Chile: Santiago, the Atacama Desert and Torres del Paine

1. Jour 1 : Arrive in Santiago

   Santiago International Airport to your hotel, then a walk through the old centre

   • Welcome dinner
   • Nuit : Santiago
   Détail du jour 1

   Fly into Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL), about 20 km west of the centre; most overnight flights from North America land in the morning. A driver meets you in arrivals and takes you to the hotel, where you can rest. At about 3 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a first, gentle walk through the old centre, paced for a long flight. We start at the Plaza de Armas, laid out when the Spanish founded the city in 1541, with the cathedral and the old post office on its sides. A few blocks north is the Mercado Central, an iron market hall made in Britain and opened in 1872, where fish stalls and small restaurants fill the floor under the ornate roof. Then a short climb up Cerro Santa Lucía, the hill where the city began, for a view across the rooftops towards the Andes. In the evening we sit down to a welcome dinner and a briefing on the days ahead, including how we handle the altitude in the north.

   Compris

   • Pick-up at Santiago International Airport (SCL)
   • Afternoon walk with your guide: the Plaza de Armas, the Mercado Central and Cerro Santa Lucía
   • Welcome dinner and briefing

   Temps libre : Free until the afternoon walk

   Activité : If your flight lands after about 2 pm, you meet the group at the welcome dinner; your guide gives you the walk route to do another time.

   

2. Jour 2 : Valparaíso and the Casablanca Valley

   Santiago to Valparaíso, then back through the Casablanca Valley

   • Environ 3 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Santiago
   Détail du jour 2

   We leave Santiago at about 8:30 am for the coast, about an hour and a half west on Route 68. Valparaíso's historic quarter, listed by UNESCO in 2003, spreads up the steep hills above the port, and the way to see it is on foot with a local guide. We ride one of the old funiculars, the ascensores, up to Cerro Concepción, then walk through Cerro Alegre along lanes and stairways painted with murals, past houses clad in corrugated iron and balconies looking over the bay. Next we drive up to La Sebastiana on Cerro Bellavista, the house the poet Pablo Neruda filled with the things he collected, with wide windows over the harbour. On the way back to Santiago we stop in the Casablanca Valley, a cool-climate wine region between the city and the sea, for a sit-down lunch at a winery with a tasting of its white wines. We are back at the hotel by late afternoon, and the evening is yours.

   Compris

   • Walking tour of Valparaíso's historic quarter with a local guide
   • A ride on one of Valparaíso's funiculars
   • La Sebastiana, Pablo Neruda's house in Valparaíso
   • Sit-down lunch and wine tasting at a Casablanca Valley winery

   Option plus facile : Ride the funicular up and down instead of walking the stairways, and wait for the group at a café on Paseo Gervasoni at the top.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Santiago

   Activité : About 3 km on foot in Valparaíso, much of it on steep lanes, cobbles and steps. La Sebastiana is closed on Mondays; the day order is confirmed with your final itinerary.

   

3. Jour 3 : Fly north to the Atacama, sunset in the Valle de la Luna

   Santiago to Calama by air, then by road to San Pedro de Atacama and the Valle de la Luna

   • Environ 2 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner
   • Nuit : San Pedro de Atacama
   Détail du jour 3

   A morning flight, which may mean leaving the hotel around 7 am, takes about two hours north to Calama, a mining city at the edge of the Atacama Desert, where our vehicle waits. The road crosses about 100 km of bare desert to San Pedro de Atacama, an oasis village of adobe houses at about 2,400 m, where we stay four nights. Lunch is in town, your choice, and the early afternoon is for rest: drink plenty of water and take it easy on the first day at altitude. About two hours before sunset we drive a few kilometres west into the Cordillera de la Sal to the Valle de la Luna, the Valley of the Moon, a protected area of salt-crusted ridges, dunes and wind-cut rock managed with the local Atacameño community. We walk short trails among the formations, then climb to a ridge viewpoint as the low sun turns the ridges orange and pink and the cone of the Licancabur volcano glows on the eastern horizon. Sunset is the busiest hour here; timed tickets, booked ahead, keep numbers down.

