Relax and Enjoy Chilean Patagonia at Hacienda Tres Lagos

Located in the spectacular Aysen Region, and just 274km south of the city of Coyhaique, this deluxe hotel is designed to make your stay in this magnificent natural paradise an experience you will treasure forever. With a wide arrange of activities to do, Hacienda Tres Lagos is the perfect place if you want to relax, leave the stress of urban life behind, and enjoy nature at its best with the fabulous North Patagonia backdrops.

The hotel has first class accommodations, ideal for adults and even small children. The facilities include a main building that has the reception and two suites with their own balcony, so you can admire the breathtaking vistas. Four cabins and 3 bungalows that have 4 rooms each. All the bungalows look to a beautiful private lake that has 600 meters of beach.

One of the many attractive points of North Patagonia is perhaps the sensation of feeling alone with nature and its elements. A magical place that presents travelers with extraordinary lush vegetation, charming little towns, and the always fascinating and diverse flora and fauna that features animals like the South Andean Deer, locally known as Huemul, the majestic and iconic Condor, or extraordinary birds like the Carpintero Chileno Austral and the Martin Pescador.

Fly Fishing is one of the most popular activities that you can do in North Patagonia –the season often starts the second week of October and lasts till March-. Places like the Baker River and lakes like the Beltran, Cochrane and General Carrera are perfect for a sport that lets you have fun while having a relaxing and pleasant time. Salmon and Trout are the most common types of fish that you can find in this waters -Catch & Release only-. And –if needed- expert bilingual guides can be by your side all time, teaching you the basics -like putting the fish hook, managing the fly rod- or tips on how to improve your skills.

This beautiful zone is only known by 3% of Chileans and some places are virtually untouched by human presence, a plus that adds to the experience of feeling disconnected from city life, surrounded by native woods of Lenga and Coihue, idyllic valleys and snowy mountain tops.

But Hacienda Tres Lagos is more than quality accommodations and first class service. To fully enjoy North Patagonia, the hotel offers a number of activities like Trekking, Horse Rides, Kayaking, Boat Rides with a capacity for 10 people that travel to 4 different lakes, an extraordinary Canopy that stretches 900 meters –unique in Patagonia- and excursions to marble caverns with experienced and trained guides.

The facilities in Hacienda Tres Lagos also have a restaurant, jacuzzi, sauna, massage room and a Quincho where you can taste the exquisite lamb from Patagonia. The hotel is open from September to April 30^th. You can stay a minimum of 2 nights, but the recommendation is at least 5 days to a week, so you can enjoy all the activities without feeling rushed or hurried.

Hacienda Tres Lagos, the perfect choice to see, explore and feel the Chilean North Patagonia.

Experience Chile´s Capital City in This Sensational New Route

Currently considered one of the most attractive cities to visit in South America, Santiago offers tourists a great array of interesting and fun places to visit and see. That’s why today, local authorities in Chile launched the Ruta Capital, a route that presents the very best of this unique and modern city.

The route is part of the Bicentennial Project and its main objective is to present visitors with four of the most attractive areas of the city, this being the neighborhoods of Providencia, Santiago, Recoleta and Vitacura. According to the authorities, the places where selected based on their historic and cultural appeal, but also for the presence of quality service options that can accommodate all visitors. 

The Mapocho River will have a prominent presence in the tour, as it was an important landmark for the founding of the city, and all the traveled circuits will have totems with useful information in order to facilitate the understanding of the different sites that are visited.

The plan will begin with Santiago as the showcase city, but the idea is to replicate it to the entire country. In total, there are 10 planned routes from the city of Arica in the north part of Chile, to Punta Arenas, located in the Magallanes Region -the extreme south of the country-.

With this routes, Chile plans to present travelers with an updated, fresh and interesting look at its marvelous geography and magnificent historical and cultural landmarks located throughout the different cities.

