SOUTHERN NATIONAL ROUTE 40

07.30 AM approx. morning departure to Chile in a regular tour with bilingual Spanish/English speaking guide, navigation, and lunch.  

Discover the dizzying path, partly cornice, which crosses the Andes mountain range, runs along the south coast of the lake and the transition from the steppe to the Patagonian Andean forest, and then join exclusive navigation to the Marble Chapels. The Chilean part of the lake lacked away until the 1990s and was only accessible in lake form. Today it is possible to travel an incredibly scenic path along the south coast of the lake and at the foot of the highest peaks of Southern Patagonia, next to the North Ice Field. Moving westwards you enter areas of greater rainfall where you can see the appearance of wooded vegetation. On the way, from this sparsely populated and visited region, we will carry out a boated navigation (optional kayaks) towards the Marble Chapels, a unique outcrop in the region, eroded and polished by the waters of the lake forming caverns of whimsical shapes and singular attractiveness. This route is a virtual crossing of the Andes mountain range, crossing different hills and observing amazing changes in vegetation, to finally navigate to a unique attraction in Patagonia. The navigation is always subject to weather conditions.  

Overnight in Los Antiguos 

08.00 AM approx. morning departure to Cueva de las Manos, in regular service with bilingual Spanish/English speaking guide, soft hiking, entrance fee, and lunch. 

The deep canyon of the Pinturas River houses Patagonia’s most important archaeological site. In the Cueva de las Manos, you will find cave paintings of almost ten thousand years. The proposal is to emulate our ancestors and access the site by the same footprint that they were able to use in ancient times. We start the tour by taking Route 40, observing a lot of native fauna, with several stops at panoramic points and crossing the Caracoles Canyon until we arrive at the Visitor and Interpretation Center Cueva de las Manos. Once there and following the traces of our ancestors we will enjoy trekking inside the Cañadon of the River Paintings to appreciate different caves with a wide variety of cave paintings, hands in positive and negative, animals and symbols on a great level of conservation. On the way back we will be waiting for you for lunch and visit the Interpretation Center. Returning to Los Antiguos we will explore the Cañadón Caracoles to understand its origin and perhaps see some condor in flight. Finally, we will hike to visit the striking ”Lands of Colors”, an ideal place for photography, of great scenic beauty, and a source of raw material for the rock art of the region. Optional additional 5-km trekking along Rio Pinturas canyon. 

08.00 PM Regular bus departure along route 40 Southwards. 

Overnight in bus. (B, L) 

07.30 AM approx., arrival in El Chaltén and transfer to the hostelry.  

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