Andean Circuit

Reception at Santiago Airport, and transfer to hotel. From the Hotel in Santiago, the city downtown awaits us. We will proceed through the main avenue of the city, Alameda del Libertador General Bernardo O’Higgins, passing by the San Francisco Church, the oldest monument of the country erected in 1568 housing a convent, miraculously withstanding several earthquakes. Start off by visiting the Santa Lucía Hill, where the Spanish conquistador Pedro de Valdivia founded the city on 12th February 1541.

From here, we will be taken to the La Moneda Palace, nowadays the neoclassical style government palace, but originally constructed to house the Mint of the Spanish Crown during the 18th century. A few blocks away, we will walk along Paseo Ahumada until reaching the Main Square. When Pedro de Valdivia founded Santiago in 1541, he laid out this square as the heart of the newly-formed city. This bustling spot houses the oldest buildings of the capital: the Cathedral Church of Santiago, rebuilt in 1748 on the very site where all four previous churches were destroyed by fires and earthquakes, the Central Post Office and the National Historical Museum, the former “Real Audiencia” or Spanish Royal Court. A little further, we will cross the Mapocho River and head straight towards the Bellavista Neighborhood, a lively place, core of the night and artistic life, where pubs, cultural centers and international gastronomy can be found.

Return to the hotel in Santiago. Overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel. We will begin our hour and forty-five minute journey on Route 68 from Santiago heading towards the coast to the beautiful city of Viña del Mar, also known as the Garden City, for a visit of its main streets and avenues, museums, and its large homes and palaces. Later head along the coast towards Reñaca, one of Chile’s most famous beach towns to enjoy a bit of sunshine and nature! We will head around the bay to Valparaíso, and set off by discovering this busy port city with its charming hills. We will pass by Chile’s parliament building as well as other examples of the historical architecture that makes Valparaíso a World Heritage Site since 2003. Once in Valparaíso, start off with a visit to La Sebastiana, one of the Prize winner poet Pablo Neruda´s three homes in Chile, now a Museum. Our next stop is a must; the “Artillería” lift will take you to the 21 de Mayo lookout point. There is no place in Valparaiso with this view; watch the port activity, the rolling hills full of color and furthermore, see how the city has developed over recent years. Continue around the “cerros” or hills of the city to the San Luis square. Come across Cerro Concepción, and discover it on foot with its Anglican and Lutheran churches, and the Paseo Atkinson alleyway with its famous Brighton Restaurant. Walk over to Paseo Gervasoni where the famous Café Turri and the house of the cartoonist Lukas are located. Cross over to Cerro Alegre where the Paseo Yugoslavo and Baburitza Palace, once home to a Croatian immigrant and now the recently renovated Fine Arts museum of Valparaiso, are situated. From here we will descend on the “El Peral” lift to encounter the Sotomayor Square. This is where the Monument to the Fallen Heroes of Iquique is emplaced.

After a day of intense exploring, we will return to your Hotel in Santiago. Overnight.

Reception at the Puerto Montt Airport and we will head straight into Puerto Montt downtown and visit the Buenaventura Martínez Main Square founded in 1852 as the first plane of the city, then we will go to the Cathedral, completely made of larch and one of its columns holds the foundation stone of Puerto Montt. We will continue to visit the Melipulli Hill, a fantastic view point of the port, Tenglo Island and the Relocaví Bay. We will follow onto the beaches of Pelluco and Chinquihue; on our way, observe the busy fishing industry and boats. Our tour concludes with a visit to the handicraft market of Angelmó, where a seafood market invites us to taste some of our traditional Chilean dishes such as “curanto” and “paila marina.” We will continue to Puerto Varas, to meet this city known as the City of Roses because of its beautiful gardens, while grasping its lovely architecture, legacy of the German immigrants. The city was founded in 1854 as a lake port and outlet for the district’s products to Puerto Montt. This is a thriving, well-kept city with rose bushes on the streets and a privileged view across the Llanquihue Lake toward the Osorno Volcano. We will visit the church of Puerto Varas, built by immigrants in 1917 and from where there is a lovely view of the city, the Main Square, and cathedral. Transfer to the hotel in Puerto Varas. Overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel. Day at leisure for personal activities. We suggest taking an excursion to the beautiful city of Frutillar (PM) or to Chiloé Island. Overnight in Puerto Varas.

Departure to an excursion to Peulla. Driving along the shores of Llanquihue Lake, near the Calbuco Volcano, you will visit the Petrohué River Falls, in the Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park, with the majestic view of the Osorno Volcano in the background. After that, we will enjoy the Andean Crossing from Chile to Argentina, sailing the Andes, through the Todos los Santos Lake, seeing mountains, waterfalls and volcanoes, arriving to Peulla, a hidden village with natural and almost untouched tourist attractions.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Peulla.

Departure to cross the Vicente Pérez Rosales border point, up to Lake Frías from where sailing begins up to Puerto Blest. After a short bus ride, sailing continues, crossing Lake Nahuel Huapi, getting to Puerto Pañuelo. The trip continues to Bariloche by bus, arrival to hotel in Bariloche. Overnight.

We will enjoy a half-day tour visiting the city of Bariloche. We will depart to Playa Bonita (Beautiful Beach) from where we will be able to see the Huemul Island and the foothills of the Campanario Hill. We will have the chance to take the air chair lift to get to the top of the hill where we will enjoy the majestic panoramic view of lakes, mountains, and the city (optional). Later, we will visit the scenery Llao-Llao Peninsula from where we will be able to see the Pañuelo Port. We will arrive in the Panoramic Point, a natural balcony to the views over the Moreno Lake and the Llao-Llao Peninsula.

Transfer to airport to take flight to Buenos Aires. Arrival to Buenos Aires and overnight in hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel. We will depart from the hotel in Buenos Aires in order to visit one of the iconic symbols of this worldwide known city: the Obelisk. After that, we will continue visiting squares encapsulating historical and tourist interest such as the Mayo Square, San Martin Square, Alvear Square, and Los dos Congresos (Two Congresses) Square. Later we will continue crossing the Mayo, Corrientes and the 9 de Julio Avenues, larger avenues of Buenos Aires, regarded as the widest avenues in the world measuring 140 metres wide.

Then, the historical neighborhoods are waiting for us. We will visit the La Boca and San Telmo neighborhoods, the magnificent Palermo and Recoleta areas, and trendy neighborhoods such as Puerto Madero. The Lezama Park and the Tres de Febrero Park (known as the Palermo Forest) along with the Costanera Sur Ecologic Reserve, the commercial and financial areas of the city will also take part of our excursion. Overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel. At agreed time, transfer to the airport to board departure flight.