Patagonia Trails. Puerto Varas. Lake District Chile

Transcription

1 PATAGONIA TRAILS W trek Circuit Season Valid from the 1 st of October 2017 until the 30 th of April 2018 During October and April the program starts at 7.30 AM Highlights: Trekking Base Torres, Trekking French Valley. The W Circuit program goes through 2 different valleys at the W Circuit: Ascencio Valley which ascent goes to the BASE of the Towers and the French Valley. The return is through Pehoé sector by the catamaran that crosses Pehoé Lake and connects with the regular bus to Puerto Natales. Day 1: Transport to Torres del Paine National Park (Regular Bus). Transportation from Puerto Natales to Torres del Paine National Park (Laguna Amarga Main Entrance), with a short stop at Cerro Castillo Village, located 54 Km north of Puerto Natales. Presentation time at the Bus Station: PM Departure: 14:30 PM / Arrival to Laguna Amarga: 16:30 PM At the moment you arrive to Laguna Amarga entrance you will take the shuttles that will be waiting for you to take you to Las Torres sector where our Refugio is located.

2 Accommodation: Refugio Torre Central. Day 2: Trekking to BASE TORRES (7-8 hours, 13 Km). Recommended hour to start: 9.00 AM. The first hour and a half walking is steep with fantastic views of Lake Nordenskjöld and Almirante Nieto Mn (2.670 m.s.n.m), with it s hanging glacier until you reach Refugio El Chileno to recover energies and leave your luggage. Then the trail continues through a millenary Lenga forest (1 hour) until the base of the moraine which challenging ascent (45 min), will take you to one of the most impressive places in the park: the lookout of the Base of Torres del Paine where you will enjoy the view of Torre Sur (2,850 m.s.n.m.), Torre Central (2.800 m.s.n.m), Torre Norte (2.600 m.s.n.m) and Cerro Nido de Cóndor. Accommodation: Refugio El Chileno. ++ depending on availability it may be changed for Torre Central. Difficulty Level: High. Day 3: Trekking from El Chileno to Los Cuernos Refugio or Domos Frances (4 5 hours, 11 Km). Recommended hour to start: 9.00 AM. About 30 minutes after leaving Refugio El Chileno you will notice the sign to take the shortcut that leads to Refugio Los Cuernos. The trail goes through the Base of Almirante Nieto Mn. part of the Paine Massif-, with great views to Nordenskjöld Lake; from December the flora presents different colours specially the Ciruelillo or Fire Bush which take its name from the red colour of its flowers. After about 4 5 hours you will get to the Base of Los Cuernos where our Refugio is located, considered by many, one of the most charming sites in the whole park, a perfect spot to rest and recover energies for the next day challenging trek: The French Valley. Accommodation: Refugio Los Cuernos. Or Domos Frances.Difficulty Level: Medium. Day 4: Trekking to French Valley (10-12 hours, 25.3 Km). Recommended hour to start: 9.00 AM. The first 2 hours are with some ascents, descents and views to Nordenskjöld Lake, until Campamento Italiano. The ascent Patagonia Trails. Puerto Varas. Lake District Chile reservas@patagoniatrails.cl

