Argentina : Luxury Andean Crossing Tour

Situated on Argentina’s Rio de la Plata coast, Buenos Aires is a thriving portside capital defined by a rich history, vibrant culture and strong European influence, with the result that it’s sometimes called The Paris of South America. Countless museums covering a cornucopia of subjects; an active theatre culture; carnivorous buffets second to none; sensuous tango performances; a mosaic of architecture; and shops to fit all fancies – all these facets and more make up the seductive blend that is Buenos Aires. Some of the city’s highlights include the buzz of the La Bombonera Stadium; tango and milonga venues such as the Bohemian La Catedral; and heritage architecture such as that at the Cementerio de la Recoleta, where visitors can wander through a ‘city’ of massive statues and marble mausoleums. Don’t miss the International Festival of Independent Cinema and the vibrant annual Pride Parade.

Located in the heart of Argentina, the town of San Antonio de Areco rests on the southern bank of the magnificent Areco River. This charming18th-century town is infused with the gaucho lifestyle and traditions which can be appreciated during the annual Fiesta de la Tradicion. Visitors can look forward to a variety of activities including: strolling along the lovely riverside promenade, visiting the Ricardo Guiraldes Gaucho Museum in Criollo Park, and wandering down quaint cobblestoned streets to discover the picturesque Ruiz de Arellano Square.

The Argentinian Lake District’s most popular destination, Bariloche is a city for all seasons, with a setting second to none – stretching along a lake shoreline, surrounded by national park. The region offer myriad activities and leisure opportunities: whether you want to go skiing, hiking, fly-fishing, or simply kick back and indulge in an epicurean feast, it’s all there for the taking. The cities numerous cafés and chocolate shops are a delight to explore by day, while after sunset, the city lights up with bars and nightclubs, where locals and visitors dance the night away.

Set on the shores of the vast Llanquihue Lake in Chile, the picturesque Puerto Varas is known for its stunning natural scenery, traditional German-style architecture and excellent range of accommodation. The town offers incredible views of the snow-capped but active Osorno and Calbuco Volcanoes and magnificent waterfalls of the lake. The Alerce Andino National Park, in the Andes Mountains to the south, provides another world to explore nearby, featuring lush green forests perfect for hiking and turquoise blue waters ideal for canoeing. Many German families settled in this southern Chilean town at the end of the 19th century and their influences are still evident in the local architecture, cuisine and traditions today. Puerto Varas features an excellent range of guesthouses, hotels, and restaurants serving traditional German food.

Chiloe is the biggest island in the Chiloe archipelago and a popular tourism destination, renowned for its beautiful scenery, pristine national parks, quaint stilted homes and numerous wooden UNESCO-listed churches. The local culture is subtly distinct from that of the Chilean mainland, featuring unique culinary specialties, specific architecture and complex folklore. The Muelle de las Almas is a cinematic pier shrouded in legend: lost souls call to boatmen here to be transported to the afterlife. Chepu, the northern part of the Chiloe National Park, offers breathtaking views of a sunken forest, the confluence of three rivers, and wonderful opportunities for some excellent kayaking. Don’t miss the chance to see the penguins and blue whales along the coast of the Monumento Natural Islotes de Punihuil.

Resting in a valley surrounded by the snow-capped Andes and the Chilean Coast Range, Chile’s vibrant, cosmopolitan, capital city of Santiago is famous for its beautiful parks, wealth of historical attractions, and as a hub of modern arts and culture. The Cerro San Cristobal Park, the largest green space in the city, lies on a hill and is reached by a funicular ride. It offers visitors stunning sweeping views of the city, as well as a picturesque botanical garden and two huge swimming pools. The colonial Plaza de Armas, the old town centre, is a delight to explore with its numerous Neoclassical buildings and museums, most notably the home-turned-museum of renowned poet Pablo Neruda. Visitors to Santiago can soak in wonderful live performances, concerts and art displays at numerous galleries and centres such as the Centro Gabriela Mistral, named after Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral.

Conveniently located only 45 km from the city of Santiago, the Maipo Valley is the oldest and most popular wine growing region in Chile. The region is commonly described as the 'Bordeaux of South America' and is home to some of Chile's largest and most traditional wine estates as well as a number of smaller, more modern boutique wineries. The salts carried in the water of the River Maipo irrigate the fields, creating a unique balance between flavor and acidity in area’s world-renowned red wines. While the valley is considered to be a year round destination, an ideal time to visit is during Chile’s Wine Harvesting Festival which takes place annually during the months of March and April.

Argentina’s most populous and a diversely multicultural region, Buenos Aires Province takes its name from the country’s capital city of Buenos Aires, which has since become independent of the province. Visitors to Buenos Aires Province can look forward to exploring its lively capital city, La Plata, which features an impressive array of museums and cultural sites. Those looking to escape the city can head inland to discover the province’s picturesque farming settlements, such as San Antonio de Areco, Tandil and Mercedes. Other popular attractions include a number of charming little seaside resorts, such as Pinamar and Villa Gesell, and of course the Sierra de la Ventana mountain range, known for its spectacular natural scenery and excellent opportunities for outdoor adventure.

