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Glacier Ride
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive Puerto Natales. Dinner and briefing. Night in Hostal El Establo or similar.
Arrive into Puerto Natales. Clients will arrive today and in the evening will be escorted to dinner by their guide for the trip briefing. Night in Hostal El Establo or similar. DInner included.
Day 2: Transfer to Estancia Consuelo. Ride at Estancia Consuelo. Transfer to Estancia Perales. Night at Estancia.
In the morning clients will leave Natales and take a transfer of approximately 20 minutes to Estancia Consuelo where they will have their first encounter with Criollo horses. This Estancia is still the home of the Eberhard family who have much history in Magallanes. From this lovely Estancia clients will ride along the fjord and ride through Magallanic forests. After the ride guests transfer to Estancia Perales and will enjoy a welcoming meal and be able to relax next to the waters of Last Hope Sound. Night in twin accommodation at Estancia Perales. All meals included.
Day 3: Boat to Balmaceda. Ride from Balmaceda to Río Serrano. Camping Río Serrano.
Clients will take the boat from the small pier at Estancia Perales to Balmaceda. This fabulous boat trip travels up the Last Hope Sound passing cormorant nesting crags, dolphins and the Balmaceda Glacier before docking at the Serrano Glacier. Guests will enter the Bernardo O’Higgins National Park. Shared by the regions of Magallanes and Aysen, this is the largest National Park in Chile and one of five of the most expansive in the world (over three million hectares). With access only via the water, the mountains or the southern ice field itself, it remains a remote and pristine corner of our planet. It also contains the third largest mass of ice on earth after Antarctica and Greenland, so the climate is understandably extreme.
We will disembark our boat here and enjoy the stunning views which combine old growth forests of evergreen and deciduous southern beech, fire bushes and cypresses - a stunning contrast to the snow capped peaks and glaciers in this region.
After a short zodiac ride (RIB) we will meet our new horses and have some lunch before setting out on a beautiful trail through thick forests passing pristine rivers and streams in the shadow of the Chacabuco and Balmaceda range of mountains. A fairly slow ride today gives us the opportunity to find our riding stride while enjoying the dazzling scenery on our route into the Torres del Paine National Park. Towards the end of the trail, we will cross the Nutria river and come out onto the pampas which marks the end of today’s ride, as we approach our campsite for the night. Our cook will be preparing our dinner and we can enjoy a glass of Pisco Sour while we wait. This campsite belongs to the Astorga family who are still farming a few sheep and cattle and working in the traditional manner. For early risers, it also offers some of the best sunrises in all of Patagonia! All meals included.
Day 4: Ride to Grey Beach. Walk to see Glacier. Optional boat ride. Return to Rio Serrano. Camping Río Serrano.
After breakfast we will be meeting our horses and preparing for the pampas ride to Lago Grey. Our view will be dominated by the jagged peaks of the Paine Massif as we ride out along the Rio Grey to the largest glacier in the park, Glacier Grey. On reaching the trailhead we will tether our horses and walk out across the swinging footbridge through the forest to Grey beach. The view that greets us is memorable - the pebbly shores of the beach form an almost surreal contrast to the blue of the floating icebergs that have calved off the nearby glacier. Glacier Grey protrudes off the southern ice field and is quite simply a wonder of nature. Measuring 28km in length and covering a total area of 270 square km with its frozen walls of blue ice towering almost 35 metres high, it never ceased to impress.
After some time walking along the beach and enjoying our picnic lunch, we will walk back to our waiting horses for the ride back to Rio Serrano.
*Note The Glacier itself is 17 kilometers from the the Grey beach, so for those who would like to get up closer to the face of this marvel of ice, we can arrange a trip out onto the lake in the Grey III boat. This is an optional excursion available at the cost of approximately US$140 per person. Those guests who take the excursion will return to the hotel by transfer not by horse.
Return to Camping Río Serrano for the night. All meals included.
Day 5: Ride across the heart of the park to Laguna Amarga. Transfer to Estancia Cerro Guido. Night in camping at Estancia Cerro Guido.
