South American Adventure - Argentina

FMC Route 40 + Glaciares + Paine Adventure
16 days – 15 nights (Moderate trek)

Departures: Guaranteed all Wednesdays

Season: October to April

Starts at: Comodoro Rivadavia Airport

Ends at: El Calafate Airport

Group Departures

The FMC – Route 40 + Glaciares + Paine Adventure Tour allows us to travel the legendary Route 40, with its long rubble roads crossing the Patagonia steppe and continue visiting the most beautiful National Parks. We travel Los Glaciares National Park and navigate in front of the Perito Moreno Glacier, and we continue to Torres del Paine.
You get the most from Patagonia, while traveling in a group where you will make new friends.

01	Comodoro Rivadavia Airport - Los Antiguos

02	Cueva de las Manos

03	Cerro San Lorenzo. Oro Canyon River.

04	Posadas Lake– El Chalten

05	Capri Lagoon

06	Mount Fitz Roy

07	Mount Torre

08	Torre Glacier

09	El Chalten - El Calafate

10	Perito Moreno Glacier

11	El Calafate - Torres del Paine

12	Las Torres, Ascensio River Valley

13	Pehoe Lake Navigation. Del Frances Valley

14	Grey Glacier Viewpoints

15	Torres del Paine – Puerto Natales - El Calafate

16	El Calafate - El Calafate Airport

ITINERARY

Day 1 Comodoro Rivadavia – Los Antiguos
The group meet at 2 pm at the Restaurant of the Comodoro Rivadavia Airport. Our journey begins from the town of Comodoro Rivadavia. Southern 70 Km from there we visit the town of Caleta Olivia skirting the San Matias Gulf on the Atlantic Ocean coast. We will cross the Patagonia to the West to move away from the sea and to get the views of the Cordillera de los Andes range, in the town of Los Antiguos, located on the southern shore of the Buenos Aires Lake, and to 2 Km from the border with Chile. (400 km/250miles).
Lodge at Inn double base with private bathroom
Included meals: dinner.

Day 2 Cueva de las Manos. Los Antiguos–Posadas Lake
We leave from Los Antiguos town toward the south to arrive to the of the Pictures River canyon, to walk on them to visit the Cueva de las manes (Cave of the Hands) an imposing place with 10.000 year old paintings of human hands and animals. Then we continue to lodge in the small and picturesque Lago Posadas town. (260 km/160 miles).
Lodge at Cabins four or six base with private bathroom
Included meals: breakfast, lunch box and dinner.

Day 3 Cerro San Lorenzo. Oro Canyon River
We transfer in the morning to Oro River Canyon, where we trek for 5 hours between its high stone walls until get a wonderful view of the Cerro San Lorenzo, the highest Patagonian Hill (3706 mts/12159 ft). We return to Lago Posadas to enjoy the contrast between the blue waters of Posadas Lake and the green waters from Pueyrredon Lake, shared each other by only 100 meters (328 ft) of land.
Lodge at Cabins four or six base with private bathroom
Included meals: breakfast, lunch box and dinner.

Day 4 Lago Posadas–El Chalten
After breakfast we depart in our bus to El Chalten. We travel a long track in which we could appreciate the different birds and fauna of Patagonia. We stop to have lunch at a typical Patagonia saloon close to Cardiel Lake. We estimate to arrive at El Chalten around 7 pm. (550 Km/341 miles)
Lodge at Hostel Room with shared bathroom
Alternatives: Inn Room double or single base with private bathroom
Included meals: breakfast and dinner.

Day 5 Capri Lagoon
We start our trek carrying only the necessary for this three days trip, in which we will lodge in a Full Camp. A beautiful trail next to ¨Las Vueltas¨ river will take us to the first panoramic views of the Mount Fitz Roy. From now on, we will be approaching to De los Patos Lagoon and finally we will arrive to our camp next to the Capri Lagoon. (3 hs approx.)
The Camp has been previously mounted, featuring spacious dome tents, used in double or single base. Each tent has sleeping bags, inner sheet and insulating mattresses. The camp has a large dining tent with table, benches, dishes and kitchenware. The sanitary services are provided with chemical bathrooms.
Lodging in Full Camp at Capri Lagoon double o single base (rural area)
Meals Included: breakfast, lunch box and dinner.

