The Heart of Patagonia

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Sample Patagonia Itinerary:

The Heart of Patagonia

PO Box 1566 | Burlington VT 05402 | (800) 233 4499 | info@aboveclouds.com | aboveclouds.com

The Art of Adventure Travel

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The Heart of Patagonia There are few parts of the world that offer as much adventure and have stayed as wild as Patagonia. This itinerary gives you access to the least populated section of Argentine Patagonia - the very southern tip of the continent, and the feeling of space, adventure and wild are all palpable throughout the journey.

While Patagonia is all about adventure, it too has a rich culture that is best experiences and encapsulated in the lodges, estancias and food! The wine is almost all from northern Argentina (Mendoza) and the rood is rich in steaks, pizzas and delicious pastas - all have a local twist and hit the perfect spot after a day hiking amount the needle peaks that are the local mountains.!

This itinerary is a rough outline - so that you have access to the best of the best that the area has to offer, while being able to explore and enjoy them at your leisure.

PO Box 1566 | Burlington VT 05402 | (800) 233 4499 | info@aboveclouds.com | aboveclouds.com

The Heart of Patagonia DAY-BY-DAY ITINERARY: 01: Arrive Buenos Aires. Upon arrival at the domestic airport you’ll board your flight to El Calafate, where upon arrival you will once again be met and transferred to your hotel in time to have your first Patagonian dinner. El Quijote.

02: By late morning you’ll be met by your car and driver and head out into the wild of Patagonia! With a stop for lunch you’ll continue on through the mountaineering town of El Chalten. Here you’ll begin your Patagonian adventure the right way, surrounded by some of the most impressive mountains on earth. El Puma.

03- 06: These four days are scheduled in El Chalten to give you a full opportunity to explore all the day hike options and the town. The town itself was created in 1985 and was originally an outpost created by the Argentine government to stake claim to the area - as it is right on the Chilean boarder. Right from the start and to this day - it continues to be a haven for the extreme mountaineers of the world and the rest of us looking for adventure in one of the wildest weather and landscape places on earth. El Puma. *Your option if you’d like these days to be guided or unguided.

07: After an early breakfast you’ll depart for El Calafate and the airport to board your flight to Ushuaia, where once again you’ll be met and transferred to your hotel. Rest of your day at leisure. Patagonia Jarke.

08-09: These two days you’ll have at leisure to explore Ushuaia. Patagonia Jarke.

10: You will be met and transferred back to the airport for your flight to Buenos Aires and onward home.

The Art of Adventure Travel

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Day Hike Options: EL CHALTEN: In terms of ways to spend your days and options for day hikes - there are so many ways to spend your time in El Chalten! Here are a few suggestions from us at Above the Clouds that might be fun: A Few of Our Favorite Day Hikes: 1) Laguna Capri- After hiking straight up from the trailhead for a good hour and a half, there will be signs for a campsite and lake, both named Laguna Capri. Follow the signs and walk through the campsite until you reach Laguna Capri. The lake is quite beautiful, and if it’s clear, it affords a fantastic view of Cerro Torre. This is a short hike – you can do the whole thing very comfortably in 4 hours.

2) Laguna De Los Tres – (This hike starts in the same place but is a longer & more full day if you’re interested) This hike starts at the end of Av. San Martín, next to Madsen free campsite. The slope is quite steep during the first hour until you reach Del Salto stream valley towards the Mt. Fitz Roy. You will notice that the Antarctic Beech become more and more numerous along the path and approximately after an hour and a half further down the way you will reach a well marked natural lookout point. There you will find a sign that interprets the whole landscape right in front of you.

The path always continues up along the Del Salto stream until reaching the drainage of the Lagunas Madre e Hija. Four hours ahead from the starting point you will arrive to Poincenot base camp (big free campsite) and after crossing the Río Blanco you will arrive to Río Blanco base camp (only for climbers). From there the path continues in ascent, approximately 400m. until you reach Laguna de los Tres. The trail finishes at the old moraine ridge with an extraordinary view of the lagoon and De los Tres Glacier. This is the closest view to the granite wall of Mt. Fitz Roy and the peaks around. Going down the moraine, you can take a trail that surrounds the lagoon until its outfall where it is possible to appreciate the emerald waters of the Laguna Sucia and its hanging glaciers. This is a full day hike – it takes between 8-10 hours but offers great views and isn’t hugely challenging.

3) Laguna Torre - From El Chaltén the hike has two starting points that go to Laguna Torre (one of which is just behind El Puma – just steps outside your door). Both ways enter the De las Vueltas river valley and continue up to the river’s source. Half way you arrive to a natural lookout point of incomparable panoramic views of the Adela range, Cerro Torre and the adjacent granite peaks.

Finally the trail crosses the DeAgostini base camp where it is possible to spend the night. Fifteen minutes along the way from the camp you reach Laguna Torre. At the shore of this lagoon you often find a number of icebergs that has slide down from the face of the glacier.

PO Box 1566 | Burlington VT 05402 | (800) 233 4499 | info@aboveclouds.com | aboveclouds.com

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PO Box 1566 | Burlington VT 05402 | (800) 233 4499 | info@aboveclouds.com | aboveclouds.com