Sea kayak Pumalin in Chile

You are met at the airport or your hotel in Puerto Montt and we drive you to Puerto Varas and your hotel.

Puerto Varas is a beautiful town with strong German colonial influences. Founded in the 1850s by German immigrants, it has a very scenic lakeside location with beaches and plenty of water sports, such as rowing, sailing, swimming, etc.

Have a wander around to enjoy the distinctive German-style houses with wood shingles made of durable, lightweight and water-resistant Alerce Andino wood. The town’s Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, built between 1915 and 1918, is one of the most iconic landmarks on a hilltop town centre.

Today the adventure begins.

You will begin your adventure by being picked up early from your hotel in Puerto Varas, followed by a transfer to Hornopirén and a crossing to Llancahue Island.

After lunch, you will practice sea kayaking for 2 to 3 hours and get settled into your boat and used to the equipment.

The day ends with loading the kayaks in preparation for the next day, a relaxing soak in the hotel’s thermal pools, a pisco sour, and a delicious dinner.

10 km kayak

Hotel.

Enjoy an early breakfast at the hosteria before setting off on a kayak trip that begins early to avoid the midday winds.

The journey takes you from Llancahue Island southeast to the entrance of Quintupeu Fjord, passing impressive cliff walls, where the Andes meet the Pacific.  Lunch will be enjoyed on a beach with the option to shower under a waterfall, followed by more paddling to the end of the fjord where you will set up camp and prepare dinner.

We head to bed early to recover our strength and prepare for tomorrow.

20 to 25km kayak

Camp overnight.

This is the most demanding day, starting before sunrise to maximize favourable tidal conditions.

With snacks on hand, you will paddle into Cahuelmó Fjord, timing the entrance to avoid strong winds and to ideally take advantage of the tidal flow.

Once at Cahuelmó River, we paddle onwards to the famous hot springs, where you can soak tired muscles before setting up camp and enjoying dinner in the forest.

20 to 25km kayak

Camp overnight.

After a hearty breakfast and a final visit to the hot springs, you will pack up and paddle toward the sea lion colony.

At the mouth of the estuary, you will meet the support boat to load the kayaks.

The group will return to Hornopirén for lunch in the village before the final leg back to Puerto Varas, arriving at approximately 7:00 pm. Hotel.

10 km kayak.

Hotel accommodation.

Depart today or add some cycling or walking.

Chile is the land of contrasts, from verdant vineyards to driest desert, deep fjords and towering glaciated volcanoes.

A narrow but incredibly long, snake-like country, Chile’s unusual geography features more than 5,000km of South Pacific Ocean coast. The country is almost 4,400km long but barely more than 160km at its widest.

It is best divided into general regions, all of which offer spectacular landscapes and identities of their own.

This variety means Chile is the land where almost every activity is possible. Hiking, biking, rafting and kayaking.

Or climbing, cruising, fishing, horse riding, wine tasting.

Or simply eating great food, relaxing and exploring.

Patagonia

Trekking heaven. Paine National Park lies in Patagonia and features some of the best trekking in South America. With no altitude worries here, hikers enjoy an unrivalled mix of access to wild flora and fauna that exists in this massif. It is at once windswept, and then balmy. Paine National Park is a must see for walkers visiting South America.

Northern Patagonia is the least densely populated part of the country – spectacular virgin scenery make this a hidden gem and superb area for trekking, boating and horse riding.

And that’s before you think about possibly cruising through fjords, or kayaking them, flying to Antartica or staying at a working hacienda.

Easter Island

Iconic, Easter Island is an archaeological treasure. Here you will find the famous Moai stone statues, as well as caves and rocks decorated with etched petroglyphs and painted pictographs.

Northern Chile

Northern Chile features the Atacama, the driest desert with the clearest skies in the world, is alive with active volcanoes replete with spitting geysers mixed with archaeological wonders and fantastic rock formations.

Central Chile is the heart of Chile and includes the capital Santiago. With its Mediterranean climate of hot dry summers and mild wet winters, this central valley produces some of South America’s finest wines, Colchagua Valley to name but one.

Here, the Andean mountain chain soars more than 6,000m above sea level. Chile’s traditional symbols such as huaso (cowboy) and cueca (national dance) originate here, an area which is rich in agriculture and produces most of Chile’s export fruit.

In winter, skiers are attracted to this tasting the promise of some fabulous snow on the huge peaks which overlook Santiago.

Southern Chile and the Lake District

Lush and verdant, The Lake District area is the place to climb snow-capped volcanoes by day while relaxing next to stunning glacial lakes by evening. You can walk, bike, raft, cruise and drive your way around this beautiful region.

Central, southern and Patagonia Andes all present different challenges to mountaineers and trekkers. Options are varied in the central Andes with many of the Patagonian peaks remaining unexplored and unsummitted.

Good kit is vital for every trip.