Day 6 Mount Fitz Roy, De los Tres Lagoon
Early in the morning and carrying only your coat and the photo camera we overcome the Chorrillo Salt, always with the impressive needles of the glacier in front of us. The first 2 hours are mainly flat, through forest and open glade and bog areas, with diverse bird life, lead us to Fitz Roy base camp. From here it is a 400 meters/1300 ft climb to the De los Tres lagoon on a steep trail that takes us around one hour and a half at gentle pace. This walk is one of the highlights in the National Park Los Glaciares; the views of Cerro Poincenot, Monte Fitz Roy and the other peaks surrounding these are splendid. We return to Capri Lagoon Full Camp. (5 hs approx)
Lodging in Full Camp at Capri Lagoon double o single base (rural area)
Meals Included: breakfast, lunch box and dinner

Day 7 Mount Torre
This morning we hike surrounding Capri Lagoon down by the trail to Madre e Hija Lagoons through a dense forest following the Fitz Roy River. We reach the Mount Torre Valley to glacier-fed Laguna Torre where Fitz Roy river begins. This lagoon contained between moraines, generally piles floes that come off of the Grande Glacier that falls in its west extreme. The impressive group of Mount Torre needles with its slender 3128 meters/10262 ft height, frame the landscape.
Lodging in Full Camp at Torre Lagoon double o single base (rural area)
Meals Included: breakfast, lunch box and dinner

Day 8 Torre Glacier and Lagoon – El Chalten
In the morning we walk the area near Torre Lagoon, with nice views of the Solo Mount and the Adela Glacier.
Optionally, you can choose to do a trek on the Torre Glacier, the Holiday On Ice Excursion. We put on our crampons (provided) and trek on the glacier’s surface and develop our ice climbing skills (harness and ice axes provided).
We return on the same trail to El Chaltén, where the passenger will lodge that night.
Lodge at Hostel Room with shared bathroom
Alternatives: Inn Room double or single base with private bathroom
Meals Included: breakfast, lunch box and dinner
Option: Holiday On Ice Excursion

Day 9 El Chalten - El Calafate
In the morning each participant can opt to explore the town of El Chalten freely, with the possibility of visiting The Climbers Chapel; or the Matzen family country, one of the pioneering families in the area; the Del Desierto Lake located 45 Km out of town or to visit the Interpretive Center of National Parks. Around 5 pm we move toward El Calafate retracing the same road we did, arriving to El Calafate around 21 hs.
Lodge at Hostel Room with shared bathroom
Alternatives: Inn Room double or single base with private bathroom
Meals Included: breakfast

Day 10 El Calafate – Perito Moreno Glacier
After breakfast we depart by bus to the Magallanes peninsula, where is located the entrance of The Glaciers National Park. Its centerpiece is the Perito Moreno Glacier, which, because of unusually favorable local conditions, is one of the world’s few advancing glaciers. Huge icebergs from the glacier wall collapse into the De los Tempanos Channel. The roar of the gigantic ice rocks falling and crashing into the waters of the channel is a unique experience.
Our bus will lead us just in front of the Glacier, allowing us to walk the gangplanks to view the Glacier from different viewpoints.
Then we go down to the lakeside to board a ship that carries us very near the Glacier ice walls. We return to El Calafate using a different route that we used to arrive.
Lodge at Hostel Room with shared bathroom
Alternatives: Inn Room double or single base with private bathroom
Meals Included: breakfast

Day 11 El Calafate - Torres del Paine
We depart early in the morning (around 7 am) from El Calafate to Torres del Paine through a spectacular landscape of the Patagonia steppe. Choiques and flamingos are very common in this area. Almost 4 hours from starting our journey, we will be at the border crossing between Chile and Argentina called ¨Paso Cancha Carrera¨. We continue until reach the Torres del Paine National Park. UNESCO gave to this park the World Heritage status, due to its unique wildlife and magnificent scenery. We arrive to our camp at Camping Pehoe Full Camp after 6 hours of travel.
Afternoon, we will visit several panoramic viewpoints of the Nordenskjöld Lake and the “Cuernos del Paine” (Paine Horns), to finally arrive to the Camping Pehoe Full Camp. Duration of the journey: 6 hs approx.
Lodging in Full Camp Camping Pehoe double or single base (area with sanitarium services)
Included meals: breakfast and dinner.

Day 12 Las Torres - Ascensio River Valley
We dedicate this day to one of the most spectacular and classical trekking in the park: the Torres Trail. We transfer after breakfast by bus to the trail start at Las Torres area. We cross a suspended bridge and remount the slopes of the Almirante Nieto Mount, bordering the Ascencio River. After one hour ascending we go into the Valley, and reach Chileno Refuge. From there the trail leads us through the forest, in the middle of unforgettable landscapes, to Las Torres base camp. There the climbers wait good weather conditions to climb Las Torres. We trek one hour more to reach the Las Torres Viewpoint, an amazing natural amphitheater at the bottom of the vertical granite towers that reach 2800 meters height. We return by the same way. It’s a total 7-hour trek.
Lodging in Full Camp Camping Pehoe double or single base (area with sanitarium services)
Included meals: breakfast, lunch box and dinner.

