Mallin Colorado welcomes guests to this Ecolodge, situated on pristine land in the Chilean Patagonia region. Enjoy a fusion of rustic luxury, comfort and hospitality during a stay at Mallin Colorado Ecolodge. Guests find accommodation in cabins built of native wood, with excellent views. Each cabin is isolated and provides a private and peaceful environment that is harmonious with the local landscape. The lodge and cabins of Mallin Colorado are nestled on a rolling hillside, overlooking Lake General Carrera. The park-like setting includes native trees, bushes and flowers of Patagonia's unique species.
Lodge Amenities
The luxurious cabins set in the natural environment will induce relaxation and enjoyment of the vistas of the snow-capped Northern Ice Fields and mountains in the distance with the Caribbean-colored waters of Lake Carrera in the foreground. Gather in the main lodge which is the family home. Here guests can lounge in front of the fireplace reading books from the library. Meals are served at one of the two dining tables, each providing seating for ten. (I would delete this, or add that there are also small tables for couples, where you can sit independently) Guests are always welcome in the classically beautiful Patagonian kitchen, the most important place in Mallin Colorado and where many of the guests have felt most at home. The lodge provides the perfect location for exploration of the pristine Chilean Patagonia surroundings. Situated not only with excellent views of the lake and mountains, it also holds claim to 500 hectares of native forest land. More than 15 km of carefully created walking and trekking trails have been installed on the property. For a more extensive look at the trails and activities offered at Mallin Colorado Ecolodge, please explore the link above.
Accommodations
Cabins and the newly built Casa Lenga are rustic, comfortable, and elegantly furnished, surrounded by a park of native trees. Lodging can be provided for up to 32 people. The cabins have hardwood floors, wood stoves, and ample windows with views of the immense lake. Casa Lenga has central heating and each room with a private bathroom has a door to the terrace overlooking the lake and mountains. Guests especially enjoy the comfort of the beds, with eiderdown quilts and pillows covered in fine linens. On a gently rolling hillside overlooking Lake General Carrera, Mallin Colorado has placed four cabins separated from each other and Casa Lenga with six double rooms with native fruit trees and wildflower gardens which guarantee privacy and exclusivity for those who want to escape corporate tourism to enjoy the silence and peace of the pristine Patagonian landscape. There is no better way to relax than to be at home in Mallin Colorado, listening to birdsong while appreciating the views of Lake Carrera and the spectacular snowcapped mountains. Each guest is given a pure-cotton bathrobe, a pair of slippers and amenities in the bathrooms. Awaken in the morning refreshed and ready to join an excursion after a restorative night's sleep, breathing in the crisp mountain air.
Gastronomy
Mallin Colorado`s highlight is the excellent food served every day in the main lodge. The onsite chef and kitchen staff do their work with love and dedication, using fresh produce from the gardens and greenhouse, accompanied by healthy pork, lamb, beef and fish, all of which are fresh and local. Food is prepared in a wood-fired oven and clay pots, giving all plates a gourmet touch. Guests are consistently surprised and delighted to be treated to such excellent cuisine while simultaneously being surrounded by the splendors of the remote virgin natural setting. A menu is posted daily for all the guests and the ecolodge prides themselves on their delicious and diverse recipes. Special food requirements are available. Some evenings guests will enjoy a meal in the Quincho, a gathering space built around a fire pit with a windscreen, benches and tables. It is in the middle of the park and provides the central place for all guests to join together for a traditional Patagonian lamb barbecue, which is prepared slowly for five hours.
Location
Mallin Colorado is located in the Region of Aysen on the shores of Lake General Carrera, in Chilean Patagonia, 273 Kms. to the south of Coyhaique on the Austral Highway. The area is scarcely populated and a large portion of the land lies in national parks or protected areas. Here you will find a place with a unique identity and a strong local culture that has been developed little since its discovery at the turn of the 20th century. It is one of the most pristine places on the planet.
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Rooms
Standard Cabin
The most amazing view outside your room. We love to sleep in a standard queen bed and open the window to the lake view.
