To the end of the world in 4 weeks
Lian and Simon
Driven by a desire to drive the Carretera Austral, David from Sapa Pana Travel has put together a wonderful trip for us through the south of Chile and Argentina.
In early December, we flew from Santiago to Puerto Montt, where our journey south began, taking us past many beautiful national parks. We spent the first two nights in Puerto Varas, a good base for exploring Llanquihue National Park with its lakes, waterfalls and volcanoes.
From Puerto Varas, we drove past the fjords via Cochamó and Contao, and from there we took Route 7 to Hornopirén, where we went on a beautiful hike to a volcanic lake. We then spent a day on the ferry to Caleta Gonzalo, where we spent two nights in a cosy cabaña. In Pumalín National Park, you can also enjoy wonderful hikes in a rainforest-like setting, including a trek to the Chaitén volcano and a park with stunning alerce trees.
We continued our journey to Puerto Guadal, where we spent three days by the large lake at Mirador de Guadal. This place is so beautiful – highly recommended!
From there, we visited, amongst other places, the Patagonia National Park, with its sweeping valleys, abundant birdlife and guanacos.
We then left the Carretera Austral to continue via Chile Chico to Perito Moreno in Argentina. From there, we continued south across the steppe along Route 40 towards El Calafate, stopping off at the Cueva de las Manos (interesting) and spending the night at an estancia – another lovely experience! Be careful not to hit any guanacos on the road, and make sure you have cash with you to fill up with petrol…
We stayed in a lovely hotel on the shores of Lago Argentino in El Calafate. A lively place with plenty of restaurants, bars and shops – quite a change from all the quiet spots we’d visited before! From here, we visited Los Glaciares National Park, home to the Perito Moreno Glacier.
“ We also went on a boat trip to the Spegazzini and Upsala glaciers – highly recommended! ”
This was followed by three days in Torres del Paine in Chile, which was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. We stayed at the Pampa Lodge, a lovely hotel near the Río Serrano entrance. We went on some wonderful hikes there every day.
Our final journey took us along the Ruta Fin del Mundo to Punta Arenas, where we boarded the Australis cruise – the icing on the cake! The small ship (there were about 100 guests on board) sails past fjords, islands and glaciers, with zodiacs taking you ashore for excursions, including Cape Horn.
After four nights, we arrived in Ushuaia, Argentina’s southernmost city. After that, we spent another two nights in Buenos Aires, a beautiful city.
We can look back on a fantastic trip, perfectly organised by Sapa Pana!
Would you like to go on a self-drive trip of Patagonia or another country in Latin America, and are you curious about the possibilities? Then do take a look at the itineraries we’ve put together for inspiration. You can book these tours directly, but we’d also be happy to put together a personalised itinerary based on your wishes and ideas.
Do you have a question? Please feel free to contact us. Call +31 73 610 62 04 or send an email to info@sapapanatravel.nl. We’ll be happy to help.
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