3 goes for about 1 hour and a half until French Glacier lookout, where you ll be able to observe its hanging glacier and opportunities to observe small avalanches. After that the trail continues until Campamento Británico and after about 20 minutes you will reach the lookout point considered by many as one of the most overwhelming spots in the Circuit: Mirador Británico, where you will admire: Paine Grande, Cerro Hoja, Cerro Máscara, Cerro Catedral, Cerro Aleta de Tiburón, Cuerno Norte, etc. The return is the same way back to Campamento Italiano, and then to Pehoé sector. Accommodation: Lodge Paine Grande. Difficulty Level: High. Day 5: Trekking to Grey Glacier (8-9 hours, 22 Km). The trail goes through the western side of the Paine Massif with views to Grey Lake and Mountains. After 1 hour and a half you will reach the first lookout point, where you may observe Grey Glacier in the distance, then and after 1 and a half / two hours you will get to the Main lookout, in front of the glacier. The return is the same way back until Pehoé Lake to take the Catamaran that crosses Pehoe Lake at 6.30 PM to Pudeto sector, where your bus will be waiting for you to take you back to Puerto Natales (arrival time to Puerto Natales: around PM). Difficulty level: Medium. + Please be aware of the Catamaran departure time.departure at PM / presentation time at Pier: PM / + You can leave your backpack in the storage room at Paine Grande Lodge. Includes 4 Nights of accommodation in Refugios (Mountain Lodges) with sleeping bag or made up bed (depending on availability). ** Made Up Bed: sheets+pillow+cover bed. Transportation in Regular Buses from Puerto Natales Torres del Paine Puerto Natales. Shuttle from Laguna Amarga main entrance to Las Torres sector ROUNDTRIP. All meals at the Refugios (breakfast, lunch box, dinner). Day 1 just dinner, day 5 just breakfast and lunch box or lunch. B: Breakfast; BL: Box lunch; D:Dinner CatamaranPehoé(Lake crossing from Pehoé sector to Pudeto sector to connect with the regular transportation to P. Natales). Not Included

4 Services not indicated in program. Entrance ticket to Torres del Paine National Park. Medical Insurance of any kind. Full Board: Breakfast, box lunch, dinner beverages not included. IMPORTANT INFO: Programs Starting at PM: guests must come to our Office in Puerto Natales, the day before or the same day (day 1) before 1 PM, where you will receive vouchers, tickets and briefing. Programs Starting at 7:30 AM: guests must come the day before you leave to the park, if you arrive on Sunday, please indicate accommodation place to send vouchers and documents. In Chile we have a Foreign franchise (Chilean Law) to improve tourism, where tourists are exempted of paying the tax of 19% at the check in, for this purpose please do not forget to bring: - Passport - Tourist card (given at the border when entering to Chile). If you do not carry and present these documents you will have to pay the tax in Chilean pesos at the check in. Regular Buses from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales If you need this service please ask your sales executive. WHAT TO BRING Recommended Backpacks: - One 40 litres Backpack - One litres Backpack por day hikes - Waterproof jacket and trousers (GORE TEX). - Warm clothes (Polar Tec). - Comfortable trousers for trekking. - T shirts. - Long Sleeved Shirts. - Trekking boots. - Sandals (for showering, resting and crossing streams). - Flash lamp - Enough batteries supplies, as in FS we produce our own sustainable energy we do not have places to charge batteries. - Sunglasses. - Towel. - Padlock. - Gloves / Sunscreen. - Camera / Binoculars. - Bottle for water (Nalgene). - Ziploc bags (for taking your trash back). - Trekking Sticks. - Swimsuit * Hot Tub Los Cuernos Cabins. - Warm Hat. - Hat for sun protection. Porters can be hired at an extra cost of 250 u$ per person for the whole trek. Max load is 14 kilos per porter. Prices in USD $ are exclusive for foreign guests, without residency in Chile and paying in American dollars. Extra accommodation : Depending on your flight schedule you will need to spend one night in P.Arenas either at the begining or at the end

