Grande Traversée, Chile Day 1 Itinerary On your arrival to the Bariloche International Airport, a driver will take you to your downtown hotel. Tonight you stay at the Milan Hotel in Bariloche, (Beschtedt 128, 8400 San Carlos de Bariloche. Phone +54 294 442-2624) Bariloche is situated on the shore of Lake Nahuel Huapi and is a popular ski resort town surrounded by mountains. Depending on your arrival flight you may have the chance to explore the area and get great views from the Cerro Otto or to do any last minute shopping before the ride. Now is the time to check you have everything you need for the trip, because once the ride has started you will not have access to shops, pharmacies or cash points. Lunch is to your account today. At 6pm you will meet your guide and have a full briefing for the following days before heading for dinner at a traditional restaurant. Your guide will bring a waterproof bag into which you need to pack what you will need for the next five nights until you are reunited with your main bags at Lago Puelo. You will also be given a saddlebag so you can pack what you will need for the day ahead. Please note that the day to day itinerary may change depending on local weather conditions and the riding ability of your group, but always with your best interests in mind. several family ranches mainly involved in breeding of cattle, sheep and horses, as well as forestation. You meet your horses and the equipment is checked. The ride leads you into the heart of the pre-cordillera between steep mountain ranges and infinite steppes. From the top of Las Buitreras hill you have a panoramic view of the overall area. After a packed lunch, continue riding until you reach the Pichileufú River. Dinner and camp overnight. Riding time c. 4-5 hours. Day 3 - Pichileufú River to Alto Chubut After breakfast the route takes you through gently rolling hills and large valleys. Then you begin ascending along a path used by locals to move their cattle and arrive at Paso sin Nombre 1,700m above sea-level. Lunch will be a picnic along the way. The views open out and a large valley in the middle of the mountain chain appears - this is the Alto Chubut. Day 2 - Bariloche to Pichileufú River After an early breakfast you will drive towards the Ñirihuau area, 30 km from Bariloche. Here you find Continue riding for another hour and reach an idyllic spot surrounded by an ancient native beach forest. Updated 23 Feb 2018 AW Page 1 of 5
Dinner and camp overnight. Riding time c. 5-7 hours. Day 4 - Alto Chubut to El Sapucai Today you leave the forests and clear-water streams behind to continue your ride along the Chubut River and descend onto the Patagonian Steppe. This is an area of dry vegetation where Coirón, Neneo, Calafate and some small Ñires (local flora) still thrive. The river passes through rocky canyons and some farms. Lunch will be a picnic amongst the snowy peaks. In the afternoon, return to El Sapucai by a different route. Dinner and overnight in tepees at El Sapucai. Day 6 El Sapucai to Lago Puelo This is the last day with your Argentine Criollo horse. Today s route takes you across small cattle farms in the Alto Chubut area, where people live all year round. A large proportion of those living in this remote place are descendants of the Mapuche people, original inhabitants of a vast territory in what is now Chile and Argentina. Lunch will be a picnic along the way. The route this afternoon takes you to the mountain refuge of El Sapucai. The route takes you past an abandoned gold and lead mine. Dinner and overnight in tepees at El Sapucai. Day 5 Circular Ride from El Sapucai After breakfast, set off on horseback. Today s route takes you into the cordillera to experience wonderful views of the Andes. Your Criollo horses are surefooted over all sorts of terrain. At the end of your climb there are amazing views all around. On reaching an old school, share a last picnic and say goodbye to your horses and the Argentinian baqueanos. From here you are transferred by road to the small village of Lago Puelo (a journey of c.2 hours). This area is surrounded by cypress trees (Austrocedrus Chilensis) and maitenes woodland (Maytenus Boaria) with a micro-climate that fosters the production of berries such as raspberries and cherries, as well as hops for beer production. You are reunited with your main luggage which you left in Bariloche and you keep your luggage with you for the next three nights. Dinner is at a local restaurant and overnight in guesthouse accommodation. Riding time c. 3-4 hours. Day 7 - Lago Puelo to Las Bandurrias Island Today is a non-riding day. It is a c. 30 minute drive to the Lago Puelo National Park where you have to complete the customs procedure before getting onto the boat that crosses the border. The turbo-jet boat takes 45 minutes to navigate across two lakes Lago Puelo in Argentina and Lago Inferior in Chile and the rapids between them. Updated 23 Feb 2018 AW Page 2 of 5
