Our tour begins depending on the option chosen:
- If you booked the option with transfers, our guide will pick you up from your accommodation in Rio Tranquilo at 7:30 AM.
- If you booked the option without transfers, we will meet at the Bahía Exploradores dock at 9:45 AM.
Once gathered, we will have a brief safety talk and instructions about the trip to be prepared to visit the
Laguna San Rafael National Park. div>
With an extension of 1,742,000 hectares, this park is the largest in the Aysén region, and includes all the Northern Ice Fields that give rise to innumerable rivers and lagoons. Although it is true that the glacier and the lagoon are its main attractions, this park is home to a wide variety of birds, both marine and terrestrial, and other wild animals.
We will embark on a two-hour navigation through the delta of the Exploradores River, where we will be able to enjoy a delicious breakfast while observing the singular beauty of the landscape.
Once we arrive at the pier of the San Rafael Lagoon, we will disembark for a 40-minute walk where we will pass by the ruins of the Ofqui hotel. After settling in the CONAF* Caiquén refuge and a light lunch, we will start a hike to the glacier viewpoint.
We will travel a path that will take us through the interior of a forest, which will present us with different views of the lagoon as we advance. We will finally arrive at the San Rafael Glacier, where we will marvel at the impressive spectacle before our eyes. It is also possible to observe and listen to the thunderous ice falls.
Here we can also find native flora species, such as the coigue from Chiloé and Magallanes, canelos, and the endemic hebe salcifolia that only grows in the Laguna San Rafael National Park. We will also be able to see characteristic birds of the evergreen forest, and if we are lucky, we will be able to catch up with the shy pudú and the elusive guiñas. At the end of the walk, we will have dinner and spend the night in the refuge.
During our second day, after breakfast at the refuge, we will return to the dock to embark at 12:30 and sail towards the wall of the San Rafael Glacier, enjoying this magnificent spectacle from a different perspective.
After lunch, we will start the return to Bahía Exploradores. Those who have reserved the option with transfers will return to Rio Tranquilo.