5 PATAGONIA TRAILS cannot be held responsible for any extra cost in the event of cancellation or extension due to weather circumstances or safety considerations. Please read the booking conditions: Booking Conditions GENERAL TERMS & BOOKING CONDITIONS AGREEMENT between PATAGONIA TRAILS MORE ADVENTOUROUS PEOPLE and free independent traveller (FIT) 1. PRICING The price for the land portion of the trip is called Land Cost and includes: All accommodation in hotels, inns, mountain huts, camps and tents Ground transportation in private vehicles or domestic buses including reception & transfer from the nearest airport (depending on the itinerary) Meals as specified in each program, excluding meals in cities or towns where travellers are free to dine independently (highlighted in Prices & Facts section) All trekking, horse-riding, diving, marine and river arrangements in the field (as specified in each program) including equipment, permits and mules or pack horses if specified Entries and park fees if specified on each program Expert leadership including English speaking guides in all our fixed departures trips. The guide: participant ratio varies from 1 to 8 and 1 to 10 depending on the type of program. Costs not included in the trip are some meals as noted in the itinerary, soft drinks, alcohol and liquor, medical expenses, the cost of hospitalization or evacuation, laundry, airport departure taxes, visas, international and domestic airfares, gratuities and insurance. Please refer to the trip itinerary for detailed information on what is included and not included in the Land Cost. If a trip must be extended or an itinerary modified due to weather, road conditions, lack of transportation, political or civil disputes, medical emergency or other causes beyond our control, such as acts of God, the associated costs, including any non recoverable costs, will not be refunded or included in the trip rate already paid. In such circumstances it is your responsibility to pay directly for extra costs in the field (i.e. food, transport, accommodations, etc.). Make sure you have up-to-date travel insurance protecting you against cancellations and delays caused by Acts of God. Prices listed on our website and marketing material are subject to change owing to trip dates and prices often being published more than a year in advance. Between the time of publication and the trip s departure, we are occasionally faced with exceptional cost increases or currency fluctuations that we cannot absorb. We do everything we can to keep our prices the same as published. Tier Pricing

6 In the case of small trip groups, some trips are tier priced according to the number of full-price passengers on the trip. Initially we invoice you the highest level tier price and then if the group size increases we refund you the difference as the price drops to a lower tier level. Patagonia Trails- staff, invited travel writers, photographers or tour operators representatives and any other discounted travelers are excluded in the passenger tally when it comes to tier pricing. 2. ACCOMMODATION Our prices correspond to accommodation on a shared basis and in shared facilities. If a passenger does not wish to share then he/she will be asked to pay the Single Supplement Fee listed in the Price-List if available, according to the trip. Hotel accommodation and Tent Accommodation is based on double occupancy. The criteria for choosing accommodation are a mixture of comfort, security, location, sustainability, local atmosphere and local people s houses. 3. MEALS All meals in the field are included, as well as all meals eaten in places like National Parks where travelers will not be able to purchase their own food or where we consider it is not recommended to do so. Please refer to each trip itinerary for information on which meals are included and which are not included. The meals included are shown as B=breakfast, L=lunch, BL-=box-lunch, D=dinner. We have put a lot of effort into developing fresh meals for our trips and our clients love them. Each trip will have its own particular menu depending on the local food and typical dishes prepared in the area. We can easily accommodate vegetarians and special diets in our trips with plenty of time. Please let us know in advance. 4. INSURANCE Travel protection is essential for your peace of mind and safety throughout the trip. Unexpected medical emergencies or illnesses prior to or during your trip could make you lose pre-paid, non-refundable payments. Emergency medical transport and air ambulances in remote locations can be extremely expensive and will probably not be covered by your medical health plan so it is compulsory that you purchase personal adequate travel insurance which is appropriate for your trip. This insurance should cover personal accident, medical expenses, air ambulance, loss of effects, repatriation costs and all other expenses which may arise as a result of loss, damage, injury, delay or inconvenience during your trip. We also suggest you purchase cancellation and curtailment insurance. When obtaining travel insurance, you must inform the insurer of the type of travel to be undertaken, especially when adventure activities are included in your trip. At the moment of making your own insurance arrangements, you must ensure that there are no exclusion clauses which limit cover for the type of activities included in your tour, such as, but not limited to, Trekking, horse back riding, kayaking,as Patagonia Trails will not be responsible for costs you may incur as a result of not having valid or adequate travel insurance. It is the responsibility of all our clients to declare any material facts including known medical conditions to their insurers, as failure to do so may result in a claim being reduced or declined.