After breakfast we will pack up and start our ride eastwards towards the heart of the park. We will now be riding directly towards the Paine Massif mountain range so the views are dramatic and beautiful. Our trail skirts the southern edge of the mountains on a rarely trodden path as we pass azure and turquiose lakes with the huge granite mountain peaks standing behind. After a picnic lunch taken in one of the pretty valleys we will continue east onto the beautiful soft pampas of the Patagonian steppe. Our destination is Laguna Amarga with spectacular views of the Towers of Paine. From here you will take a 40 minute transfer to Estancia Cerro Guido, a large working estancia based in the fabulous Sierra Baguales mountains, with aproximately 110,000 hectares, 37,000 sheep, 2,500 cattle and 400 horses. Night in camping. All meals included.
Day 6: Ride from the Estancia to the Indian burial site, ‘Chenke’, Tehuelche for Cemetary.
In the morning we will meet our new horses. From the estancia we will make our way up the mountain side behind the estancia and into the surrounding hills. The Sierra Baguales mountians are a stark contrast beside the rolling landscape of the pampas below. After lunch we will continue to the Indian burial site, although no artifacts remain at the site, there is still the site where the Tehuelche Indians piled stones to mark the grave of their deceased. The views from the top of this mountain are second to none, 360 degree views of the surrounding mountains. This day gives riders a unforgettable idea of the vast landscape of Patagonia.
After our ride, we will return to the campsite for a welcome dinner. All meals included.
Day 7: Ride south across the pampas to Condor vantage point and Lake Sarmiento. Return to Cerro Guido.
Today after breakfast, riders will once again be saddling up for a full day’s ride. This time, we will be heading south first, to the cliff-top where there are dramatic views of the surrounding landscape and the Torres del Paine mountains, then carry on to Lake Sarmiento.
During the afternoon, after a leisurely picnic lunch in a guacho hut, we will see the blue waters of Lake Sarmiento and have some time to photograph the Torres del Paine mountains from the lake’s edge. After, we will ride back to Estancia Cerro Guido. This part of the ride is over open grassy meadows and pampas. Riding with the dramatic Paine mountains to our right enables us to fully appreciate the distances that the original pioneers encountered and which the estancieros still encounter to this day. There will also be opportunities for lots of canters on your responsive and comfortable horses. With the wind in your hair and a smile on your face you will experience the sheer joy that is riding in Patagonia!
After a long day of cantering through the pampas we arrive back at the estancia where snacks will be ready and dinner will be served. All meals included.
Day 8: Ride to the deserted Flower Estancia ‘Las Flores’, and into the Sierra Balguales mountains. Ride back to Cerro Guido for the last night.
After breakfast we find our horses, check our saddles and begin our last, full day of riding at Estancia Cerro Guido, to the Sierra Baguales mountain range. Today will give you a view of the vast glacial valleys carved by the glaciers thousands of years ago. You will be mesmerised by the huge skies and long stretches of pampas.
We will start by traversing the mountain behind Cerro Guido, along the track called ‘Paso Guitarra’. Then we will pass the lovely, but deserted, Estancia Las Flores where you will see the only original adobe building left in the area. By lunch time we will let the horses rest and we will have a nice picnic in the middle of the valley where we may be able to see condors soaring above us.
After these lovely views we are ready to continue on to Vega Nash where there will be opportunities to canter and enjoy this large flat ‘vega’, a typical pampa in this area. This will bring us back to our campsite at Estancia Cerro Guido. All meals included.
Day 9: Transfer to Laguna Sofia. Full day ride. Night in comfortable refugio. Asado dinner.
After breakfast we say goodbye to Estancia Cerro Guido and their wonderful horses and take an early transfer to Laguna Sofia. Alongside this stunning lake we will be able to choose our comfy bed in the refugio before meeting our horses for the last day of riding. A full day of riding to the Gaucho hut in Vega Señoret. Along the way we go around Laguna Sofia, bordering the Sierra Señoret, with great views of the mountains around us. Once we get to Vega Señoret we will see views of the Torres del Paine mountains one last time and Cerro Ventana (Window Hill).
By lunchtime we will let the horses rest and we will have a nice lunch at the Gaucho hut, a small puesto located in the middle of the valley where gauchos stay during the summer time to look after their cattle. Depending on the time available, and the weather, we may go for a further hour and half to a condor area, where we will be riding at the same altitude they are flying.
After these lovely views we are ready to return to Laguna Sofia where a typical Patagonian asado dinner will be cooking and we can enjoy our last night together. All meals included.