Book with Andean Trails and get 15% off Páramo’s fantastic ethical and high performance outdoor gear.

Overview

We provide everything except a bike, personal equipment and clothing.

During the day hopefully it will be generally sunny enough for shorts and T-shirts though having a fleece and rain gear handy is advisable. It can and will get cold, especially in the evenings so bring a warm fleece jacket, a good waterproof and some warm clothes including thermal underwear, gloves, scarf and woolly hat as well as one set of smarter clothes for cities.

Below is a more detailed guide.

Detailed kit list – clothing

• Cycle gloves and helmet.
• Medium weight parka or a down jacket.
• Waterproof jacket and trousers. The jacket needs to be water proof and roomy. Side-zip pants are recommended.
• 2-3 long-sleeve shirts – no cotton
• 2-3 short-sleeve cycle shirts – no cotton
• 2 pair of hiking trousers- cotton or synthetic material (no jeans)
• 1 fleece or sweat trousers (for cold evenings)
• 2-3 pairs shorts.
• 2-3 pairs padded cycling shorts.
• Long thermals – synthetic or wool – light to medium weight top & bottoms.
• 2-3 mid-weight (wool or synthetic) socks.
• 2-3 liner socks if needed
• Athletic-type socks, several pairs, city use
• Running/tennis shoes or sandals are very comfortable when you are off the bike.
• 1 lightweight wool sweater or windproof fleece
• 1 wool or synthetic warm hat for evenings.
• Cycling hat.
• Sunglasses with UV filter.
• Bandanna – to protect neck from strong sun.

Biking

• Bike bag/box (if bringing own bike).
• Large holdall/rucksack (80-90 litres) for main luggage.
• Small daypack (25-20 litres).
• Water bottles / camel-bak.
• SPDs pedals / shoes / toe clips.
• Basic repair kit: pump, spare inner tubes and brake pads (we provide a general toolkit on all trips, but please bring any specialist spare parts for your bike with you i.e spokes etc.)

Personal

• Personal first-aid kit to include: painkillers, plasters (band-aids), moleskin, anti-biotic cream, general antibiotics (ask your GP), after-bite (tiger balm), anti-diarrhoea tablets, throat lozenges, re-hydration salts & personal medication.
• Insect repellent.
• Towel & wash-kit.
• Wet Wipes/antiseptic hand-wash cream.
• Sunscreen (factor 30+) and lip salve.
• Head-lamp (plus spare bulb and batteries).
• Penknife.
• Travel alarm clock.
• Plastic bags – ‘Zip-loc’ & tough bin liners.
• Camera and film / memory cards (take at least twice the amount you think you will need!).
• Book, e-book, mp3 player/ipod or other to help pass the time.
• Binoculars.
• Spanish/English phrasebook.
• Extra snacks i.e. cereal bars or favourite chocolate bars.

Miscellaneous others

• Money belt.
• Passport.
• U.S. dollars cash, mixed-denomination notes, undamaged and unmarked.
• ATM cash/credit card.
• Any inoculation certificates.
• Personal & medical insurance certificates.
• Presents e.g. Postcards from home.
• Comfortable clothes for travel, smart clothes for night life.

Official name: Republic of Chile

Country population: 17,000,000

Capital city: Santiago (6 million)

Largest cities: Santiago, Concepcion, Valparaiso

Languages: Spanish (official)

Official currency: Chilean Peso

Major industries: Copper mining, agriculture, fish

Time zone: GMT-5 in winter (Mar-Sep) and GMT-4 in summer (Sep-Mar)

February 

Festival: Festival de la Cancion Viña del Mar 

International song festival  

Location: Viña del Mar

1st two weeks of February 

Festival: Tapati 

Culture, dance, music, song , sport 

Location: Easter Island 

July

Festival: Carnaval de Invierno      

Street parade with floats celebrating mid winter 

Location: Punta Arenas  

July 16

Festival: Fiesta  de La Tirana     

Religious festival – culture, mass dance parades 

Location: La Tirana, Atacama  

September 18

Festival: Independencia 

Independence day – celebration of Chilean culture – various activities 

Location: Country wide 

Andean Trails has 25 years of experience of putting together the best South America holidays.

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The CAA’s ATOL scheme offers protection to your money and your holiday if you book with us. Not everybody is covered (see ‘Who is covered?’ for more), as you must purchase an ‘air package holiday’ with Andean Trails to be protected.

And  ‘air package holiday’ is defined as including a flight and some ground services (hotel, transfer, trek etc). This is also known as an ‘ATOL-protected holiday’.

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For land only holidays not involving any air travel, in accordance with “The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992”, all UK passengers booking with Andean Trails Ltd. are fully protected for the initial deposit and subsequently the balance of all money paid to us, arising from cancellation or curtailment of travel arrangements due to the insolvency of Andean Trails.

I’m not ATOL covered, what protection do I have?

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