CHILE ITINERARY
| 3. DETAILED ITINERARY (all activities and stops, with their respective schedules) |
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| Day 1 |
| Arrival at Balmaceda Airport (Balmaceda-Coyhaique). |
| Arrival in the city of Coyhaique. |
| Welcome activity and visit to the Regional Museum of Aysén. |
| Day 2 |
| 8:00 AM. Start of Coyhaique activities. Start of trip. |
| 9:30 AM. Visit to the Cerro Castillo viewpoint. First stop of the tour is the Cerro Castillo viewpoint, where you can appreciate glacial morphologies and a panoramic view of the Ibáñez River valley. This stop lasts about half an hour. This is one of the classic viewpoints on the Carretera Austral. |
| 10:30 AM. Becerra Bridge. Cerro Castillo-Bahía Murta. Second stop, where you will visit the Hudson Volcano Tephras geosite at the Becerra Bridge. You will see the outcrops of the four ash levels from the most explosive eruptive events of the Hudson Volcano. More details about this point can be found in the Aysén Region Geosite Book. |
| 12:00 Lunch Puerto Sánchez. (There is very little commerce here, so it is recommended to bring snacks. We will bring the lunches for the day) |
| 1:00 PM Navigation Puerto Sánchez-Capilla de Mármol Nature Sanctuary. Lake tour to the Capilla de Mármol Nature Sanctuary. Interpretive navigation in the Capilla de Mármol Sanctuary, where we can observe karst morphologies. Another interesting aspect to observe are the vestiges of the mining activity carried out in the General Carrera Lake basin.* |
| 4:00 PM Transfer Puerto Sánchez-Puerto Tranquilo |
| 6:00 PM Free afternoon Arrival in Puerto Tranquilo. Overnight stay in Puerto Tranquilo. Puerto Tranquilo has shops, restaurants, and some craft stalls. |
| Day 3 |
| 8:00 Transfer from Puerto Tranquilo to the Leones River Valley, eastern access to the Northern Ice Field. Puerto Tranquilo-Leones River Valley. We will visit the northeastern access to the Northern Ice Field, via the Leones River Valley. During this transfer, you will observe silica dune deposits, Gilbert-type deltaic terraces, and glacial accumulation morphologies. Bring comfortable, warm, and waterproof clothing, water-resistant trekking shoes, water, snacks, sunglasses, sunscreen, a hat, and gloves for the cold. Medium-difficulty trek, with a total duration of approximately 8:30 hours, plus 2:30 hours of lake navigation.. |
| 9:30 Trekking to the Leones Glacier. Leones River Valley sector. Start of the trek to the Leones Glacier. During the hike, you will observe glacial morphologies and GLOF deposits in the Mapuche sector. The trek to the Leones Glacier begins. This activity consists of a total hike and navigation across Leones Lake, lasting approximately 11 hours. |
| 10:30 Visit to the Mapuche Glacier GLOF Geosite. You will visit the GLOF deposit, where the rock blocks deposited by the Macuche Glacier GLOF event stand out. |
| 1:00 PM Lunch. Terminal Moraine of the Leones Glacier. You will have lunch here and also visit the frontal moraine of the Leones Glacier, which dams the lake of the same name. This moraine is approximately 2,500 years old. |
| 2:00 PM Navigation on Leones Lake. Boat navigation across Leones Lake, departing from the terminal moraine (Lake Leones beach) to the front of the Leones Glacier. ** |
| 4:00 PM Return trek to the Leones Glacier terminal moraine. Start of the return trek. |
| 7:30 PM Transfer to the town of Puerto Guadal, Leones River Valley. Return to the transport. |
| 8:30 PM Arrival at Puerto Guadal. |
| 9:00 PM Dinner in Puerto Guadal. Overnight in Puerto Guadal. |
| Day 4 |
| 8:00 AM Transfer from Puerto Guadal to the Los Valles sector. Puerto Guadal - Los Valles sector. |
| 9:30 AM Start of the trek to the Cerro Los Fosiles sector of Guadal. Los Valles sector. Hike through the fossil-bearing area of Cerro Los Fósiles, where we will observe a great diversity (more than 80 species have been identified) of marine fossils of bivalves, gastropods, crustaceans, brachiopods, and other marine life. echinoderms, approximately 25 million years old. We will also discuss the geotectonic evolution of the southern Andes and the glacial evidence of the last great Patagonian glaciation. Track dificult: low-to-medium difficulty trek. |
