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Zodiac tours to see glaciers.

Gauchos, Glaciers & Penguins

Example 7 Day Cruise
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Embark on a 7-day cruise and land tour of Patagonia from Punta Arenas, visiting the stunning landscapes and wildlife of Tierra del Fuego. During the land tour, observe a small king penguin colony and visit an estancia for a true gaucho experience. Aboard the MV Via Australis, sail around the legendary Cape Horn, explore the remote blue glaciers of this wild region, and visit areas only accessible by small expedition ship. The voyage ends in charming Punta Arenas.
Interact with Magellan Penguins on Magdalena IslandWander the peaceful moors of PatagoniaSail past the Les Eclaireurs LighthouseView the seal and cormorant colonies as you sail across the Beagle Channel Zodiac tours to see glaciers.
Highlights
  • Visit by land & sea the stunning landscapes & wildlife of Tierra del Fuego
  • Explore an estancia for a true gaucho experience
  • Journey by Zodiac to Cape Horn, Wulaia Bay, and historic areas
  • Observe colonies of king penguins and Magellanic penguins
Places Visited
Activity Level: Relaxed
Involves minimal physical effort and is typically associated with leisurely activities. Activities are low-intensity or last less than a few hours each day.
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Full Itinerary

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Day 1: Embark in Punta Arenas

Arrive in Punta Arenas and transfer from the international airport to the Hotel Cabo de Hornos on the main square in downtown Punta Arenas.

Day 2: Porvenir | King Penguin Park | Rio Grande

The journey begins early in the morning with a ferry crossing of the Strait of Magellan from the Punta Arenas waterfront to the town of Porviner on the north shore of Tierra del Fuego. Founded in the 1880s, Porviner was settled by many Croatian immigrants and for a brief time was the hub of a local gold rush. Despite its small size, the Museo de Tierra del Fuego makes a worthwhile stop, with exhibits that range from 600-year-old Selk'nam mummies to the history of Patagonian cinema.

From Porvenir follow the coast road along the north shore of Useless Bay (Bahía Inútil), which received its unfortunate name from British sea captain Phillip Parker King who found "neither anchorage nor shelter, nor any other advantage for the navigator" while surveying the bay in the 1820s. King penguins have taken up residence along a tidal stream at the bay's eastern extreme, protected within the confines of a small private reserve called the Parque Pingüino Rey. A well-marked trail leads down to the shore and blinds with views across the stream to the penguin nesting area. Nearby is the pioneer cemetery for the historic Estancia Caleta Josefina, a windswept graveyard that shelters the remains of Scottish settlers. 

The industrial hub of Tierra del Fuego, Río Grande has flourished on sheep farming, energy extraction, and more recently factory production. A large military base and monuments along the coast road attest to the fact that Río Grande was also an Argentine military staging area for the Malvinas (Falklands) War. Overnight at a Río Grande hotel or estancia. If dinner is not included in your hotel stay, try to feast on a genuine Argentine steak and Quilmes stout at the Posada de los Sauces restaurant and bar near the Rio Grande waterfront.

Day 3: Gauchos | Ushuaia

  • 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Start the day with a gaucho experience and Patagonian-style "asado" barbecue at the 80-year-old Estancia Las Hijas, located about 50 miles (80 km) south of Rio Grande. Back on the road, the highway leaves the pampas behind for a landscape of Magellanic forest with snowcapped mountains in the distance. Herds of guanaco graze meadows on either side of the road. A brief stop in the hilltop town of Tolhuin affords views of Lake Fagnano, the island's largest freshwater body. There's time to munch pastries at the legendary Panadería La Unión before hitting the road again. Cutting through the southernmost part the Andes, arrive in Ushuaia for check-in and boarding of the MV Via Australis.

Day 4: Cape Horn | Wulaia Bay

  • 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Cruise across Nassau Bay into the remote archipelago that includes Cape Horn National Park. Weather and sea conditions permitting, go ashore on the windswept island that harbors legendary Cape Horn (Cabo de Hornos). Discovered in 1616 by a Dutch maritime expedition, and named after the town of Hoorn in West Friesland, Cape Horn is a sheer 425-meter (1,394-foot) high rocky promontory overlooking the turbulent waters of the Drake Passage. For many years it was the only navigation route between the Pacific and Atlantic, and was often referred to as the "End of the Earth." The park was declared a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2005. The Chilean navy maintains a permanent lighthouse on the island, staffed by a lightkeeper and his family, as well as the tiny Stella Maris Chapel and modern Cape Horn Monument.

