Patagonia “W” Trek Itinerary January 20-29, 2017 1|Page

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Day 1 / Welcome to Chile! Relax or Explore the City. Night Hotel. Arrive into Santiago de Chile (flights from the U.S. generally arrive in the morning). Transfer into the City of Santiago from Providencia area. Spend the afternoon exploring independently or via City Tour, depending on your flight schedule. Night Hotel: Hotel Orly This small, boutique hotel is housed in a renovated French-inspired mansion that was originally constructed in the 1940s in the main part of the Providencia neighborhood. Hotel Orly offers 28 comfortable rooms as well as 12 apartments. The boutique hotel is cozy and charming, with friendly staff, attractive décor, attached café and bistro, and an unbeatable location. Santiago Chile’s capital Santiago is widely regarded as the cleanest, most modern major city on the South American landmass. But don’t think for a second that that means it’s boring. A sprawling metropolis nestled between the Andes Mountains to the east and less than an hour from the Pacific Ocean to the west, Santiago’s urban landscape is as diverse and grand in scale as the scenery that surrounds it. Santiago’s downtown area (el Centro) is home to La Moneda, the presidential palace, the Plaza de Armas square, and numerous museums. The downtown area is also home to some charming neighborhoods like Concha y Toro, Yungay and Paris & London featuring exquisite examples of historic architecture. One of the most exciting neighborhoods is Lastarria”, which has recently undergone a transformation, and is now the hip and trendy place to be. It is charming, historic and eclectic. Perhaps the most compelling aspect of Lastarria is the area’s rich artistic heritage. Here you will find the Parque Forestal with the Fine Arts museum, dozens of lively modern cafés, cutting edge art galleries, yoga studios and much more. The Mercado Central and La Vega markets offer local produce from fruit and vegetables to fish and cheeses and these are only 10 minutes away on foot. Districts such as Providencia, Las Condes, and Vitacura offer an array of businesses, shops and restaurants as well as a bustling nightlife. The Bellavista neighborhood in Providencia offers the perfect combination of fine food, arts and entertainment. Choose from one of the dozens of incredible restaurants that line its streets before visiting one of the neighborhood’s cultural or recreational events. The best example of Bellavista’s cultural heritage is Casa Museo La Chascona, the former home of Chile’s most famous poet Pablo Neruda. Though all big cities are dominated by concrete to some degree, Santiago is home to several imposing green spaces. For example, the Parque Metropolitano (Metropolitan Park), also known as Cerro San Cristóbal (San Cristóbal Hill) which is visible from most places in the city. You can get to the top of the hill on foot, by bike, by car, or take a cable car.

Day 2 / Fly South to Patagonia. Guide’s Briefing. Dinner and Show. After an early breakfast you will meet your driver in the hotel lobby for the transfer back to Santiago airport. You will fly with LATAM airlines to Puerto Natales departing at 10.45 hours, arriving at 13.55 hours.

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On arrival into Puerto Natales airport you will be collected by your driver and taken to your hotel. You will have a few hours at leisure to explore the town, have something to eat or rest. There will be a guide’s briefing and later a welcome dinner (with local show). Night Hotel Indigo Spa, or Hotel Weskar depending on the final group size. Patagonia To the first explorers Patagonia was a land of monsters, untamed and unknown. To the Victorians, the archetypal wilderness, a place at the end of the world where the restrictions of polite society could be escaped. To recent authors, it is a land of exiles and nomads. With coastlines stretching along both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, it is home to immense empty grasslands, ancient forests, freshwater lakes, salmon-filled streams, fjords, glacial valleys, towering valley glaciers, volcanoes and of course the jagged peaks of the Andes Mountains, the longest and youngest mountain range in the world.

Day 3 / Transfer to Torres del Paine. Introductory Hike. Drive to Wild Campsite. Night Camping. After an early breakfast we will be meeting our guide and driver for the transfer north to Torres del Paine National Park. Our drive takes us to the beautiful Lake Sarmiento where we will be getting out of the van to start our walk for the day. Today's hike takes about 3 to 4 hours depending on pace and photo stops. It is loaded with great scenery, interesting wildlife and (hopefully) fresh calafate berries to snack en route. This area is also home to large summer breeding groups of the llama-like guanaco with their cute, playful young known as chulengos never far from their side. We continue on to the salt encrusted shores of Amarga Lake (bitter lake) with the magnificent Towers of Paine reflected in the surface of its waters, one of the Park’s most photographed vistas. After plenty of time taking photos and enjoying the lake shore here we will jump in our van and drive out on to the end of the mystical Route 9 which takes you north east of Torres del Paine and out into the frontier lands which exist close to the border with Argentina. We will be camping nearby and using the cabin for bathrooms and showers. This is a wonderful introduction to Patagonia, a place to disconnect and enjoy the silence and star filled skies before we embark upon the more rigorous hiking of the famous Paine W. Hiking distance:

6 miles/4 km, moderate trail with good wildlife opportunities including guanaco, flamingo, nandu, condor and even puma.