7 5. MEDICAL & HEALTH It is mandatory that clients with medical problems make their conditions known to us well before departure. The guide has the right to disqualify anyone, at any time, during the trip if he feels the trip member is physically incapable and/or if a trip member s continued participation will be detrimental to the individual and other members involved in the group. Refunds are not given under such circumstances. Because of the fact that hospital facilities for serious problems are often unavailable and evacuation can be prolonged, difficult and expensive, we accept no liability regarding provision of medical care at any time during the trip. This statement is included on the Release & Assumption of Risk form provided by our company. All passengers over 65 are requested to fill out a Medical Report that helps us identify any possible health risks they may incur. 6. PHYSICAL CERTIFICATE We ask for these certificates in addition to a general medical certificate to secure a safe undertaking of the activities included on certain specific trekking, horse riding and kayaking trips. Physical Certificate The programs require the passenger to be physically qualified to be accepted on the trip. This is not a technical demand but a guarantee of the physical condition of the participant and security that they are in a good physical condition and have adequate knowledge to undertake the excursion. 7. RESPONSIBILITIES OF TRIP MEMBERS Trip members are responsible for understanding the conditions stated in the Trip Itinerary and selecting a trip that is appropriate given their interests and abilities. In order to assist you we grade each trip with a Trip Difficulty Rating. We are also happy to discuss the trip with you, as well as provide you with names of past participants who can discuss their experience with you. Trip members are responsible for: Being in sufficiently good health to undertake the trip they have chosen. Bringing appropriate clothing and equipment as recommended in the equipment list. Packing their personal belongings, passport, credit cards, cash, and traveller checks in a safe and dry place. Packing all cellular, smart phones, cables, digital appliances, bateries, ipods, i-tablets and any other electrical goods for personal use in a safe, cushioned pad and dry sack along with the main luggage. Following normal standards of personal hygiene in order to lessen the risk of traveler s diseases.acting in an appropriate and respectful manner with fellow trip participants and in accordance with local customs. Completing the itinerary as scheduled (or as adjusted in the field as necessary). Normally, travelers will carry a day-pack, saddle bags, dry sacks containing personal belongings they wish to take with them, including camera, glasses, extra clothing, sunscreen, water, daily boxlunch etc. On some specific trips travelers will be asked to carry their own

8 personal items including backpack, sleeping bag, roll mat, etc. On camping trips, cooking and cleaning and putting up tents will be the responsibility of the guiding Staff although they may ask the client for voluntary help in setting up his/her tent. Reasonable changes may be made in the itinerary due to weather conditions or if judged to be in the best interest and well-being of participants. 8. PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS All Clients are expected to satisfy themselves prior to booking that they are fit and able to complete the itinerary of their chosen holiday as described on the official site or sent to the clients No unaccompanied minors (those under 18 years of age) can be accepted however (a) minors aged between 3 and 17 years may accompany their parents on tours designated as specially taylor made family adventures, (b) older teenagers (those aged 14 and over) may be allowed to join certain group tours provided they are accompanied by a parent or guardian who accepts full responsibility for them, (c) minors aged between 10 and 17 may accompany their parents. Anyone suffering from mobility impairment, illness or disability or undergoing treatment for any physical or medical condition must declare the true nature of such condition at the time of booking and make arrangements for the provision of any medication or other treatment which may be required during the holiday. Failure to make such disclosure will constitute a breach of these booking conditions and may result in such persons being excluded from the holiday in which case all monies paid will be forfeit. If you are affected by any condition, medical or otherwise, that might affect your or other people s enjoyment of the holiday, you must advise us of this at the time of booking. 9. BOOKING INFORMATION Reservations and Payment To confirm a booking on any of our regular departure trips, the participant must pay a 20% non-refundable deposit. The balance of the total amount must be deposited 30 days before departure. In case of booking a private departure trip, the 20% non-refundable deposit must be paid 60 days before departure, and the total amount 30 days before departure. Cancellation and Refund Policy If it becomes necessary for you to cancel your trip, your money, minus the cancellation fees charged by Patagonia Trails, will be refunded depending on the cancellation date. Any additional non-refundable cancellation fees and payments already paid in advanced to hotels and other local suppliers will be forfeited. a) Patagonia Trails cancellation fees for regular departures These are departures with fixed dates. Cancellation of the confirmed booking in advance of the 30 days prior to departure results in loss of deposit, which is 30% of the total trip cost. Thereafter the following losses apply: days 40% of total fare days 60% of total fare 13 0 days 100% of total fare b) Patagonia Trails cancellation fees for private departures These are trips