   Compris

   • Flight from Santiago to Calama
   • Transfer to San Pedro de Atacama
   • Valle de la Luna at sunset, with timed entry

   Temps libre : Early afternoon free to rest

   Activité : San Pedro sits at about 2,400 m. Most people notice the altitude only as a mild headache or shortness of breath on stairs; drink water, go easy on alcohol tonight and tell your guide if you feel unwell. The Valle de la Luna walk is about 3 km on sand and gravel. If the flight lands late, the Valle de la Luna moves to day 4's free midday, so you do not miss it.

   

4. Jour 4 : Pukará de Quitor, Toconao and the flamingos of Chaxa

   San Pedro de Atacama to the Pukará de Quitor, then Toconao and Laguna Chaxa on the Salar de Atacama

   • Environ 2 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner
   • Nuit : San Pedro de Atacama
   Détail du jour 4

   A gentle day at the same altitude as San Pedro, to let your body adjust before we go higher. After a relaxed breakfast we walk about 3 km north of the village to the Pukará de Quitor, a stone fortress built by the Atacameño people in the 12th century on a hillside above the San Pedro river; a path climbs to a viewpoint over the green oasis and the line of volcanoes. The middle of the day is free: lunch where you like, the whitewashed adobe church on the plaza, or a siesta out of the sun. In the late afternoon we drive south to Toconao, a village built of pale volcanic stone, with an old bell tower standing apart from its church, then out onto the Salar de Atacama, the largest salt flat in Chile. At Laguna Chaxa, in the Los Flamencos National Reserve, we follow the marked path to watch Andean and Chilean flamingos feed in the shallows while the volcanoes to the east turn pink at sunset.

   Compris

   • Pukará de Quitor with your guide
   • Toconao village and its bell tower
   • Laguna Chaxa on the Salar de Atacama at sunset, in the Los Flamencos National Reserve

   Option plus facile : Ride to the Pukará de Quitor in the vehicle and stay at the lower terrace instead of climbing to the viewpoint.

   Temps libre : Middle of the day free in San Pedro

   Activité : About 6 km on foot in all, on dirt roads and a short, steep path at the Pukará. Bring a sun hat; there is little shade. If the reserve closes before sunset in high summer, we reach Chaxa in the late afternoon instead.

5. Jour 5 : The high lagoons of the altiplano

   San Pedro de Atacama to Socaire and the Miscanti and Miñiques lagoons, then back

   • Environ 4 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : San Pedro de Atacama
   Détail du jour 5

   Today we go high, after two nights to adjust. We leave at about 8 am and drive south along the edge of the Salar de Atacama, with the volcanoes on our left, to Socaire, a farming village at about 3,200 m with stone-walled terraces and a small church. From there the road climbs roughly another thousand metres to the Miscanti and Miñiques lagoons, at about 4,100 m: two deep blue lakes at the foot of the volcanoes that share their names, edged with yellow grass where vicuñas often graze. We walk only short distances up here, slowly, and stay as long as the group is comfortable. Where access is open, we continue to Piedras Rojas, red rocks beside a turquoise salt lake. Coming back down, we sit down to a late lunch of local dishes in Socaire, at a lower and easier altitude, and are back in San Pedro by late afternoon with the evening free.

   Compris

   • Socaire village
   • The Miscanti and Miñiques lagoons, with entry
   • Piedras Rojas, where access is open
   • Sit-down lunch in Socaire

   Option plus facile : If the altitude bothers you, stay at the first lagoon viewpoint close to the vehicle, and we come down to Socaire earlier.

   Temps libre : Evening free in San Pedro

   Activité : The highest point is about 4,100 m. Walking is short and slow on gravel paths. The sun is strong at this height: bring sunscreen, sunglasses and a warm layer for the wind.