Day 10: Transfer to Puerto Natales. Tour ends. Onward journey.
Arrive into Puerto Natales. Clients will arrive today and in the evening will be escorted to dinner by their guide for the trip briefing. Night in Hostal El Establo or similar. DInner included.
Day 2: Transfer to Estancia Consuelo. Ride at Estancia Consuelo. Transfer to Estancia Perales. Night at Estancia.
In the morning clients will leave Natales and take a transfer of approximately 20 minutes to Estancia Consuelo where they will have their first encounter with Criollo horses. This Estancia is still the home of the Eberhard family who have much history in Magallanes. From this lovely Estancia clients will ride along the fjord and ride through Magallanic forests. After the ride guests transfer to Estancia Perales and will enjoy a welcoming meal and be able to relax next to the waters of Last Hope Sound. Night in twin accommodation at Estancia Perales. All meals included.
Day 3: Boat to Balmaceda. Ride from Balmaceda to Río Serrano. Camping Río Serrano.
Clients will take the boat from the small pier at Estancia Perales to Balmaceda. This fabulous boat trip travels up the Last Hope Sound passing cormorant nesting crags, dolphins and the Balmaceda Glacier before docking at the Serrano Glacier. Guests will enter the Bernardo O’Higgins National Park. Shared by the regions of Magallanes and Aysen, this is the largest National Park in Chile and one of five of the most expansive in the world (over three million hectares). With access only via the water, the mountains or the southern ice field itself, it remains a remote and pristine corner of our planet. It also contains the third largest mass of ice on earth after Antarctica and Greenland, so the climate is understandably extreme.
We will disembark our boat here and enjoy the stunning views which combine old growth forests of evergreen and deciduous southern beech, fire bushes and cypresses - a stunning contrast to the snow capped peaks and glaciers in this region.
After a short zodiac ride (RIB) we will meet our new horses and have some lunch before setting out on a beautiful trail through thick forests passing pristine rivers and streams in the shadow of the Chacabuco and Balmaceda range of mountains. A fairly slow ride today gives us the opportunity to find our riding stride while enjoying the dazzling scenery on our route into the Torres del Paine National Park. Towards the end of the trail, we will cross the Nutria river and come out onto the pampas which marks the end of today’s ride, as we approach our campsite for the night. Our cook will be preparing our dinner and we can enjoy a glass of Pisco Sour while we wait. This campsite belongs to the Astorga family who are still farming a few sheep and cattle and working in the traditional manner. For early risers, it also offers some of the best sunrises in all of Patagonia! All meals included.
Day 4: Ride to Grey Beach. Walk to see Glacier. Optional boat ride. Return to Rio Serrano. Camping Río Serrano.
After breakfast we will be meeting our horses and preparing for the pampas ride to Lago Grey. Our view will be dominated by the jagged peaks of the Paine Massif as we ride out along the Rio Grey to the largest glacier in the park, Glacier Grey. On reaching the trailhead we will tether our horses and walk out across the swinging footbridge through the forest to Grey beach. The view that greets us is memorable - the pebbly shores of the beach form an almost surreal contrast to the blue of the floating icebergs that have calved off the nearby glacier. Glacier Grey protrudes off the southern ice field and is quite simply a wonder of nature. Measuring 28km in length and covering a total area of 270 square km with its frozen walls of blue ice towering almost 35 metres high, it never ceased to impress.
After some time walking along the beach and enjoying our picnic lunch, we will walk back to our waiting horses for the ride back to Rio Serrano.
*Note The Glacier itself is 17 kilometers from the the Grey beach, so for those who would like to get up closer to the face of this marvel of ice, we can arrange a trip out onto the lake in the Grey III boat. This is an optional excursion available at the cost of approximately US$140 per person. Those guests who take the excursion will return to the hotel by transfer not by horse.
Return to Camping Río Serrano for the night. All meals included.
Day 5: Ride across the heart of the park to Laguna Amarga. Transfer to Estancia Cerro Guido. Night in camping at Estancia Cerro Guido.