9 operated with a non-fixed date upon special request. Cancellation of the confirmed booking in advance of the 60 days prior to departure results in loss of deposit, which is 20% of the total trip cost. Thereafter the following losses apply: days 40% of total fare days 60% of total fare 30 0 days 100% of total fare No partial refunds will be given for unused trip arrangements for any reason whatsoever. We therefore recommend you to take out travel insurance to safeguard against cancellation and curtailment. Patagonia Trails reserves the right to cancel any trip due to insufficient sign-up or logistical problems that may impede trip operations. In such case you will be given a full refund of the amount paid to Patagonia Trails. Patagonia Trails will not be responsible for additional expenses incurred by you in preparing for the trip (i.e. nonrefundable air tickets, visa fees, equipment, medical expenses, etc.). The refund of all land payments received shall release Patagonia Trails from any further liability. 10. MANDATE The client grants Patagonia Trails a mandate to act in the name and on behalf of the client with the authority to contract all the necessary services for the complete fulfillment of the agreed tourist program, specifically lodging, transfers, food supply, excursions and other services. The client authorizes Patagonia Trails- to use the present mandate with other tourist operators of recognized prestige. The delegate is empowered to contract the same services that Patagonia Trails may contract in fulfillment of the present agreement, on behalf of the client. The parties hereby declare that the services that are agreed in fulfillment of this mandate by Patagonia Trails or its delegates are included in the price of the subscribed program and they do not represent any additional cost for the client. 11.OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES: If you purchase any optional activities that are not part of your pre-booked itinerary, the contract for the provision of that activity will be between you and the activity provider. The decision to partake in any such activity is entirely at your own discretion and risk. If you do have any complaint about, or problem with, any optional activity purchased your claim should be directed to the activity provider and not to us. However, should you or any member of your party by misadventure suffer illness, injury or death during the period of your holiday from an activity which does not form part of the arrangements made by us or an excursion purchased through us, we shall at our absolute discretion give you every assistance including advice and guidance if needed. 12. ASSUMPTION OF RISK AND RELEASE FROM LIABILITY I understand and accept that Patagonia Trails acts as an operator of trips that may expose me to hazards and elements of danger, and that participating in trips such as the one I am undertaking entails risk of illness, danger to property, personal injury and loss of life. I am also accepting that medical services or facilities may not

10 be readily available or accessible during some or all of the time during which I am participating on the trip. I hereby accept and assume full responsibility for any and all risks of illness, injury or loss of life to myself and loss or damage to my property arising out of the participation in the trip organized by Patagonia Trails-. I hereby agree that neither I, nor any of my heirs, personal or legal representatives, or family members will bring suit or make a claim for illness, injury, loss or damage to property, or loss of life resulting from any acts or omissions, including any negligence, gross negligence, or reckless or willful acts (but not willful or fraudulent conduct) of Patagonia Trails, its employees, directors, owners, officers, agents, contractors or affiliated organizations as a result of my participation in this trip. I hereby agree, without limitation, that Patagonia Trails, is not responsible for acts of God, equipment failures, vehicle accidents, illness from food or otherwise, detention, assaults, theft or criminal activity, annoyance, delays, quarantine, strikes, failure of any means of conveyance to arrive or depart as scheduled, civil disturbances, terrorism, government restrictions or regulations, and discrepancies or changes in transit or hotel services over which it has no control. I hereby release Patagonia Trails, its employees, directors, owners, officers, agents, contractors or affiliated organizations from and against any and all liability arising out of, or in any way connected with my participation in the trip, including liability for any negligence (but not willful or fraudulent conduct) and any intentional act intended to protect my safety and well-being. I understand and accept that Patagonia Trails can make reasonable changes in the itinerary where deemed advisable for the comfort and well being of the passengers. They reserve the right to substitute hotels, alter the itinerary, and reverse the order of places to be visited. The laws of the Republic of Chile shall govern this Agreement, as well as any type of arbitration that may arise as a result of controversy to this document. I have carefully read this General Terms & Conditions Agreement and fully understand its contents and confirm that all the information I have provided in the booking form is truthful. I am also aware that this is a release of liability and a contract between Patagonia Trails and its affiliated organizations and/or myself.