Offbeat Chile: Santiago, Elqui Valley and Pucón

Day 1 - Arrive in Santiago

Today you will arrive in the Chilean capital and a guide will be waiting for you at the airport to take you by private car to your centrally located hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure.

Day 2 - Half day city tour of Santiago (shared)

Described by the international media as a surprising destination, Santiago stands out for being a cosmopolitan and modern city that perfectly combines its traditions with a modern outlook. The tour will take you to visit the heart of the city and its emblematic sites such as the Plaza de Armas, the Cathedral, Santiago’s Central Postal Office and its Municipality. We will also visit the Moneda Palace, which is the government’s headquarters as well as the traditional neighborhoods of the historic city center. The tour also includes a visit to the Santa Lucia hill, named Huelén by the natives. It is a real urban oasis in the center of the city. There we will learn more about Chile’s history and enjoy some of the best views in the city. After knowing Santiago, we will arrive to Barrio Lastarria, famous by it cultural, inherited, and gastronomical offer. The second part of the tour will take you to the eastern side of the city, to the financial heart of Santiago, known for its modern buildings, impressive glass skyscrapers and its impressive sculptures designed by prominent national architects. There, you will see exactly why this area is known as “Sanhattan” among the locals.

Day 3 - Fly to La Serena

Today you will be taken by private transfer to Santiago’s airport where you will catch a domestic flight (included) to La Serena. Once landed, you will be met by your guide and driven by private car to your hotel in Vicuña. Enjoy the rest of the day!

Day 4 - Full day tour of the Elqui Valley (private)

The tour of this vibrant valley lasts all day but leaves the tourist feeling more energized that when he left in the morning. The valley is tinged with an esoteric air and many insist that it is the “energy center” of the world. This place is a geographic configuration, which is unique in the world. It is a narrow, but fertile strip of land where vegetables, papayas, lucuma, cherimoya trees (custard apple), and grapes grow alongside the hillsides, covered with cacti, of the semi arid desert. 

The newly constructed Puclaro dam will eventually hold 200 million cubic meters of water, which will be used to provide water for irrigation. On the mountaintop the white domes of the Tololo Observatory can be spotted, it is located in this place because of the clearest atmosphere in the world. No less surprising are the vineyards, with different varieties of Moscatel and Torontel grapes which are used to make one of the most characteristic liquors of Chile, “Pisco” which is produced and bottled in the region. The short tour of the pisco distillery enables one to see the processes involved in the distillation of wine into this clear liquor. Visit the cellars, exhibition room and enjoy a tasting. Vicuña is the main town of the valley, 60 kilometers from La Serena, and is also noted for being the birthplace of Gabriela Mistral, the Nobel Prize winner for literature.

There will be time to see the Bauer Tower (old city hall), Vicuña’s church and the main square. Leaving Vicuña behind the valley narrows and the mountains become higher and steep sided with the contrasting green vineyards occupying the valley floor. Here the vines are grown for the early exportation of table grapes from the Port of Coquimbo.

Lunch will be in a typical restaurant and is included in the full day tour. Set against the clear blue skies, on average there are 300 clear days per year, there are breathtaking views of this magical valley with its incredibly pure mountain air, close to the mystical Cochiguaz Valley. The tour begins its descent down the valley, stopping at the tomb of Gabriela Mistral in the village of Montegrande and a visit to the old schoolhouse where she spent her childhood and is now a small museum. On the return to Vicuña enjoy seeing the mountains with their ever changing colors and the abundance of fruit, vegetables and vines grown in this unique and fertile valley, full of sunshine and the clearest of skies.

Included: Lunch.

Day 5 - Full day Punta de Choros tour (private)

This fascinating full day excursion is an invitation for nature lovers and adventurers alike. The tour starts in the morning from La Serena driving north along the Pan-American Highway through the “Norte Chico,” a semi-desert area with scarce vegetation dominated by cacti. The route continues over long curving hill roads and low accesses that allow you numerous perspectives of the rocky coast. Arriving at the small fishing village of Caleta Punta Choros, from here the Gaviota, Choros and Damas Islands can be seen, they form part of the Humboldt Penguin Natural Reservation and are administered by the National Forestry Corporation (CONAF).

