Patagonia to Cape Horn

Fly overnight from London Heathrow to Buenos Aires.

Argentina’s charismatic capital centres on Spanish churches and the stately buildings of the Plaza de Mayo, and spreads to outlying districts, with antique shops in San Telmo’s lantern-lit lanes, boutiques and bars in up-tempo Palermo, arts and crafts in colourful La Boca, and former palaces and Parisian-style townhouses in Recoleta. A tour of the city takes in its principal sights and characterful neighbourhoods; and includes a visit to El Ateneo Bookshop for a coffee break. Two nights at the 4-star 725 Continental Hotel (Nov 2024 - 5-star InterContinental Hotel Buenos Aires). 

A sharp contrast to the capital, a tour today takes you to the city’s surrounding grasslands, the vast fertile plains known as the Argentinian Pampas, growing great quantities of wheat and sunflowers, and famed as the home of ‘gaucho’ cowboys and cattle ranches. Visit one of these ‘estancias’ and enjoy an asado (barbecue).
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Fly to El Calafate, hemming the southern shore of Lago Argentino, in a setting of Patagonian pastureland, close to the glorious Los Glaciares National Park. Transfer to the 4-star Hotel Kosten Aike (November 2024 - 4-star Posada Los Alamos) for a two-night stay.
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On a full-day tour within the park, experience the spectacular shifts, shapes, cracking sounds, and continuous ice calving of the awe-inspiring Perito Moreno Glacier.
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Fly to Ushuaia, where the Martial mountains meet the Beagle Channel, long recognised as the world’s southernmost city, until its title was usurped in 2019 (by Puerto Williams, a small Chilean town, being upgraded to city status). Overnight at the 4-star Los Acebos Hotel (Nov & Jan - Las Hayas Hotel).
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This morning, enjoy your first foray into the Tierra del Fuego, its varied topography including lakes, mountains, and sub-Antarctic forests, forming the habitats of foxes, otters and beavers; and a spectacular shoreline, where condors command the skies, and sealions, penguins, petrels and albatrosses are seen. Embark on the expedition vessel, MV Ventus Australis, for a four-night cruise, and traverse the Beagle Channel.
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Arrive at Cape Horn, Isla Hornos, wild, wind-whipped and desolate, with the lighthouse its only inhabited building; for an excursion to Wulaia Bay, on the western shore of Isla Navarino, where Darwin went ashore in 1833, and we follow in his footsteps with a walk through the Magellanic forest of ferns and indigenous trees.
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Cruise around the islets and inlets of the remote Brecknock Peninsula, enter the huge and haunting Pia Fjord, and take a zodiac boat excursion to the Pia Glacier, and through the ice-strewn narrows to the Garibaldi Glacier, its towering wall of blue ice a breathtakingly beautiful sight.
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Sail through the Cockburn Channel to the spectacular De Agostini Sound and go ashore to walk along the lagoon to the base of Aguila Glacier; then take the zodiac a little further up the sound to Condor Glacier, the condors heavily outnumbered now by colonies of cormorants.
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Disembark on Magdalena Island, in the Magellan Strait, uninhabited except for six park rangers and 60,000 pairs of penguins. Transfer to Punta Arenas for a tour of the city, an incongruent mix of mansions, multi-coloured cottages, and mega-malls; and travel by road to Puerto Natales, a pretty port town on the Última Esperanza Sound, for three nights at the 4-star Hotel Remota.
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Explore the UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve of Torres del Paine National Park, a stunningly scenic enclave, with icebergs in every hue of blue, golden spreads of pampas grasslands, and the huge granite towers, from which the park takes its name, burnished red with sunset, blasted white with snow.
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This morning we will explore Cueva Chica (Small Cave), Cueva del Medio (Medium Cave) and the large Milodon Cave. Milodon is an extinct genus of giant ground sloth that lived in Patagonia until roughly 10,000 years ago. In addition, this is an important archaeological and cultural monument because the earliest human remains of the region were discovered here. In the afternoon we will try to recreate the early settlements of Patagonia and get to know the rocky eaves, used in the old days by the Tehuelche people. We will also enjoy magnificent views of Lake Sofia and the valley of Sierra Señoret National Park.
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Transfer to Punta Arenas to fly to Santiago, Chile’s sophisticated, vibrant, cosmopolitan capital, where stylish glass towers soar skyward, and downtown streets are pedestrianised strolling grounds. Three nights at the 4-star Ola Santiago Providencia, Tapestry Collection by Hilton. (B)

A full-day excursion takes you to Valparaiso, Chile’s ‘Jewel of the Pacific’, with high-rise blocks behind the harbour, a colourful rainbow collage of historic houses, faded grandeur, fantastic street art, and a very bohemian vibe. Continue to Viña del Mar, the Garden City, a popular Pacific resort, sprinkled with parks, hemmed with beaches, and hosting many a festival; and enjoy a wine tasting.
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A tour of Santiago’s landmark sights includes the grand, 19^th-century Cousino Palace, now a museum; the San Francisco Church, with its adjacent Franciscan monastery, the first Catholic church to be built in Chile, founded in the 16^th century; Cerro San Cristóbal hill, rising some 300m above the city, for splendid views; and a visit to the central market.
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Transfer to the airport for your return overnight flight.
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Morning arrival at London Heathrow.