Special Interests programs aim to satisfy the exquisite needs of guests at Mallin Colorado Ecolodge. Horseback riding for horse lovers, clear trails for walkers, special tours for cooking lovers, birdwatchers, for fly fishermen, for photographers, etc are all meticulously created for a guest's enjoyment in mind. There are also special programs for families and honeymooners.
HIKING TOURS
Beauty can be appreciated in its pristine state on the Carretera Austral. Be a part of a natural landscape, perhaps one of the places where nature is really virgin that left in the whole world. Every walking trail has been carefully developed during the last 10 years in this area of Patagonia, considering different levels of difficulty for those beginners or expert walkers. Several trails are offered for a full day walk or shorter walks as well, enjoying wonderful views of glaciers, forests, waterfalls, or pampas.
FAMILY VACATIONS
All programs are designed for families to disconnect from the daily routine, leaving only these concerns: to enjoy yourself, relax, and appreciate the things offered to you by the people and natural surroundings of this mystical corner of the earth. The area is scarcely populated and a large portion of the land lies in national parks or protected areas. Find a place with a unique identity and a strong local culture that has been developed little since its discovery at the turn of the 20th century. It is one of the most pristine places on the planet. The ecolodge considers every detail to be sure that a family vacation will be a time to escape the noise of the modern world and reconnect with your inner being in an astonishing natural environment, in a private spot secure and protected for children. Oriented attentiveness and isolation combine to make this a perfect place to meet the wild and untouched natural surroundings head-on.
HONEYMOON
The dream honeymoon is a very personal thing. It is a one-off trip to a special destination, a genuine trip of a lifetime. Latin America is fast gaining a reputation as the perfect honeymoon destination. For sheer diversity - geographically and culturally - there is probably no other place on earth that compares. For lovers of mountains, there is the mighty Andes cordillera, stretching thousands of miles from Colombia to Patagonia. Chile is one of the world's most romantic countries. Its varied and unique landscape has inspired writers and poets alike. Enjoy a very special honeymoon week in Mallin Colorado Ecolodge for couples looking for adventure, romantic places and luxury, to combine human experience with respect for nature.
HORSEBACK RIDING
Spend the week at Mallin Colorado Ecolodge embarking on unique horse rides to the Lake General Carrera and the Northern Ice Fields. You will be welcomed by members of the Christensen Family through their direct and personal attention to an intimate and relaxing environment. Explore on horseback the scenic region of Aisen Patagonia, Chile, on the shores of Lake General Carrera. The ecolodge offers private programs of 4 days to one week, with lodging, full board (including barbecued lamb), horseback riding and other selected daily activities.
FLY FISHING
Beauty is literally in full view along the Carretera Austral. Be a part of a natural landscape, perhaps one of the few remaining virgin wildernesses in the world. This area possesses the most productive and least exploited rivers, lakes and streams in the world. Fishing conditions and results are highly varied, ranging from crystalline streams suitable for fly fishing, through the capture of large specimens of trout in the lakes, to salmon catches weighing up to 13 kilos in gigantic emerald-green rivers. On Lake Bertrand and the Baker river, there are countless riverbank and lakeshore areas suitable for practicing any mode of fly fishing.
CULINARY TOUR
Mallin Colorado Ecolodge offers a culinary program to have the chance to enjoy cooking in the big kitchen and learn from the lodge owner-chef. Visit the greenhouse of the lodge with vegetables and aromatic herbs that grow in this area. Learn how to prepare homemade bread, fine pasta and the typical barbecued lamb in the “quincho” of the lodge. Moreover, learn how to prepare fine herbs Patagonian salmon and delicious deserts of Chilean Colonial times. Your stay includes all meals, accommodation, outdoor excursions with a bilingual guide, culinary classes with the owner of the lodge and a CD with recipes for free. From the beginning, Mallin Colorado has been characterized by the excellent food it offers its visitors, in which the owner of the house puts all of her love and good taste. She prepares homemade and traditional dishes with fresh vegetables from their garden and healthy meats of the region. The food is cooked over a wood fire in clay pots, taking fresh vegetables from the garden and above all, with lots of love and care.