Torres del Paine: Recently voted the eighth wonder of the world, Torres del Paine is probably the world's most spectacular national park. It is an unrivalled landscape of mad jagged peaks, impossibly blue lakes, deserted pampas and iceberg-loaded rivers around a sea of ice. The Southern Patagonian Ice Field is the size of Hawaii, and one of the largest sources of temperate-zone glaciers in the world. The Park has many distinct ecosystems and each contains widely different landscapes, which in turn sustain different flora and fauna, some found nowhere else on earth.

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The W Trek included here covers a total of around 75 km (46.5 miles). The 'Torres' or Towers are the Park's three spectacular granite spikes, the highest 2,900 metres. These dramatic peaks are part of the Cordillera del Paine. Others include Paine Grande at 3,050 metres and Los Cuernos (the Horns), which range from 2,200 to 2,600 metres. Torres del Paine's 180,000 hectares was a sheep estancia before being turned into a national park in 1959. UNESCO named it a Biosphere Reserve in 1978.

Day 4 / Full-Day Hiking Among the Peaks of Baguales. Good for Fossils. Remote Camp. After breakfast the guide will discuss the day’s hiking options according to the weather and how everybody is feeling, options are as follows: The Fossils Circuit. This is the most extensive circuit in La Cumbre Baguales GeoPaleontological Park. It starts at 700 metres at the end of route No. 9 at the edge of the Baguales River. It then takes about 60 minutes to reach the first fossil outcrop known as the “Leaves Canyon” where there is an outcrop of trunks and fossil leaves from an age of about 25 million years (Late Oligocene - Early Miocene) known as the Leona River Formation. In this area there are more than six species of Nothofagus fossil which can be observed through its leaf imprints. The excursion continues towards a viewpoint located at 1,200 meters above the sea level from where you have an overview of the entire area that emphasizes the "Tetas de las Chinas" Formation. On the side of the cliff there is a place where is possible to observe sharks’ teeth from the Eocene Age 40 million years ago. Near the site, you can see different types of fossilized mollusk belonging to this same period (Man Aike Formation). From here the trail returns to the first road where you can see many outcrops of fossil trunks. Basaltic dikes are distinguished as walls and nearby there begins to appear different fossilized shellfish species, as well as leaves of plants with tropical characteristics from over 40 million years ago. The excursion lasts 4-5 hours and the route is classified easy-moderate. Leaves Hill. From the edge of the road or from the Visitors Center, there is access to a walk of more than one hour to a canyon that shows an incredible upwelling of fossil leaves made up of different species belonging to the Leona River Formation (Oligo-Miocene Age). Furthermore, there are at least six species of Nothofagus fossil, which until now did not exist in Patagonia. These rocks have been preserved for more than 25 million years. From this canyon at an altitude of 1,000 meters, there is an incredible view of the landscape that makes up Sierra Baguales. It is possible to climb up to the top of the ravine where you can see petrified trunks with different forms and some of them in their life position. After hiking for around two hours, we will return to the Visitor’s Center.

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Fossil Canyon. From the Visitors Center we will walk for around 40 minutes along the Western Bank of the Baguales River where we will reach a gorge which shows us a very interesting fossil outcrop. It is a rock formation known as Estancia 25 de Mayo which contains numerous remains of marine fauna, especially mollusks of different kinds and species such as oysters, bivalves and gastropods. These fossils belong to a period called Miocene Age in which the Atlantic Ocean covered the area of Sierra Baguales and became known as the “Patagoniano Sea” between 18 and 23 million years ago. After a 90-minute excursion we will return to the Visitors Center area. Rodas Lagoon. Walking for about two hours from the Visitors Center we can access the Rodas Lagoon through a dramatic scenery full of rocky peaks. During the walk it is possible to visit Fossils Canyon that lets us observe the marine fossils aged between 18 and 23 million years ago corresponding to the existence of the Atlantic Ocean during the Late Miocene. Similarly, as we walk along the Eastern Bank of the Baguales River it is possible to visit and observe vestiges of the first Estancia established in this zone since the 1950s. The ruins of the walls and some pens built with stones is testament to the courageous family who move into this region. The Rodas Lagoon is a beautiful body of water at 1,000 meters above sea level which offers the possibility of sport fly fishing. The lagoon owes its name to an old worker who lived for more than 40 years in the region. It is surrounded by mountains that include Cono Hill and Torreón Hill both at approximately 2000 meters. Hiking distance: According to the group’s preference, options above.

