Explorations in
Patagonia National Park

We depart from Explora on the Patagonia National Park and travel along the Carretera Austral until taking back roads amid forests, rivers and lagoons until reaching the Calluqueo Glacier. This impressive tongue of ice hangs from the western slope of the solemn Mount San Lorenzo. It then flows into a murky glacial lagoon surrounded by walls of ice thousands of years old that impose themselves on the geography of the place. It is a natural environment that was formed over the course of centuries and millennia, where the scale of time is blurred. The wind causes the clouds surrounding Mount San Lorenzo to put on a shifting and dynamic show. We will be able to sit down and contemplate, walk around, or go down to get our wet feet in the lagoon.

We leave the lodge and cross sectors with a marked cattle ranching culture before flanking the famous Baker River, known for its turquoise waters and its powerful flow. We will hike to the Baker-Neff confluence, the point where the two rivers meet, before heading to the south bank of Lake Chelenco to enjoy the panoramic views and learn about the geological formation of this area and much of Patagonia.

We invite travelers to get to know the Patagonia National Park museum. It presents the landscape and the cultural history of the Chacabuco Valley in an interactive way, incorporating an emotional and inspirational narrative on the importance of National Parks and ecological loss and recovery. We hope to foster a culture of conservation with this museum, inviting visitors to be inspired by the beauty of the park and to get closer to Patagonia's great natural and cultural heritage.

We leave the lodge on foot and take an introductory hike in Patagonia National Park on this exploration. We will begin in sectors where there are streams and low forests with significant presence of chacya (riparian shrub). As we enter the Park, we will begin to hear the songs of a variety of birds, such as churrin and bandurria tapaculo and black-faced ibis). Guanacos can be spotted grazing in this area.

We will hike along the southern slope of the Patagonia National Park. We will cross areas with diverse vegetation: low shrubs, forest regrowth and dense coigüe forests. Different species of Patagonian bird life and fauna will accompany us. We will have broad views of the mountains and hills in the sector and the crystalline Lake Cochrane, which is a great binational lake shared by Chile and Argentina.

We will cross the Chacabuco Valley's natural corridors and as we move up we will see the different perspectives of contrasting landscapes around us. We can drink pure water from natural streams and get our feet wet crossing one of them. The silence of the landscape stands out in autumn and winter, contrasting with the birdsong that can be heard as background music for the rest of the year

We will hike around the edge of Lago Chico, where forests, lagoons and ravines intertwine. We will have great views of Lake Cochrane and Cerro Oportus. Along the way different birds, part of the Patagonian fauna, can be seen.

We will begin by entering in a dense Patagonian forest to get to know the variety of flora and its development. We will hike through the natural habitat sector know as "Los Gatos"and then head down to Lake Cochrane, known for having some of the most transparent waters in the world and where we can get out feet wet.

We will leave the lodge on foot and walk upward to view the valley from another perspective. The height reveals the mountains and plateaus that are interspersed with lagoons and forests. This is a very good option for birdwatching in the region as condors, eagles and other species can be seen.

We will leave the lodge on foot and hike through a vast steppe region bordering the Chacabuco River. This is one of the areas most populated by pumas and guanacos. Here we will learn more about these species and how to protect them.

We will hike through the river valley to Lake Cochrane, which has one of the most crystalline waters in the world. We will contemplate the southern slopes of the Patagonia National Park, one of the main huemul habitats. We will visit the Huemul Post, the base for protecting and monitoring the huemuls that transiting through these areas. We will move through a forest full of birdsong and marked wildlife.

We leave by kayak along the Cochrane River upstream to Lake Cochrane and along the way we will see how the water's blue tones contrast with the green slops full of nothofagus. We disembark on the beach to continue exploring on foot on a journey that crosses into the Chacabuco Valley. *Only for travelers with experience in distance kayaking or similar.

We will go to the Cochrane River rapids in kayak. We will walk to the Lake Cochrane viewpoint and return via the Los Carpinteros trail in the Tamango area. We will cross coigüe forests in the first half of the the exploration and then flank the riverbank with landscapes of pampa and Patagonian steppe. The difficulty level of this alternative is easy.

We will hike through the steppe before arriving at a lagoon with one of the greatest variety of birds. There we can get to know the Patagonian fauna and observe the multitude of species that inhabit the area.

We will leave the lodge on foot on a hike through large expanses of steppe, connecting with nature and wildlife. We will share amid the sound of birds and perhaps we will be able to glimpse the interaction between a puma and guanacos, part of this Patagonian territory.