PHOTOGRAPHIC TOUR
Get lost in the landscape and capture that infinite moment in Patagonia. Not only sunrises and sunsets in Patagonia are unique and unforgettable. Every hidden corner of this huge virgin landscape shows a reason to shoot and keep that moment forever. Come and enjoy the multicolored nature on a photographic tour with the Mallin Colorado Ecolodge. Mallin Colorado Ecolodge offers a large variety of landscapes to enjoy, which will open your eyes to spectacular beauty moment after a moment during a soulful stay. The main purpose of this tour is to allow the full spectrum of photographic opportunities: from the intimate detail shots of wildflowers to the vast Patagonian landscapes. Begin and end each day with sumptuous food and a warm atmosphere in the comfort of the lodge.
BIRDWATCHING
Walk the trails and get close to the birds that populate Patagonia. If you wake up with a strong noise close to your cabin, it is not a gaucho who started early his job. It is the woodpecker that is in a close tree around the lodge and is abundant in this area. With its redhead and black and white body, this big bird makes a hard noise that can be heard from frequently around the cabins. Like this one, there is plenty of small and big birds that give life to the silence of Patagonia. The woodpecker and ibis are very common in the lodge and you will see other many birds in the surroundings.
Excursions from Mallin Colorado Ecolodge
Family-oriented attentiveness and isolation combine to make this a perfect place to meet the wild and untouched natural surroundings head-on. Choose from a variety of activities, all of which are accompanied by an expert guide. Mallín Colorado is the headquarters for exploring the local paradise that is Patagonia. Appreciate the profound natural beauty of Patagonia by covering its essentially unexplored territories.
HORSEBACK RIDING FROM MALLIN COLORADO
Horseback riding on private horses and with a guide through a forest of native trees such as coigue, ñirre and lenga. It offers different views to lake General Carrera and glaciers of the Northern Ice Fields, also to Mallin Colorado Lagoon and finally arrives in a wide-open view over lake Bertrand and lake Plomo. See abundant wild vegetation and some local birds. No previous experience is required.
MARBLE CATHEDRAL
The excursion begins one hour north of the lodge. A boat trip takes you through the Puerto Tranquilo area of Lake General Carrera where you can enjoy the famous rock formations of the Marble Cathedral on the calypso waters of the lake. See how the stone has been eroded by the movement of the water and the wind during millions of years building these incredible formations on the shore of the lake. Return back to the lodge for lunch, unless combining with Exploradores Glacier.
BAKER RIVER CONFLUENCE
Driving 35 km south along Chile´s Austral Highway with wonderful views arrive at Puerto Bertrand, a small town located in a picturesque area near the source of the Baker River, which is the river with the largest volume flow in Chile. Make a short stop to visit the birthplace of river Baker. 12 kms southern of Puerto Bertrand start a short walk to the point where river Baker meets river Neff in an impressive salto. The scenery is overwhelming, the strong flow of both rivers is surrounded by high and imposing mountains covered by abundant native vegetation. You will have great opportunities to take photos and observe the mountain range.
EXPLORADORES GLACIER
The trip starts in Mallín Colorado on to Puerto Tranquilo and continues 50 km to the west on a newly constructed road to Bahia Exploradores, through a narrow valley with huge mountains and diverse glaciers. Walkabout ten minutes then climb a rock mountain towards the extraordinary Explorers Glacier, which descends directly from San Valentín Hill (which, at 4000 meters above sea level, is the highest mountain in Patagonia). Arrive at a viewpoint in a high place to see the glacier. This is a spectacular opportunity to take photos and film.
TAMANGO RESERVE & CHACABUCO VALLEY
Start by driving 70 km south on the Austral Highway to the town of Cochrane, population 3,000. Continue to the Tamango National Reserve, the only area where you can observe the huemul (a protected species here). After a hike through the park´s abundant vegetation and fauna, on the shores of the beautiful river Cochrane, enjoy a satisfying lunch in these spectacular surroundings. On the way back to Mallin Colorado, visit the Chacabuco Valley area, a landscape very similar to the Patagonian pampas of Argentina. Here observe guanacos, condors, sheep, cattle and diverse bird species.