6. Jour 6 : El Tatio geysers at dawn, stars at night

   San Pedro de Atacama to the El Tatio geyser field, back via Machuca and the Putana wetland

   • Environ 3.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner
   • Nuit : San Pedro de Atacama
   Détail du jour 6

   The one very early start of the trip, because the geysers are at their best at sunrise. We leave San Pedro at about 5 am and drive about 90 km north, climbing in the dark to El Tatio, a geyser field at about 4,300 m in the Andes, run by local Atacameño communities. In the freezing air before the sun clears the mountains, steam from dozens of vents rises in tall white columns; as the day warms the plumes thin out, which is why we come early. We walk the marked paths among the boiling pools with your guide, then have a picnic breakfast beside the field. Those who want can bathe in the warm thermal pool nearby. On the way down we stop at Machuca, a tiny hamlet of thatched adobe houses, and at the Putana wetland for its birds and grazing vicuñas. We are back by about noon. The afternoon is free to sleep, and after dark we go out with an astronomer to look at the southern sky through telescopes.

   Compris

   • El Tatio geysers at sunrise, with entry
   • Picnic breakfast at the geysers
   • Machuca village and the Putana wetland
   • Evening stargazing session with an astronomer and telescopes

   Option plus facile : Stay in the warm vehicle through the coldest half-hour and join the walk once the sun is up.

   Temps libre : Afternoon free in San Pedro

   Activité : Dress for well below freezing at dawn: hat, gloves, a warm jacket and layers to peel off later. El Tatio, at about 4,300 m, is the highest point of the trip. Stargazing depends on the moon and the weather; near a full moon the session turns to the moon and the planets.

7. Jour 7 : To the far south: Punta Arenas

   San Pedro de Atacama to Calama, then by air via Santiago to Punta Arenas

   • Environ 1.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner
   • Nuit : Punta Arenas
   Détail du jour 7

   A travel day from one end of Chile to the other, more than 3,000 km south. Flight times set the start: expect to leave San Pedro about 6 to 7 am, with breakfast packed if the hotel is not yet serving, and drive back across the desert to Calama airport, about an hour and a quarter, and fly to Santiago, then on to Punta Arenas on the Strait of Magellan. With the connection, plan on most of the day in transit; the flights replace a road journey of several days, and your guide travels with you and handles check-ins and bags. We land in Punta Arenas in the late afternoon or evening, and the change is sharp: from dry desert air to the cool, wind-blown south, where the light lasts late into the evening in summer. A short transfer brings us to a central hotel near the Plaza Muñoz Gamero, the main square. The evening is free; the waterfront promenade along the Strait is a few minutes' walk, and local restaurants serve king crab (centolla) and Patagonian lamb.

   Compris

   • Transfer to Calama airport
   • Flights from Calama to Punta Arenas, connecting in Santiago
   • Transfer to your hotel in Punta Arenas

   Temps libre : Evening free in Punta Arenas

   Activité : An early start, likely about 6 to 7 am, set by the Calama flight. Flight times change with airline schedules; the exact times come with your final itinerary.

8. Jour 8 : Puerto Natales and into Torres del Paine

   Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales, then north into Torres del Paine National Park

   • Environ 5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Torres del Paine
   Détail du jour 8

   This is the longest road day of the trip, about 370 km and five hours of driving, because one road leads north to the park and there is no closer airport with flights all year. We break it in two. After breakfast we drive about three hours across open sheep country to Puerto Natales, on the Última Esperanza Sound, for a sit-down lunch by the water. Then we continue north, watching for rheas and guanacos on the steppe, and the Paine massif rises ahead of us long before the park gate. Torres del Paine has been a national park since 1959 and a UNESCO biosphere reserve since 1978. We stop at Laguna Amarga, or the first clear viewpoint of the day, for our first look at the three granite towers, then carry on to our hotel inside or at the edge of the park, where we stay four nights. Dinner is at the hotel.