Day 5 / Transfer to Las Torres Trail Head. Hike to the Base of the Towers. Camp at Las Torres. After breakfast you will be transferring in to the Park itself to start the W trail. Today you will be embarking on the challenging trail all the way to the base of the famous Towers of Paine. Tackling this steep climb across mountain trails, winding rivers, deep valleys and glacial moraine will reward you with unimaginable views. Once the steep slopes have been conquered, enjoy your lunch in this dramatic setting, while watching icebergs drift slowly across glacial pools. Truly an amazing sight, you will remember your time here as one of the highlights of your trip to southern Patagonia. Hiking distance:

11.8 mi/19km; round trip with 3,291 ft elevation gain. Challenging ascent at the start, final hop over glacial moraine. Long descent on return. Approximately 8-9 hours walking (hiking poles recommended for those with knee problems).

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Day 6 / Continue on the W, Through Horns of Paine Foothills to the Refugio Domos Frances. Today's hiking takes us along the foothills of the Horns of Paine with the tranquil shores of Lake Nordjenskold on our left. The views are magnificent with the horizon constantly dominated by the changing peaks of Paine that change as the light hits them and the surrounding kaleidoscope of colors in the lakes that inhabit the periphery. For the brave, a chance to swim in one of the lakes before continuing our hike towards the magnificent French Valley. We will make our way towards the mountains and our base for the night which is located in the foothills in a magnificent position. We will spend two nights here in the Refugio Domos Frances. Hiking distance:

10 miles/16.5 km, moderate trail with some undulation and boggy sections

Day 7 / Full-Day Exploring the French Valley. Return to Refugio Domos Frances for 2nd Night. Today we have all day to explore the remote French Valley getting up into the high country within the fantastic granite walls that enclose the valley. The French Glacier clings to the mountain here and is often seen and heard cascading avalanches of snow and ice as we hike up the opposite side of the valley. A full day's hiking we will enjoy fantastic views of the amphitheatre of granite peaks as well as the waterscapes below including lakes Pehoe, Scottsburg, Toro, and Nordenskjold. Another highlight of any trekker’s visit to Patagonia with views not soon forgotten. Return to the Domos Frances located in the foothills below. Hiking distance: 11.5 miles, roughly 6 hours of walking, some steep ascents and rocky sections with boggy areas.

Day 8 / Hike Past Lake Pehoe and on to Glacier Grey. Take a Boat Out and Camp. After breakfast in the refugio, we will start hiking west along the W trail towards the famous and much photographed Lake Pehoe. As you glimpse the turquoise waters through the forests, the colors are surreal and dramatic. We will hike past the lake before turning north on a trail that skirts the Grey River. This is one of Paine’s classic trails with dramatic views of Grey Glacier, the Patagonian icecap and innumerable mountains.

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Arriving at the small refugio at Grey Glacier we will have a chance to rest and enjoy the views before boarding the Grey III boat at the dock. Setting off into the iceberg choked lake we will have a chance to view the dramatic vertical face of Grey Glacier from up close as we head to Grey lake beach where we will meet our transfer vehicle. Transfer the short distance to our pretty campsite close to the emerald green ever flowing waters of the salmon-stocked Serrano River. With soft grassy pitches and incredible views of the western face of the Paine Massif this campsite will be our home for the night, our last night in Torres del Paine. After some snacks and drinks, a farewell dinner will be prepared by your camp chef. Hiking distance: 11.5 miles, roughly 6 hours of walking, some rocky sections and elevation with occasional boggy areas.

Day 9 / Transfer Roughly 90 minutes to the Airport in Puerto Natales. After our final camp breakfast in this magnificent setting we will be packing up camp and transferring roughly 90 minutes to the airport in Puerto Natales. Fly with LATAM airlines to Santiago, flight departs at 14.35 hours, arriving into Santiago at 19.30 hours. Evening flight to USA.

Day 10 / Arrive Home.

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