From Caleta Punta Choros the tour departs in a small-motorized fishing boat, with life jackets supplied, the wearing of which is compulsory. The boat navigates around the three islands in safe waters depending on weather conditions. There is the opportunity to admire the marine life of this area. In the waters surrounding Choros Island lives a colony of bottlenose dolphins, unique in that this is one of only three colonies in the world. Usually they can be seen often performing jumps and pirouettes, but they do occasionally migrate to the surroundings. In the rocky shoreline of Choros Island are handsome sea lions and a large variety of seabirds, often penguins can be spotted The tour disembarks at Isla Damas with time to enjoy its beaches of white sand and surroundings before returning by boat to the Caleta Punta Choros. 

In the village on the coast lunch is provided in a typical fish and shellfish restaurant in the simple fishing village.

Included: Lunch & entrance fee.

Day 6 - Fly to Temuco

Today you will be taken by private transfer to La Serena airport where you will catch a domestic flight (included) to Temuco in the northern part of the lakes region. Once landed, you will be met by your guide and driven by private car to your hotel in Pucon, a 100 km away approximately. Once checked in, enjoy the rest of the day!

Day 7 - Full day of Huerquehue National Park (private)

Departure from your hotel at a scheduled time towards the Huerquehue National Park which is about 33 kilometres away from Pucón and spans an area of 12,500 hectares. It is characterized by its mountains, gently slopes and an impressive beauty. In this park, it is possible to see cliffs, hills, monkey puzzle trees and lenga trees forests. Some unique species live in the park; Darwin’s Frogs, Culpeo foxes and the Chilean Condor sometimes can be seen in the highest points of the park. Another characteristic is its network of trails which have made this park one of the favorites for nature lovers and those who practice trekking. Some of the most recognized trails are; the Lakes, 8.8 Kms. 7 hrs roundtrip, Quinchol, 5 km, 4 hrs roundtrip The Huerquenes, 20.7 km, 2 days San Sebastian, 8 Kms. 10 hrs roundtrip. Ñirrico, 0.8 Kms. 1 hrs round trip. The Huerquehue National Park’s environment mostly insert in the Andino Patagonicas forest region and within the Cordillera of the Araucania Region. The park’s greater volume watercourses are: the Renahue White River and, Quinchol. One of the park’s highlights is the existence of 20 lagoons. Those watercourses and bodies of water belong to the Toltén’s River drainage basin. The Araucaria (Monkey tail tree) is a common species in the Huerquehue Park; this tree has a great ethno botanical importance since it has been used as food source by the Pehuenche people who have lived in these mountains for centuries. The Araucaria is believed to be sacred.

Some vestiges of the past have been found In Huerquehue, such as pottery and, rock shelters that provide evidence of human occupation.

Included: Lunch, entrance fee.

Day 8 - Half day Caburgua eyes

Caburgua is located 25 kilometers away from Pucón. This very special area has got many attractions like woods and mountains, and the Trancura and Liucura Rivers, known to be a great place for rafting, sports and fishing. Spectacular views of the three surrounding volcanoes, Villarrica, Quetrupillán and Lanín. The Eyes of the Caburgaare located 2 kilometers away from the homonym Lake, here we can observe some stunning waterfalls featuring great colors and natural river pools filled with shining turquoise water surrounded by typical native Valdivian forest. In this impressively beautiful place, a subterranean river emerges; this is the effluent of which is located 2 kilometers upstream in the Caburga Lake.

Altitude here is 700 meters above sea level, dimension is approximately 7.700 Hectares, traditional native Valdivian forest surrounds the area. Locals believe that a big extinguished crater is in the middle of the lake, which is said to be the reason why one can never find the bottom of the lake. We’ll visit Playa Negra and its scenic attractions, mountains totally covered by native Valdivian woods.

Passengers will notice that this lake has got tempered waters, result of hot springs contained in the lake. End of activity and return to Hotel in Pucón.

Included: Lunch, entrance fee and navigation.

Day 9 - Fly to Santiago

Today you will be taken by private transfer to the bus station in Puerto Natales, the starting point of your 3-hour bus ride back to Punta Arenas airport.

Here you will board the domestic flight (included) back to Santiago. Once landed, a private car will drive to your hotel in the city for one last night.

Day 10 - Departure