Patagonia

“Patagonia! Who would ever think of going to such a place?... Why, it’s thousands of miles away and no one has ever been there before, except Captain Musters and a few other adventurous madmen!... What was the attraction of going to [such] an outlandish place?... Precisely because it was an outlandish place and so far away… Nowhere else are you so completely alone. Nowhere else is there an area of 100,000 square miles which you may gallop over…virgin as yet to the foot of man.”

In fact, the southernmost tip of South America, with its barren plains and crystalline lakes, its massive glaciers overlooked by jagged peaks, has changed remarkably little since this Victorian suffragist explored it on horseback (and returned to London with a pet jaguar). It’s one of those extraordinary corners of the planet that you leave with regret and feel privileged to have seen.

We know Patagonia intimately, from the vast steppes rising sharply into the Andes to the nuance of a shoe-shaped topa topa adding a spot of yellow beside a dirt road. We’ve encountered guanacos, armadillos, pumas and ostrich-like rheas. We’ve been watched over by Andean condors, with their nine-foot wingspan. We’ve worked on a remote estancia lit by a single light bulb and heated by a woodstove. In short, we adore this mysterious wilderness and love sharing its beauty with newcomers.

Of course, we know all the great Patagonian hosterias and hotels along the Argentina-Chile border. But we can also take you to family-run estancias whose pristine settings and unmatched hospitality have yet to be discovered. As for the other places you might weave into your itinerary, they’re as varied as the Patagonia terrain. In the north there’s Bariloche, set in the Andean foothills on the shores of Lago Nahuel Huapí. Out on the coast, the UNESCO site of Puerto Madryn is rich in wildlife and pioneer history. Then there’s spectacular Perito Moreno Glacier, or the razor peak of Cerro Chaltén, or the sheer rock columns at Torres del Paine, or the surreal blue waters of Lago Argentino…

You might get an overview by helicopter, then cruise the sounds in a private boat or paddle up to glaciers on a kayak expedition. We can have you join scientists observing humpback whales, or go hiking or climbing with renowned guides, or enjoy fly-fishing on your own stretch of river. If you’re not sure where to start, just tell us everything about Patagonia that’s captured your imagination and we’ll create an incredible trip just for you.