Sailing back across Nassau Bay, anchor at fabled Wulaia Bay, one of the few places in the archipelago where the human history is just as compelling as the natural environment. Originally the site of one of the region’s largest Yámana aboriginal settlements, the bay was described by Charles Darwin and sketched by Captain FitzRoy in the 1830s during their voyages on the HMS Beagle. This area is also renowned for its mesmerizing beauty and dramatic geography. After a visit to the Australis-sponsored museum in the old radio station, which is especially strong on the Yámana people and European missionaries in the area, passengers have a choice of three hikes (of increasing degrees of difficulty) that ascend the heavily wooden mountain behind the bay. On all of these you can stroll through an enchanted Magellan forest of lengas, coigües, canelos, ferns, and other endemic fauna to reach a panoramic viewpoint overlooking the bay.

Day 5: Pia Glacier | Garibaldi Glacier

  • 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Casting off from Wulaia Bay, retrace the route to the Beagle Channel and sail westward along the southern edge of Tierra del Fuego into a section of Alberto de Agostini National Park called Glacier Alley or Avenue of the Glaciers. Flowing down from the Darwin Mountains and Darwin Ice Sheet are a number of impressive tidewater glaciers, most of them named after European countries - Holland, Italy, Germany, Spain and France. In amongst this frozen "league of nations" enter the narrow Pia Fjord and board the Zodiacs for a shore excursion to Pia Glacier. After disembarking take a short hike to gain a panoramic view of the spectacular glacier, which extends from the mountaintops down to the sea, or a longer much more difficult walk up a lateral moraine of the old Pia Glacier. No one knows for certain how the hulking mass of snow and ice got its feminine moniker, but one theory says it was named for Princess Maria Pia of Savoy (1847-1911), daughter of the Italian king.

Making your way further west along the Beagle Channel, enter another long fjord and drop anchor near Garibaldi Glacier for another shore excursion. Garibaldi is one of only three glaciers in Patagonia gaining mass rather than staying the same or slowly shrinking. This time hike through virgin Magellanic forest to a glacial waterfall, a towering wall of ferns and moss, and spectacular viewpoints looking down on the glacier and fjord. The walk is demanding - very steep, negligible trail, rough footing - and not for everyone. For those who choose to stay onboard, your captain points the bow towards the beautiful sky blue Garibaldi Glacier so everyone can enjoy the panoramic view from the upper decks.

Day 6: Piloto & Nena Glaciers | Agostini | Águila

  • 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Rounding the Brecknock Peninsula at the western extreme of Tierra del Fuego, the ship is exposed to the open Pacific for a brief time before entering the Cockburn Channel. Dead ahead is Chico Sound and your next Zodiac excursion. Traveling in the swift little boats, explore Alakaluf Fjord and enjoy incredible views of Piloto and Nena glaciers from the sea. Find yourself being drawn to the intense blue color of Piloto Glacier, caused by its compression and age. During the excursion learn about the formation of glaciers and their influence on the extravagant topography of the Fuegian-Patagonian channels. During the excursion it's often possible to spot rare rock and King cormorants nesting on the stones facing the glaciers.

In the afternoon MV Via Australis navigates Magdalena Channel and Keats Fjord to reach De Agostini Sound. Named after an Italian Salesian priest who worked among the region's indigenous people during the first half of the 20th century, the sound is flanked by numerous glaciers and saw-toothed peaks. After landing on the beach, hike around the edge of a lagoon to the base of towering Águila ("Eagle") Glacier. Condors can sometimes be seen winging high above, but there is always abundant bird life around the lagoon.

Day 7: Magdalena Island | Disembark in Punta Arenas

  • 1 Breakfast
After an overnight cruise across Admiralty Sound and back into the Strait of Magellan, anchor off Magdalena Island, which lies about halfway between Tierra del Fuego and the Chilean mainland (camera extension poles are prohibited on Magdalena Island). Crowned by a distinctive lighthouse, the island used to be an essential source of supplies for navigators and explorers and is inhabited by an immense colony of Magellanic penguins. At the break of dawn, weather permitting, go ashore and hike a path that leads through thousands of penguins to a small museum lodged inside the vintage 1902 lighthouse. Many other bird species are also found on the island. In September and April, when the penguins dwell elsewhere, this excursion is replaced by a ride aboard Zodiacs to Marta Island to observe South American sea lions.
 
After a short sail south along the strait, disembark at Punta Arenas around 11:30 AM.

Accommodations

Cabo de Hornos Hotel

Cabo de Hornos Hotel
The reception desk at the Cabo de Hornos Hotel
The bar area at the Cabo de Hornos Hotel

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  • 4 Breakfasts, 4 Lunches, 4 Dinners

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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

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