Detailed Itinerary

Days 1-2  Depart USA (or Home Country) for Santiago Chile.  Most flights are overnight causing you to arrive in Santiago in the morning.  From there transfer to your domestic flight to Balmaceda in the Aisen Region of Patagonia.  Upon arrival in Balmaceda, you'll be greeted by your No Limits Adventures guide who will accompany your group for the duration of your trip.  We will travel the Austral Highway south(approx 4 hrs) on pavement and improved gravel roads to Puerto Rio Tranquilo, a village on the shores of Lago General Carrera, Chile's largest lake and South America's second largest lake.  We will dine and spend the night at a charming bed and breakfast that has been hand built from local cedar and beech wood.

Day 3  We’ll plan on a relaxing start to the day after your travels.  After breakfast we will continue the journey south, following the remarkably picturesque southern longitudinal highway as it alternately climbs high above then dips down close by the captivating blue waters of the lake.  Our first destination is the small port village of Bertrand, located at the headwaters of the Baker River, Chile’s largest volume river and a world-class fishery.  This is our departure point to the ranch on the other side of the lake. We’ll board a boat and travel the 10 miles of lake.  Once we’ve arrived and you’ve had a look around, we’ll get you settled into your accommodations in the ranch's guesthouse.  After lunch we’ll meet some of our sturdy Criollo mounts, familiarize you with the comfortable Gaucho tack and spend the rest of the afternoon riding the ranch and touring the surrounding area.  Most meals will be prepared by our chef and served ranch-style in the main house except when we're away from the ranch of course.  Lunches will be dictated by our activities and schedule.

Day 4  The next morning after breakfast, we begin our hike for the peninsula of the old terminal moraine that forms the separation between Bertrand and Plomo lakes.   It follows up a long rise to a shoulder where we'll have the mountains on one side of us and the lake below us on the other.   We hike through some moss covered "enchanted" forest, clearings and copses of beach.  If weather permits the day offers long views onto the icefield as well as numerous other peaks.   After the wonderful hike out from the ranch and lunch along the way, we board our boat waiting to take us back to the ranch. We enjoy a wonderful dinner at the ranch house and a good nights sleep.

Days 5-7  We saddle up again, this time with a couple of packhorses along for support.  Our journey follows the trails up the main valley.  There will be plenty of opportunity, if you so choose, for long canters along sand and gravel river shores, and through various pastures and woods.   We’ll prepare a tent camp near where the Solér River is joined by its sister the Cacho River, or at the nearby subsistence ranch of one of our neighbors in the valley.   The next morning after breakfast, we depart camp and head up through the Cacho through the forest, through neighbors farms into the upper Cacho Valley which spreads out in the old glacial valley bottom.   Visitors are always welcome to share news / stories of the outside world over Mate (bitter green tea from a gourd) with our friends if we meet them along the way.  We arrive at the glacier and witness ice falls as the ice collapses off the end of the glacier.   We continue our journey and even enjoy hiking out onto the ice. After this exciting day, we return to our camp for the night.  In the morning we break camp, load our pack horses and begin our journey back to the ranch.   We vary our return route, crossing a variety of creeks and streams on horseback.

Day 8  After our adventures of the past several days, you are provided an opportunity to chose which activity(s) you would like to participate in.   Relax on the porch and sip hot coffee or tea in the morning.   After breakfast you can fish one of the nearby streams or inlets, take a short stroll through the woods, saddle up and explore more of the nearby pastures and forest, pick cherries in the orchard, or just relax and enjoy the day at the ranch.  Note: clients selecting the optional Easter Island Itinerary will depart the ranch on Day 8.  See optional itinerary details below.

Days 9-10  After a relaxed breakfast at the ranch we’ll travel by boat to Puerto Bertrand at the headwaters of the Baker River.  In Puerto Bertrand the group will change into rafting gear and prepare to launch down the high volume, class III rapids of the famous Río Baker River.  The Baker River is Chile’s largest volume river with an average flow rate of over 50,000 cfs.  It is an undammed, crystal clear, turquoise colored powerhouse and a considerable thrill when descended in an raft.  After our exhilarating ride, we enjoy a picnic lunch and visit the grand Salton.  In the afternoon we return by boat to the ranch.  On our last day our wonderful adventures at the ranch are capped off with a traditional Asado Parado (Traditional Chilean Barbeque) around the fireplace.

Days 11-12  After an early breakfast and saying our goodbyes, you’ll be taken by boat back to Puerto Bertrand.  From Bertrand you’ll return to Balmaceda by vehicle.  Your domestic flight from Balmaceda to Santiago connects with your international flight to take you home.

Note: Participants in the optional journey to Easter Island will depart from the ranch on Day 8

Days 8-9  Depart ranch via boat ride to Bertrand and transport to the Balmaceda Airport.  Our first flight takes us from Balmaceda to Santiago where we'll stay overnight departing for Easter Island in the morning.  We arrive Easter Island mid-day and enjoy the afternoon with an overview of the island and a tour of Moai.  We'll overnight in Haumaka Guest House.

Days 10-11  We tour additional Moai, quarry and archeological sites.  We spend the night in the Haumaka Guest House.  Continue our visits to archeological sites and picnic on the beach at Hanga Oteo.  Overnight at Haumaka Guest House.

Days 12-13  Depart Easter Island for Santiago for international flight back to the USA.