagonian breeze may flow through the lookout as you take in the incredible scenery.

After breakfast, you may have time to relax in the secluded quiet of your accommodation. Rather than the adventurous treks to viewpoints around the national park, you may sit with a serene moment overlooking the edge of the lake before you set out on a scenic drive to cross the border into Argentina and reach El Calafate. After the drive, you can relax at your hotel or explore the city at your pace. The Centro de Interpretacion Historica explores the evolution of the region since the Ice Age while chocolatiers fill the streets with rich aromas of fresh chocolate concoctions.

Perito Moreno Glacier is a spectacle of nature you can experience, first as you enjoy the panoramic view from Lake Argentino. The crisp turquoise waterway will frame the distant glacier as you take in the local flora and fauna, from the circling condor overhead to the boisterous black-throated finch. When closer to the glacier, you can follow the footbridges to capture the enormity of the ice sheet soaring above the water below. Once on a boat, your nautical safari will take you beneath the front of the glacier for a perspective of the wall climbing like a sheer mountain peak.

El Chalten embodies the heart of Argentine Patagonia and offers access to famous hikes and remote corners of the untamed landscapes. The collection of streets and buildings feel like a village at the edge of Los Glaciares National Park set beneath the shadow of Mount Fitz Roy peak. Your private transfer will meet you at your hotel in El Calafate and lead you to El Chalten, where you will have the remainder of the day at your leisure to enjoy the immersive unspoiled nature. The sporadic scent of medialunas and cappuccino may interrupt the pervailing aroma of pine.

You will reach the trailhead for the Fitz Roy and Laguna de los Tres Hike in the morning and trek to reach the scenic view of the imposing mountains. The gradual ascent will ingratiate you to the hike as you travel up the mountains until you find the lake glistening like a kaleidoscope of blue colors. The body of water sits cradled between the mountain peaks. You can continue to reach the highest point of the trail that will offer an unparalleled view of Mount Fitz Roy, Los Tres Glacier, and the vibrant waters of the glacial lagoon.

You will have a morning immersion into the forests on the trail to reach Laguna Torre. The aroma of bark and pine may follow you as you listen to the sounds of Fitz Roy River rushing past and or the thunderous crashing waters of Margarita Waterfall. At Cerro Torre, you can embrace the view over the forest and mountain slopes before traveling through lenga forest, glacial moraines, and the famous plains to see Laguna Torre, where icebergs speckle the water. You may hear the sounds of Magellanic woodpeckers or find vicuna grazing in the distance before you leave the lagoon.

Buenos Aires is not just the gateway to Argentina, but also a cultural epicenter interspersed with tango halls, glamorous 19th-century architecture, and neighborhoods with their own distinctive personalities. After breakfast, your private transfer will take you from El Chalten to the El Calafate airport for your flight to Buenos Aires. Once settled into the comforts of the captivating capital city, you can enjoy the remainder of the day at your own pace. Satisfy your craving for traditional Argentine Asado or sample the decadent creaminess of a late-night ice cream that embodies the city’s infamous connection to passionate indulgence.

The beauty of Buenos Aires can match the majesty of Patagonia in their contrasts as you immerse yourself in the architectural style and cultural charms of the cosmopolitan city with a guided tour. From the Casa Rosada in the Plaza de Mayo to the antique shops lining the streets in the San Telmo district, you will find that each neighborhood has a different but equally vibrant personality. At the Recoleta Cemetery, the elegant tombs offer a particular perspective of the city and nation’s history seen through the eyes of the former aristocracy, including the burial grounds of Eva Peron.

The morning in Buenos Aires may be filled with the sounds of cafes setting out their tables and chairs for the day or may exude the aromas of fresh medialunas drifting out of the bakeries. The day is yours to bask in the city’s particular ambiance as you please, from spending time in a theater-turned-bookshop to watching tango performances in the La Boca district. Your private transfer will meet you at your hotel when you are ready and escort you to Ministro Pistarini International Airport for your flight home, bringing an end to your Patagonian adventure.