   Compris

   • Drive from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales and Torres del Paine with your guide
   • Sit-down lunch in Puerto Natales
   • Torres del Paine National Park pass for your stay
   • Dinner at the hotel

   Activité : The longest drive of the trip, with a stop about every hour and a long lunch in Puerto Natales.

   

9. Jour 9 : Salto Grande, the Cuernos and Laguna Azul

   Torres del Paine: Pudeto, Salto Grande and the Mirador Cuernos, then Laguna Azul

   • Environ 2 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Torres del Paine
   Détail du jour 9

   A first full day in the park, with an easy walk and the classic viewpoints. We drive to Pudeto on the shore of Lago Pehoé and walk to Salto Grande, where the Paine River drops from Lago Nordenskjöld into Pehoé in a loud, wind-blown waterfall. The trail goes on across low scrub to the Mirador Cuernos, a viewpoint on the shore of Lago Nordenskjöld right below the dark-capped granite horns of the Cuernos del Paine: about 6 km return and two to three hours on an almost flat path. Lunch is at a park restaurant, or a picnic out of the wind if the day is fine. In the afternoon we drive around to the eastern side of the park, past the Paine waterfall, to Laguna Azul, where the three towers stand at the head of the valley and guanacos graze beside the road. Back at the hotel there is time to rest before dinner.

   Compris

   • Salto Grande waterfall and the Mirador Cuernos walk with your guide
   • The Paine waterfall and Laguna Azul
   • Lunch in the park and dinner at the hotel

   Option plus facile : Walk only as far as Salto Grande, about 1 km return, and meet the group back at the vehicle.

   Temps libre : Late afternoon free at the hotel

   Activité : About 6 km on foot on a mostly flat path that is often very windy; gusts can make you stop and brace.

10. Jour 10 : The trail towards the Towers

    Torres del Paine: the Ascencio valley trail to the Chileno refuge area, with the option to reach the Base of the Towers

    • Environ 2 h de route
    • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
    • Nuit : Torres del Paine
    Détail du jour 10

    The day for the trail most people come for. From the trailhead at the Welcome Centre in the park's Las Torres sector, near the Laguna Amarga entrance, the path crosses the Ascencio River and climbs steadily up the side of the Ascencio valley, with views back over Lago Nordenskjöld, then drops into the valley to the Chileno refuge. Everyone walks with the group to the Chileno area, with a packed lunch by the river: about 11 km return and about 450 m of climbing, five to six hours for most people. Those who are fit and well shod carry on with a local mountain guide through the lenga forest and up the final steep hour over a boulder moraine to the Base of the Towers, where the three granite towers stand above a glacial lake. That full hike is about 20 km return, about 800 m of climbing and eight to ten hours. Access to the trail is booked ahead. Whichever you choose, dinner is at the hotel, with stories from both groups.

    Compris

    • Guided hike up the Ascencio valley to the Chileno refuge area
    • Base of the Towers hike with a local mountain guide, for those who choose it
    • Packed lunch for the trail and dinner at the hotel

    Option plus facile : Skip the long walk: take the first hour of the trail to the Ascencio River bridge and back, or spend the day at your hotel, while the vehicle takes the hikers.

    Option plus active : Carry on from the Chileno area to the Base of the Towers with a local mountain guide: about 20 km return from the trailhead, about 800 m of climbing, eight to ten hours.

    Activité : The trail is exposed to strong wind, and the last hour to the Base of the Towers is steep, loose rock. Bring hiking boots, poles if you use them, and a wind and rain shell.

11. Jour 11 : Lago Grey and its icebergs

    Torres del Paine: Lago Pehoé to Lago Grey and the Grey Glacier boat, then back

    • Environ 2 h de route
    • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
    • Nuit : Torres del Paine
    Détail du jour 11

    The western side of the park today. We stop at a viewpoint over Lago Pehoé, the turquoise lake below the Cuernos, then drive to the Lago Grey sector. A suspension bridge crosses the Pingo River, and an easy path of about 2 km leads through lenga forest and across a gravel beach to the shore, where icebergs broken from the glacier drift and run aground in the wind. Weather allowing, we board the Grey Glacier boat for about three hours on the lake, up to the ice face of Grey Glacier, a tongue of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. The boat is in the price, not sold on the day. Strong wind sometimes cancels the sailing; if it does, we walk the Lago Grey shore and viewpoints instead and refund the boat's cost. Lunch is a sit-down meal in the Lago Grey sector, and the late afternoon is free at the hotel before a last dinner together in the park.