Day 13 Pehoe Lake Navigation, Del Frances Valley
Early in the morning we cross sailing 45 minutes the Pehoe Lake embarking at puerto Pudeto and arriving at the Pehoe Refuge area. We walk from there until get the Del Frances Valley. It’s a beautiful mountain valley descending from the middle of the massif toward the Nordenskjold Lake. Flanked by The Horns to the east and by the impressive Paine Grande (3050 meters/10006 ft) to the west. We ascend the valley until the upper viewpoints located in a natural amphitheater surrounded by some of needles and walls most wonderful of the massif: Cuernos, Espada, Mascara, Hoja, Aleta de Tiburon, Catedral, and Paine Grande. The forest and the suspended glaciers that cause continuous ice and snow fallings, give us a unique scenery to this walk. We descend the same trail and turn west rounding Skottberg Lake until arrive to our Camp for this night at Pehoe Refuge area. It’s a total 7-hour trek.
Lodging in Full Camp Pehoe Refuge area double or single base (area with sanitarium services)

Day 14 Grey Glacier Viewpoints
Another unforgettable day dedicated to the Grey Glacier, impressive Glacier 300 square kilometers of surface (115 square miles), 25 kilometers long (16 miles). It overflows from the Continental Ice Field falling into Grey Lake. The Glacier produce enormous amount of blue icebergs that sail over the lake pushed by the wind toward the south, given the characteristic feature to this lake.
The trail leads us to a wonderful viewpoint where we can appreciate the whole lake, the glacier and the mountains that emerge from the west of the Ice Field.
Two more hours walking and we arrive to another viewpoint just in front of the Glacier.
All the trek is develop between Andean bush and lengas forest, at the shadow of the ice blocks that drape the Paine Grande Mount. We walk this day about 7 hours. At the end of the day we sail again the Pehoe Lake to the south shore to return to our Full Camp at Camping Pehoe area.
Lodging in Full Camp at Camping Pehoe area double base (area with sanitarium services)
Included meals: breakfast, lunch box and dinner.

Day 15 Torres del Paine – Puerto Natales - El Calafate
In the morning we start our land transfer from Torres del Paine to Puerto Natales, where we visit and enjoy the city.
Then we continue being transfered by regular bus crossing the border to reenter Argentina. Our guide will say us goodbye when we board the Bus at Puerto Natales. We arrive to El Calafate at the end of this day where another person will be waiting for us and transfer us to the Hostel.
Lodge at Hostel Room with shared bathroom
Alternatives: Inn Room double or single base with private bathroom
Meals Included: breakfast

SERVICE DETAILS

Included Services

Bilingual Spanish-English guides during all the program’s activities.
Mountain Guides during the trekking activities.
Transfer Comodoro Rivadavia Airport – El Chalten with private transportation.
Transfer El Chalten – El Calafate – Torres del Paine – Puerto Natales – El Calafate –El Calafate Airport.
Perito Moreno Glacier Excursion including Navigation.
Pehoe Lake Navigation.
15 breakfasts, 10 lunch boxes and 12 dinners, as detailed in the chart below.
Base Accommodation (FMC 00) at Hostel Room or Alternative Accommodation (FMC 01 or FMC 02) at Inn double or single base, according to the following chart.

The FMC- Route 40 + Glaciares + Paine Adventure tour is offered in three different ways to lodge.

DAYS	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15
(FMC 00) Inn double base with private bathroom
Cabins four or six base with private bathroom
Hostel Room with shared bathroom
Full Camp double base (rural area)
Full Camp double base (area with sanitarium services)

Accommodation (FMC – 01 and FMC- 02) Inn Double or Single Base
These Offers lodge as shown in the following chart, in double base (FMC 01) or single base (FMC 02) in the days when this option is available.
They differ from the previous one that they go to an Inn, not to a Hostel.
When you choose single base, you have single base accommodations at the Full Camp Tents too.

DAYS	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15
(FMC 01) Inn double base with private bathroom
Cabins four or six base with private bathroom
Full Camp double base (rural area)
Full Camp double base (area with sanitarium services)
(FMC 02) Additional Single

DAYS	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Breakfast
Lunch Box
Dinner

Services Not Included

Entrance ticket to Cueva de las Manos
Entrance ticket to Los Glaciares National Park
Entrance ticket to Torres del Paine National Park
Medical and Life Insurance
Tips
Air flight tickets and Airport fees and taxes
Optional Excursion Holiday On Ice
Services not detailed in the program

South American Adventure - Argentina

FMC Route 40 + Glaciares + Paine Adventure 16 days – 15 nights (Moderate trek)

FMC Route 40 + Glaciares + Paine Adventure
16 days – 15 nights (Moderate trek)