| 1:00 PM Lunch Cerro los Fósiles de Guadal. We will have lunch at the summit of Cerro Los Fósiles de Guadal. Snack trekking. |
| 3:30 PM Trekking back to the transport Cerro los Fósiles de Guadal. Trekking back to the transport in the Los Valles sector. |
| 6:00 PM Arrival at the transport and transfer to the town of Chile Chico. Los Valles Sector-Chile Chico. Transfer by transport to the town of Chile Chico. Duration approximately 3 hours. |
| 9:00 PM Arrival in the town of Chile Chico. Chile Chico. Overnight stay. |
| 9:30 Start of trekking to the Cerro Los Fosiles sector of Guadal. Los Valles sector. Hike through the fossil-bearing area of Cerro Los Fósiles, where we will observe a great diversity (more than 80 species have been identified) of marine fossils of bivalves, gastropods, crustaceans, brachiopods, and echinoderms, approximately 25 million years old. We will also discuss the geotectonic evolution of the southern Andes and the glacial evidence of the last great Patagonian glaciation. This is a low-to-medium difficulty trek, with a total duration of approximately 7 hours. |
| Day 5 |
| 8:30 AM Transfer to Patagonia National Park, Cueva de las Manos Sector Chile Chico as a support guide, you can consult the information material on the geological heritage of the Chile Chico and Jeinimeni sectors at; https://rutasjeinimeni.cl/ |
| 9:30 Visit to the Fenix Block Geosite, Jeinimeni Sector. You will visit the Fenix Erratic Block Geosite, a remnant of glacial passages 20,000 years ago, in the Jeinimeni area. The trek begins along the roadside. The approximate duration to reach the geosite is 2 hours (round trip). |
| 1:30 Arrive at the entrance to Patagonia National Park, Cueva de las Manos Sector. You must purchase an entrance ticket to Patagonia National Park, Cueva de las Manos Sector, on the website.*** |
| 1:45 PM Lunch at Arroyo stony Trekking snack |
| 2:45 PM Start of the Piedra Clavada-Valle Lunar Circuit trek at Arroyo stony This is a hike through Jurassic volcanic rocks, vestiges of when South America was beginning to separate from Africa. This trek will allow us to observe, in the Pampas climate zone, representative volcanic structures from 150 Ma, beautiful Quaternary erosion forms, and rock art from ancient inhabitants (probably less than 10,000 years old). The trek is of low to medium difficulty and lasts approximately 5 hours. As a support guide, visit and review Route 5; at https://rutasjeinimeni.cl/ |
| 5:00 PM Return to the city of Coyhaique |
| 8:00 PM Arrival at the starting point, Arroyo Pedregoso parking lot. Transfer by shuttle to the town of Chile Chico, approximately 1:30 hrs. |
| 9:30 PM Arrival in the town of Chile Chico Chile Chico Overnight in the town of Chile Chico |
| Day 6 |
| 8:30 AM Transfer to the Salto del Río Ibáñez geosite Puerto Ibañez |
| 9:15 AM Salto del Río Ibáñez Salto del Río Ibáñez A set of waterfalls on the Ibáñez River, which originates in the Hudson Volcano, the most explosive in the southern Andes. It stands out for its scenic value, but also allows us to discuss the volcano's eruptive history and observe some interesting glacial varve deposits. 10:45 Transfer via Las Arquillas-Lake Tamango route to Paredón de las Manos, Cerro Castillo |
| 1:00 PM Arrival at the Paredón de las Manos archaeological site in Cerro Castillo. |
| 1:10 PM Lunch at Paredón de las Manos. **** |
| 2:00 PM Start of the trek to Paredón de las Manos. You will see a large amount of rock art from human groups dating back 3,000 years, which is a highlight on Chile's tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage status. This trek is of low difficulty and lasts approximately 1.5 hours. |
| 5:00 PM Return to the city of Coyhaique |
| 7:00 PM Arrival in the city of Coyhaique |
| 9:00 PM Farewell dinner |
