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| Puyuhuapi
Lodge & Spa |
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| Puyuhuapi
Lodge is located in the Aysén region, is in the southern
extreme of Chile. Here along Austral Road, the Andes Mountains
are ever present and patchworks of native forests cover its
slopes. Eternal snows top the peaks, and the land is interwoven
with glaciers, fjords, rivers, and channels. This is 1,250 km
of nature at its purest… |
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PATAGONIA
is remote and far away, and although the trip is long, it
is well worth traveling the distance.
Patagonia
is powerful, fascinating and mysterious. If you take a trip
into the solitude of the Americas, in a land yet to be tamed,
and where nature is still pristine, you'll find an unexpected
destination: Puyuhuapi Lodge Hotel & SPA. |
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To
get to Puyuhuapi there are daily flights from Santiago (3 hours)
or Puerto Montt (50 min) to Balmaceda, upon arrival 55kms by
car along paved road, (45 minutes) to Coyhaique, capital of
the region. The transfer then continues 210 kms by the Carretera
Austral to the north, half of the route paved and the other
half unpaved but in very good condition.
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From
October to April 3 night programs beginning on Tuesdays and
Saturdays will transfer in by sea on our comfortable catamaran
Patagonia Express; reception in Balmaceda airport by one of
Patagonia Connection guides, 45 minutes transfer to Coyhaique,
welcome drink and then continue 1:15 to Puerto Chacabuco.
Road completely paved.
In
Puerto Chacabuco passengers take the Patagonia
Express, enjoying a quiet navigation by austral fjords
(5 hours), and arriving directly to the dock of the Lodge
in Dorita Bay.
The most comfortable and fastest way to get to the Lodge is
to charter a private airplane from Puerto Montt directly to
the aerodrome of Puyuhuapi (1:15 hour flight). From the aerodrome
we coordinate a 15min. boat transfer to Puyuhuapi Lodge &
Spa. |
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Recommended
Itinerary: Puyuhuapi Lodge & Spa with San Rafael Lagoon
Departures:
Saturdays and Tuesdays - 3
nights
Day
1 / Balmaceda - Chacabuco - Puyuhuapi
Reception in the Balmaceda airport. Begin your tour through the
Aysen region, crossing during 45 min Patagonian pampas to reach
the city of Coyhaique.
Along the way we are likely to spot pairs of caiquenes (wild goose)
and flocks of bandurrias (storks) through the tall grasses. The
vast remains of burned over forests are vestiges of the region’s
recent colonization period. After a short visit to the city, we
continue on, following the Simpson River until we reach Puerto Chacabuco
(1:15 hr), where the PATAGONIA
EXPRESS catamaran waits to take you on a 5- hour cruise through
the southern fjords and channels to reach your destination: the
Puyuhuapi Lodge & Spa. |
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Day
2 / Puyuhuapi Lodge & Spa
The Lodge offers thermal outdoor pools at the edge of the sea, paths
for walks through the cold forest, visits to the Queulat National
Park with its Hanging Glacier, bicycle trips along the Carretera Austral,
or, if you wish, you can explore the Dorita Bay in boats or kayaks.
Enjoy the Spa’s facilities its large hydromassage pool, Jacuzzis,
springwater fountain, and steam sauna, and then reap the benefits
of thalassotherapy sessions, relaxation massages, and facial and other
treatments. |
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Day
3 / Puyuhuapi - San Rafael Lagoon - Chacabuco or Coyhaique
Early start at 7:00 a.m. board the PATAGONIA
EXPRESScatamaran
and begin a journey through the austral fjords on our way to the
San Rafael Lagoon.
The
7-hour trip is a sheer delight to the senses: the transparency of
the waters, the majesty of the Andes Mountains wrapped in lush forests,
the play of light interwoven through the clouds, and sometimes...
encounters with playful dolphins. Sailing through a number of channels,
we finally reach the Tempanos River, which leads us to the San Rafael
Lagoon, home to a millenarian glacier.
After
a visit of approximately 2 hours, we begin to return, arriving in
Puerto Chacabuco around 10:30 p.m., where we will be transferred
to the hotel in Puerto Chacabuco.
Day
4 / Chacabuco - Balmaceda
After breakfast, bus drive on to the airport in Balmaceda. |
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San
Rafael Lagoon - expedition
Magnificent natural scenery offered in one of the world’s most
beautiful landscapes. Passage through the austral fjords aboard the
Patagonia Express Catamaran
on the way to the San Rafael Lagoon and Glacier is a one-of-a-kind
experience. The trip begins early in the morning when the guests board
the Patagonia Express at the lodge pier. The trip takes approximately
7 hours, sailing on crystalline waters through Patagonian channels
and around numerous islands, large and small. |
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The
experience is a delight for the senses. Enjoy the exceptional spectacle
of the breathtaking Andes Mountains in the distance, covered by luxuriant
forests.
On a zodiac through drifting icebergs to the glacier
Waterfalls plunge into the sea and twinkling light beams through the
clouds to dance on the water. If you’re lucky, you’ll
be treated to a playful encounter with dolphins. Once we reach our
destination, you’ll board a zodiac raft and make your way through
the drifting icebergs to approach the awe-inspiring glacier. You can
drink whisky chilled with ancient glacier ice that floats in the lagoon. |
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This
ice mass that slides down into the sea is part of the 1,742,000-hectare
San Rafael Lagoon National Park that was declared a UNESCO World
Biosphere Reserve in 1979. It is located 600 kms. south of Puerto
Montt, in the southern part of the Moraleda Channel, at the foot
of the Northern Ice Field, where the enormous San Rafael Glacier
ends. Its ice is more than 300,000 years old and originates 4,058
meters a.s.l on Mount San Valentín in the Southern Ice Fields
of the Andes Mountains.
History
of San Rafael Lagoon and glacier
The San Rafael Lagoon was discovered in 1575 by Bartolome Diaz-Gallardo
while exploring the “Gulf of Sorrow.” It was named San
Rafael because it corresponded to the saint honored by the Catholic
Church on the day of Diaz-Gallardo’s arrival. Today the lagoon
is approximately 16 kms. long and 11 kms. wide, and it was described
for the first time only 300 years ago by the Spanish sailor Antonio
de Vea. At that time the glacier had not yet reached the shores
of the San Rafael Lagoon; it was necessary to disembark and walk
through the valley to touch the iceberg wall. Later, in 1873, Captain
Enrique Simpson confirmed that the ice mass had consumed nearly
a third of the lagoon. The glacier had advanced more than 10 kms.
in just 200 years. It soon began a fast retreat, however, and in
1950 the ice mass barely penetrated Laguna San Rafael by 2 kilometers.
Receding at a rate of 150 to 200 meters per year, the iceberg’s
front had already begun to fall back toward the valley by 1982,
and in 1985 the ice wall had pulled almost half a kilometer farther
back, evidence of the process of the general dissolution of ice
masses observed throughout the southern hemisphere. It is likely
that within just a few more years the ice mass will have completely
withdrawn from the lagoon, radically altering the landscape of the
area. |
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