After breakfast we will pack up and start our ride eastwards towards the heart of the park. We will now be riding directly towards the Paine Massif mountain range so the views are dramatic and beautiful. Our trail skirts the southern edge of the mountains on a rarely trodden path as we pass azure and turquiose lakes with the huge granite mountain peaks standing behind. After a picnic lunch taken in one of the pretty valleys we will continue east onto the beautiful soft pampas of the Patagonian steppe. Our destination is Laguna Amarga with spectacular views of the Towers of Paine. From here you will take a 40 minute transfer to Estancia Cerro Guido, a large working estancia based in the fabulous Sierra Baguales mountains, with aproximately 110,000 hectares, 37,000 sheep, 2,500 cattle and 400 horses. Night in camping. All meals included.
Day 6: Ride from the Estancia to the Indian burial site, ‘Chenke’, Tehuelche for Cemetary.
In the morning we will meet our new horses. From the estancia we will make our way up the mountain side behind the estancia and into the surrounding hills. The Sierra Baguales mountians are a stark contrast beside the rolling landscape of the pampas below. After lunch we will continue to the Indian burial site, although no artifacts remain at the site, there is still the site where the Tehuelche Indians piled stones to mark the grave of their deceased. The views from the top of this mountain are second to none, 360 degree views of the surrounding mountains. This day gives riders a unforgettable idea of the vast landscape of Patagonia.
After our ride, we will return to the campsite for a welcome dinner. All meals included.
Day 7: Ride south across the pampas to Condor vantage point and Lake Sarmiento. Return to Cerro Guido.
Today after breakfast, riders will once again be saddling up for a full day’s ride. This time, we will be heading south first, to the cliff-top where there are dramatic views of the surrounding landscape and the Torres del Paine mountains, then carry on to Lake Sarmiento.
During the afternoon, after a leisurely picnic lunch in a guacho hut, we will see the blue waters of Lake Sarmiento and have some time to photograph the Torres del Paine mountains from the lake’s edge. After, we will ride back to Estancia Cerro Guido. This part of the ride is over open grassy meadows and pampas. Riding with the dramatic Paine mountains to our right enables us to fully appreciate the distances that the original pioneers encountered and which the estancieros still encounter to this day. There will also be opportunities for lots of canters on your responsive and comfortable horses. With the wind in your hair and a smile on your face you will experience the sheer joy that is riding in Patagonia!
After a long day of cantering through the pampas we arrive back at the estancia where snacks will be ready and dinner will be served. All meals included.
Day 8: Ride to the deserted Flower Estancia ‘Las Flores’, and into the Sierra Balguales mountains. Ride back to Cerro Guido for the last night.
After breakfast we find our horses, check our saddles and begin our last, full day of riding at Estancia Cerro Guido, to the Sierra Baguales mountain range. Today will give you a view of the vast glacial valleys carved by the glaciers thousands of years ago. You will be mesmerised by the huge skies and long stretches of pampas.
We will start by traversing the mountain behind Cerro Guido, along the track called ‘Paso Guitarra’. Then we will pass the lovely, but deserted, Estancia Las Flores where you will see the only original adobe building left in the area. By lunch time we will let the horses rest and we will have a nice picnic in the middle of the valley where we may be able to see condors soaring above us.
After these lovely views we are ready to continue on to Vega Nash where there will be opportunities to canter and enjoy this large flat ‘vega’, a typical pampa in this area. This will bring us back to our campsite at Estancia Cerro Guido. All meals included.
Day 9: Transfer to Laguna Sofia. Full day ride. Night in comfortable refugio. Asado dinner.
After breakfast we say goodbye to Estancia Cerro Guido and their wonderful horses and take an early transfer to Laguna Sofia. Alongside this stunning lake we will be able to choose our comfy bed in the refugio before meeting our horses for the last day of riding. A full day of riding to the Gaucho hut in Vega Señoret. Along the way we go around Laguna Sofia, bordering the Sierra Señoret, with great views of the mountains around us. Once we get to Vega Señoret we will see views of the Torres del Paine mountains one last time and Cerro Ventana (Window Hill).
By lunchtime we will let the horses rest and we will have a nice lunch at the Gaucho hut, a small puesto located in the middle of the valley where gauchos stay during the summer time to look after their cattle. Depending on the time available, and the weather, we may go for a further hour and half to a condor area, where we will be riding at the same altitude they are flying.
After these lovely views we are ready to return to Laguna Sofia where a typical Patagonian asado dinner will be cooking and we can enjoy our last night together. All meals included.
Day 10: Transfer to Puerto Natales. Tour ends. Onward journey.
