2020 GeoEx Catalog

KEREN SU / CHINA SPAN

Chile North to South TOURING · DAY HIKING · HORSEBACK RIDING | 12 DAYS · CUSTOM P  ablo Neruda saw his native Chile as a country “invented by a poet.” He was referring to Alonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga, author of the epic La Araucana . But long before the 16th-century nobleman-poet arrived, Nature itself had engaged in some inspired poetic license in creat- ing this elegantly thin, magnificently varied land. We enjoy that variety on this top-to-bottom journey. After a look around Santiago, we venture to the sparsely populated, impressively sequestered Aysén region (it wasn’t connected to the rest of the country until the 1980s, when the Carretera Austral—or Southern High- way—was built). In Patagonia National Park Chile, an inspiring conservation success story, we hike for two sensational days amid a glowing, glaciated landscape peppered with roaming guanacos, sprightly wildflowers,

HACIENDA HOTEL VIRA VIRA

For our final chapter, we fly north to the Atacama Desert, the world’s driest place (parts of it have gone centuries with no measurable rainfall). Among its high tableland of sprawling salt flats, 20,000-foot volcanoes, steaming geysers, and Aymara villages, we stroll, hike, and perhaps even bike and ride horses. Fully rejuvenated, we depart for home via Santiago. Note that we offer handy extensions to Torres del Paine, moai -dappled Easter Island, and enigmatically alluring Chiloé Island. offered nov.–mar. from $10,265 Day 1  arrive in Santiago, city tour ✦  2  fly to Aysén region, drive to Chacabuco Valley ✦  3 & 4  Patagonia National Park Chile hiking ✦ 5  drive to Balmaceda, fly to Puerto Montt, drive to Puerto Varas ✦  6–8  activities in Lake District ✦  9  fly to the Atacama Desert ✦ 10 & 11  Atacama exploring ✦  12  fly to Santiago and depart.

clear-running waterfalls, moody lenga forests, and an array of birdlife, from blue-billed ducks to buff-necked ibis. From here it’s a full day of travel— and well worth every minute—to reach

Call us at 888-212-0003 to discuss the many ways we can customize this trip.

the Chilean Lake District, a sublime patchwork of peaks and water, crisscrossed by fertile farms, dense woodland, German-flavored towns, and Mapuche settlements. From a sophisticated hacienda set on the Liucura River within sight of snowcapped volcanoes, we explore with a range of activities that may include national park rambles, fish- ing, sailing, river rafting, horseback riding, rodeo watch- ing, craft-market shopping, and thermal spring soaking. There’s always the option to kick back at our retreat; the surrounding views make for great company.

TOP  The Atacama Desert. Even though the desert’s average annual rainfall is only 0.59 inch, more than 500 hardy plant species live here, including thyme, saltgrass, and cactus.

77

CHILE AND ARGENTINA

SIGN UP TO RECEIVE TRIP NEWS AND INFORMATION AT GEOEX.COM/NEWS