Cruise and Discover Chile’s Magnificent North Patagonia with Mare Australis

With its unique and in some cases untouched locations, this wonderful part of the world offers travelers an experience like no other, where man can appreciate the beauty of raw nature, and relax by sailing through fjords and large bodies of water, discovering places like Chaiten in the Los Lagos Region, or the beautiful San Rafael Lagoon in the Region of Aysen.

The Cruise Mare Australis is thought as an expedition experience where you can interact with nature by doing a variety of outdoor activities and by enjoying the flora and fauna of this spectacular natural paradise. Some options include bus transportation from the city of Puerto Montt, but the Cruise has its starting point in Castro, located in the Island of Chiloe. A magical city that has charming and painteresque little houses built over sticks of wood, known as Palafitos, and Churches built by Franciscan and Jesuit religious orders that are considered a World Heritage site by UNESCO. Castro is also known for having more than 45 different types of potatoes, making its gastronomy unique and interesting with dishes that include the famous Curanto, prepared and cooked in the open air, with ingredients that include seafood, meat, potatoes and vegetables.

The first stop of the route is Jechica Island, a place with exuberant vegetation and ideal if you enjoy activities such as bird watching, with more than 20 different species, like the albatross Cejas Negras. Other activities include Boat trips, Sea Kayak and Trekking excursions in places like the Jechica Lagoon where you get to enter thick woods, see the lake, different types of birds and millennial trees. All the excursions are designed with different skill levels that go from easy, intermediate and demanding, so you can enjoy the experience that fits you best.

The second stop is the San Rafael Lagoon, located in the Aysen Region. Here you can calmly explore the icy waters and see the San Rafael Glacier in zodiak boats. The groups are small –no more than 4 zodiaks at a time- so you can always feel the important sensation of being at the end of the world. The guides travel in a separate boat and reunite with the tour explorers at the glacier for an interesting chat about the surroundings. 

The third stop is Bahia Tic Toc and the Gulf of Corcovado, a fascinating place where Blue and Humpback whales take the center stage, making this stop one of the most impressive of North Patagonia. A natural landscape, filled with life and beauty.

The final destination of the cruise is the city of Chaiten, located in the Los Lagos Region. Here you can visit the town, the local museum and the marvelous Pumalin Park, Chile´s largest private natural reserve area dedicated to the preservation of biodiversity. Also, you can see the entire city, the nearby volcanoes and the extent of the damage created by the may 2008 eruption of the Chaiten volcano –in a viewpoint-.

You can experience all this and more, in a 5 day 4 nights route. The Mare Australis cruise includes all the comforts of a five star ship with a capacity of 130 people and five decks. It has rooms for exhibiting documentaries and films, a bar, different saloons, a dining room, and comfortable cabin rooms that will make your trip to North Patagonia an experience you will like to remember forever. 

More importantly, the Cruise alternates nights of travel with days of activity, so you can maximize your experience, without loosing valuable time. Magical and idyllic vistas, distinctive regional animal life, and outdoor activities await those who travel to Chile’s North Patagonia with Mare Australis.

August and September Equals Excellent Skiing in South America

There is good news for skiers around the globe. That’s because ski season is open in South America, so if you are looking for fresh mountain air, excellent weather conditions and superb ski tracks with quality snow, then August 15^th to the end of September is your chance to get the best out of this magnificent snowy mountains.

If you have been to South America before, then you will know that during the month of June there is nothing but dirt in the mountains. That of course changes in July, when the snow finally arrives and so does the high season that coincides with the school vacations.

By the second week of August, Ski tracks are practically empty, with kids returning to school and general public going back to their work routines in the city. This means that you will be able to ski more freely, and, because high season prices end in July, by the first days of August, all services and hotel rates tend to be cheaper. A plus that certainly comes handy if you want to save money.

August and September offers skiers that travel South America, clear skies, quality snow and excellent times. The perfect ingredients for an unforgettable and thrilling experience.