TRIP TO CHILE CHICO
A journey to Chile Chico, 122 km along the southern coast of Lake General Carrera, with spectacular views of the lake and the Northern Ice Fields from high cliffs. Chile Chico is a small town with 3.000 inhabitants, it has one of the most visited international passes in the region. Notice the changes in climate and terrain as you approach the wide and arid Argentine pampa. Lunch will be served in Chile Chico, surrounded by farms; you´ll find that the mild and sunny climate here is very similar to that of Central Chile. RAFTING ON RIVER BAKER Raft down river Baker rapids, the most powerful river in Chile, now threatened by the building of mega-dams. Easy rafting, unique calypso color and exotic vegetation around. Half-day excursion, it starts in Puerto Bertrand, includes coffee snack, special waterproof suits and brief explanation before starting.
PUERTO GUADAL FOSSILS
After a 20 km trip by a truck hike in an old-growth lenga forest for two hours, until you arrive at your destination: above the tree-line, there is very rich soil with a high quantity of marine fossils and mountain wildflowers. Enjoy a spectacular panoramic view of Lake General Carrera and the Northern Ice Field. Lunch will be served at the destination, followed by a rest, and then return to the lodge. GLACIER LEONES WALK Drive to the Leones River, from which walk for about 2 hours through native forests and amazing mountains, crossing little cascades to the grey waters of Lake Leones. At the end of the lake, appreciate the incredible glacier falling on the lake. From there have lunch and enjoy the view to Leones Glacier, which is the entrance to the Northern Ice Field. Walking back to the departing point, then drive back to the Lodge for dinner.
LAKE PLOMO & SOLER GLACIER
After driving to Puerto Bertrand, take a boat in the direction of Lake Plomo, viewing the different colors of its waters coming from glacier Soler. The boat reaches a point to view the huge glacier at the end of the lake. A wonderful moment to take pictures and enjoy the calypso-colored waters of this hidden lake.
HIKING TO MALLIN COLORADO LAGOON
Four hours (ascent from 300 to 670 meters above sea level). A medium-length hike through a native-growth forest of lengas and coigues, with a lot of opportunities to see exotic birds and abundant native plants. Experience an amazing view of glaciers, as well as Lakes General Carrera, Plomo, and Bertrand.
HIKING TO PASARELA BRIDGE
A medium-length walk through a native forest of coigue and lengas, through a well-done track from the cabins in direction La Pasarela, cross the bridge where lake General Carrera waters flow on lake Bertrand. The hill has one of the most beautiful and wide views of Patagonia. Return back to the lodge via vehicle for lunch.
HIKING THE BEACH OF MALLIN COLORADO
Mallín Colorado has its own beach on Lake General Carrera, which can be seen from the cabins. To stay on a private beach on a warm summer day and have the chance to bathe in these pretty cold waters could be an unforgettable experience. Just 30 minutes walking down to the beach on a beautifully arranged track among exotic plants enjoy perhaps one of the peaceful days in your life. Coming back up the hill to the cabins takes about 45 minutes.
HIKING LOS MANZANOS
A long walk through the native forest in the direction of the south. Leaving from the lodge arrive at a private beach on Lake Bertrand after three hours walking up and down, near cliffs, and seeing wonderful views. Enjoy a lamb barbecue and return to the lodge via boat and vehicle.
Our guide and driver were very good with their knowledge and were very helpful with our questions. It was a very pleasant visit that would have been impossible to do on our own. Hotels and restaurants were fantastic. The special places we got to go to, like the kitchens, were great. Enjoyed the entire trip!
Meyer Smolen
TrustScore 4.8 | 174 reviews
TrustScore 4.8 of 5
Based on 174 reviews on
8 hours ago
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
1 day ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.
