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 directions on the trip to be prepared to visit the Laguna San Rafael National Park.
With 1.742.000 hectares (3,832,400 acres), this park is the largest in the Aysén area and it includes the entire Northern Patagonian Ice Fields (Campos de Hielo Norte), where countless rivers and lakes are born. Although it is true that the glacier and the lagoon are its main attraction, this park is home to a wide variety of birds and other wild animals.
We will embark on a smooth two-hour navigation through the delta of the Exploradores River, where we can enjoy a delicious breakfast while observing the unique beauty of the landscape.
Once we arrive at the San Rafael Lagoon pier, we will disembark for a 40-minute walk where we will pass through the ruins of the Ofqui hotel. After settling in the CONAF Caiquén refuge* and a light lunch, we will embark on a hike to the glacier viewpoint.
We will walk a path that will take us through the interior of a forest, which will present us with different views of the lagoon as we go along. We will finally arrive at the San Rafael glacier, where we will marvel at the impressive spectacle in front of our eyes. It is also possible to observe and listen to the thunderous landslides of ice.
Here we can also find native flora species, such as Chiloé and Magallanes coigue, cinnamon, nalcas, nirre, plum tree, tepa, guaitecas cypress, tenio mañio, and the endemic hebe salcifolia that only grows in Laguna San Rafael National Park. We can also see characteristic birds of the evergreen forest, and if we are lucky, we can take the shy pudu and the elusive winks. At the end of the walk, we will have dinner and spend the night in the shelter.
During our second day, after having breakfast at the refuge we will return to the pier to embark at 12:30 and navigate to the San Rafael glacier wall, enjoying this magnificent spectacle from a different perspective. After lunch, we will start the return to Bahía Exploradores. Those who have booked the option with transfers will return to Rio Tranquilo.