Fleewinter

EcoCamp is owned by three friends who, in the early 90s, had the dream of offering sustainable travel in Patagonia. They first started with offering eco-friendly adventure trips. It is a few years later, in 2001, that they opened the very first domes and Ecocamp was born, the region’s first fully sustainable accommodation south of the Amazon and the world’s first geodesic hotel! They started with only a few domes and every year, as the camp’s popularity grew, they have been adding new domes and facilities, always in a sustainable manner and in the total respect of the environment. We have had the great pleasure to fully try and test Ecocamp for 4 nights and we absolutely loved it! Nowadays there are 33 domes, community domes with a restaurant, a bar and a relaxing communal area. There is also a yoga dome where you can join classes to kick start your day or to relax at the end of the day’s trekking.

Ecocamp is great if you want love hiking and they do offer different programs. In general, you will choose the night before what treks you want to do and you will join the corresponding guide and group the following day. Normally they offer a challenging trek and an easier one, so that the programs can cater to your fitness level.

The meals are delicious and you will choose at breakfast your dinner choices, lunch is normally a packed lunch that you will make yourself after breakfast and before setting off for the treks. Chilean wine is served with dinner and if you want to enjoy a few drinks at the bar before bedtime, this will have to be paid for at check out.

There are three categories of domes. We stayed in the standard dome and we loved it! These are quite small and bear in mind they do not have heating or electricity, also the bathrooms are shared so you have to walk through a walkway to get to the toilets and showers. Also, they do not have a lock on the door. Nonetheless, we totally loved the experience and it was magical to look through the window above our heads at night and stare at the stars. If you want a few more comforts the superior domes are designed with more space, en suite toilets, electricity and heating. The same goes for the suite domes, perfect for a family.

The team at EcoCamp is an energetic mix of guides, cooks, assistants, maintenance staff, drivers, housekeepers and administrators, mainly from the neighboring town of Puerto Natales (180 km) or Punta Arenas (330 km). The service was always outstanding and the staff love for Ecocamp and Patagonia definitely rubbed on us whilst we stayed here. Ecocamp truly is a unique accommodation and one that should be tried once in your life.