After getting off the boat there is a 15 minute walk to reach the Chilean border checkpoint. After the customs procedure, you take another motor boat (20 minutes) to Las Bandurrias Island on Las Rocas Lake. NB: You MUST be careful to retain the immigration paper you will be given on entering Chile as you will need to present this to passport control in Santiago when you depart the country may be wet and steep as you ride through these ancient trees amongst the majestic mountains. At the end of the ride take a short boat trip back to Las Bandurrias Island. Tonight you will be asked to separate your luggage again. The clothes you need for the next four nights will go into waterproof sacks. You will not see your main luggage again until Day 13. On Las Bandurrias you are surrounded by an outstanding landscape of crystal clear waters and a temperate forest that sits in stark contrast with the steppe. A friendly and warm welcome will wait for you at Las Bandurrias. Lunch, dinner and overnight at Bandurrias Island. Day 8 Day ride to Lago Azul Today you leave the island to meet the Chilean horses and the baqueanos down by the lake. You might make a quick stop at the farm La Colina, with a first glimpse of the Chilean countryside in the heart of the cordillera. It is a ride of about 3 hours to the Blue Lake Lago Azul, with its crystal clear waters and abundant fish life, surrounded by majestic peaks and a stunning landscape. Enjoy a picnic lunch relaxing on the shores of the lake. Dinner and overnight at Bandurrias Island. Day 9 - Bandurrias Island to Las Rosas After breakfast a motor boat will take you back to the other side of the lake where the horses will be waiting. After a short ride of around an hour, you reach the source of the Puelo River. The river is deep and wide so a boatman will help you cross. The horses will swim across, guided by the motorboat. After the picnic you follow a path back towards Las Rocas Lake. On your way you pass through an ancient Valdivian type forest with very diverse vegetation that s found in very few Chilean regions. The ground Continue along woodland paths and beside the Puelo River until you reach the Ventisqueros Valley to the west. You might break for lunch near to the Las Mellizas (twin) lagoons which are surrounded by mountains. Updated 23 Feb 2018 AW Page 3 of 5
In the afternoon, cross the river on horseback to arrive at your overnight lodging. Dinner and overnight at a cosy house near the Puelo River. Riding time c. 7-8 hours. Day 10 - Las Rosas to Ventisqueros Today you continue riding into the Río Ventisqueros Valley. In this sparsely populated place some inhabitants subsist on livestock breeding. You cross the river several times on horseback today. Riding time c. 4 hours. Day 12 - Ventisqueros to Las Rosas This morning you head towards the Puelo River. Ancient woods, open spaces and river crossings in the midst of the mountains, waterfalls and isolated landscapes make today a long but exciting day. After lunch, continue the route up to the end of the valley, where you spend the next two nights. Riding time c. 6-7 hours. Day 11 Day ride to El Toro Today you ride into a neighbouring valley and enjoy the view of a hanging ice glacier. The route is technical. The narrow valley and the dense vegetation leads you to an alerce (larch) forest, a native and protected millenary tree that is one of the world s most ancient. This is a remote area with few inhabitants. Have a picnic lunch near the El Toro River before descending back into the Ventisqueros Valley and returning to the farm about mid-afternoon. Enjoy the remaining afternoon by taking a hike around the area, a swim or simply relax. You have a picnic lunch at the Ventisqueros River s edge. In the afternoon, continue your journey passing though different properties where the locals still use the same techniques to daily cultivate the land, as their ancestors did. At a certain point of the path, the vegetation becomes quite dense. Riding time c. 6-7 hours. Day 13 Las Rosas to Llanada Grande and on to Puerto Varas Your last riding day and it could be a long day of travelling towards the village of Llanada Grande. You will cross again the properties along the Puelo River to Puerto Urrutia. The horses will swim one last time across the river before returning to the mountain Updated 23 Feb 2018 AW Page 4 of 5
path. The last stretch of the ride crosses huge forests on a path with beautiful views over the Puelo River. Arrival into the hamlet of Llanada Grande marks the end of your ride. Here you say a farewell to your horses and the baqueanos. After a last lunch in the valley you are reunited with your luggage and commence the journey back to civilisation. It is a one hour drive to the ferry which takes about 45 minutes to take you to the other side of the Tagua- Tagua Lake. Then you continue by vehicle to Puerto Varas (c. 4 hours). This long journey is along the beautiful Reloncavi Fjord. You will see Lake Llanquihue and have views of the Osorno and Calbuco volcanoes and the Vicente Perez Rosales National Park. Arrival into Puerto Varas can be as late as 8:30-9pm. Farewell dinner and overnight in a hotel. Riding time c. 4 hours. Day 14: After breakfast transfer to Puerto Montt airport for your flight home. Updated 23 Feb 2018 AW Page 5 of 5