    Compris

    • Lago Pehoé viewpoint
    • Walk across the Pingo River bridge to the Lago Grey icebergs
    • Grey Glacier boat trip, weather permitting
    • Sit-down lunch in the Lago Grey sector and dinner at the hotel

    Temps libre : Late afternoon free at the hotel

    Activité : About 4 km on foot on forest paths and loose gravel. The boat deck is cold and windy; bring every warm layer you have.

12. Jour 12 : The Milodón Cave and back to Santiago

    Torres del Paine to the Milodón Cave and Puerto Natales, then by air to Santiago

    • Environ 5 h de route
    • Petit-déjeuner
    • Nuit : Santiago
    Détail du jour 12

    We leave the park after breakfast and drive south to the Milodón Cave, about 25 km before Puerto Natales: a huge cavern where remains of the extinct giant ground sloth, the mylodon, were found in the 1890s, with a short path looping through it. From here the day depends on the season. When the seasonal flights from Puerto Natales run, the airport is close by and the day is short. Otherwise we drive about three more hours to Punta Arenas airport, the day 8 road in reverse, stopping for lunch on the way. That makes this the second long road day, about 370 km and five hours, over our 4-hour cap because one road links the park to the airports; the cave and lunch break it up. The flight to Santiago takes about three and a half hours, and we reach the hotel in the evening. Tonight is free: a last dinner out with the group if you like, or a quiet night before the flight home.

    Compris

    • The Milodón Cave Natural Monument
    • Flight to Santiago from Puerto Natales or Punta Arenas
    • Transfers to the airport in Patagonia and to your hotel in Santiago

    Temps libre : Evening free in Santiago

    Activité : Which airport we use is set by the airline schedule for your dates and confirmed with your final itinerary. From Punta Arenas the drive is about 370 km and five hours, with stops; from Puerto Natales it is about 150 km.

13. Jour 13 : Depart from Santiago

    Your hotel to Santiago International Airport

    • Petit-déjeuner
    Détail du jour 13

    The trip ends after breakfast. A driver takes you to Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, about 30 to 45 minutes from the centre depending on traffic, at the time that suits your flight. Book a flight home leaving after about 1 pm: the transfer takes 30 to 45 minutes and you should be at the airport three hours before an international flight. Most flights to Canada and the United States leave in the evening, so you have most of the day: ride the funicular or walk up Cerro San Cristóbal for the view over the city, see the collection at the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino near the Plaza de Armas (closed on Mondays), or wander the Lastarria and Bellavista neighbourhoods for lunch and a last pisco sour. The hotel can keep your bags after check-out. If you would rather stay longer, we can add hotel nights in Santiago, or quote an extension to Easter Island (Rapa Nui), about five hours' flight west over the Pacific.

    Compris

    • Drop-off at Santiago International Airport (SCL)

    Temps libre : Free until your airport transfer

    Activité : Book a flight leaving after about 1 pm; allow 30 to 45 minutes for the transfer and three hours at the airport for international check-in. Most flights to North America leave in the evening.

Faune et météo : October to April is the Patagonia season: long days, but strong wind, most of all from December to February. The Atacama is dry and sunny all year, warm by day and cold at night, and from January to February summer storms on the altiplano can close the high roads for a day. Flamingos feed on Laguna Chaxa all year, guanacos are easy to see in Torres del Paine, and pumas live there but are rarely seen.

• Santiago2 nuits
• San Pedro de Atacama4 nuits
• Punta Arenas1 nuit
• Torres del Paine4 nuits
• Santiago1 nuit