The Pampas are verdant, low-lying grasslands that cover roughly 77 000 square kilometres of land between the Andes Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean, extending mostly across Argentina, but also sections of Uruguay and Brazil. With its fertile plains, the region is an important agricultural hub, and also supports some unique animal species, including the Pampas deer, the Pampas fox and the elegant crested tinamou. The Argentinean Pampas are the home turf of the ‘Gaucho’ – the original South American cowboy; an excellent winemaking culture; a wonderful culinary scene; and extraordinary silver-making. Highlights of the area include famous salami and craft beer in Tandil, and the pretty historic town of San Antonio de Areco, which makes a convenient day trip from Buenos Aires and has a thriving 'gaucho' and 'criollo' tradition.

Argentina’s Lake District is a wilderness wonderland of pristine glacial lakes, cascading waterfalls, snow-capped mountains and forested valleys where condors fly overhead. In this spectacular setting, you can go trekking, fishing or skiing, or simply relax and soak up the scenery. While nature is the prime attraction here, the region encompasses several charming towns that act as gateways for exploring the surrounds. Arguably the most enticing of all these is beautiful Bariloche - set on the banks of Lake Nahuel Huapi against a backdrop of rugged, snowy peaks that have earned it the nickname ‘Argentina’s Switzerland’. Another lovely stop is San Martín de los Andes, located on Lake Lácar beneath the Mount Lanín volcano. This beguiling village has a shabby-chic charm - its slightly dilapidated buildings interspersed with rambling rose bushes and spiky ‘monkey puzzle’ trees.

Northern Patagonia’s remote stark interior draws visitors looking for a unique adventure. It is known for its breathtaking unspoilt beauty featuring lush valleys, dense rainforest, scrubby steppe, clear cascading rivers, turquoise lakes, massive glaciers and labyrinthine fjords. This spectacularly scenic area expands across both Argentina and Chile. The famous Carretera Austral dissects Northern Patagonia, cutting its path through untouched wilderness passed soaring snowcapped mountains, Ice Age glaciers, lakes, rivers and fjords, and one of the world’s largest swaths of temperate rainforest. Don’t miss the San Rafael Glacier in the Northern Patagonian Ice Field within the magnificent Laguna San Rafael National Park.

Extending across part of both Chile and Argentina at the southernmost tip of South America, the remote and stunningly scenic region of Patagonia offers some of the most awe-inspiring hiking trails in the world. It is made up of distinct regions, each with its own unique beauty. Southern Patagonia is home to huge glaciers, with the enormous Glaciar Perito Moreno creeping forward up to two metres a day, causing building-size icebergs to detach. Central Patagonia is covered by a wilderness of rainforests and coastal plains, while northern Patagonia is scattered with the cobalt lakes and lush valleys of the Lakes District and Araucania. Don’t miss the opportunity to explore the largest forests of ancient Alerce in the world (up to 4000 years old) at the Parque Nacional Los Alerces.

The Andes are the longest continental mountain range in the world, stretching for 7000kms. The southern tip of this majectic mountain range lies south of Llullaillaco in Argentina and Chile and is home to the Southern Andean steppe, a unique ecoregion defined by its cold desert climate and tough montane grasslands and shrublands. Because of these chilly, arid conditions much of the vegetation here is endemic (unique to the region). Some of the larger mammals that have adapted to this harsh environment include the puma, the Andean fox and two relatives of the llama - the vicuna (the national animal of Peru) and the guanaco.

Chile’s second largest lake has a spectacular setting below the Osorno and Calbuco volcanoes, fringed by black sand beaches and inland wildernesses. The lake’s tranquil, deep-blue waters are perfect for swimming, sailing, canoeing and water skiing, while its rich fish stocks make it an angler’s Mecca. It is largely surrounded by national parks featuring a diversity of flora and fauna, but dotted between these swathes of nature are quaint historical towns with exquisite views and beautiful beaches. Lake Llanquihue’s most enticing towns include Puerto Octay, Puerto Varas and Frutillar, with their pristine sandy shores and distinctive German architecture - a legacy of their colonial founders.

A region of glittering cobalt waters, snow-capped volcanic peaks and dense alpine forests, the Lake District is renowned for its exceptional scenic beauty. This attribute – along with its rich indigenous cultures, excellent cuisine, and prolific outdoor and adventure activities – has made it a popular holiday destination with local and foreign tourists alike. Most visitors pass through the towns of Temuco or Puerto Montt to access the area, but its true gems are the numerous national parks with their spectacular vistas. Additional highlight attractions are the towns of Pucón and Puerto Varas, where you can engage in a plethora of extreme sports, dine at a profusion of excellent restaurants, or soak in the healing thermal springs peppering the surrounds.

Chilean Northern Patagonia is renowned for its spectacularly scenic landscapes and stark beauty. The terrain is blanket in fairytale rainforest, vast steppe, rugged soaring mountains and cascading rivers that meet glistening turquoise lakes and deep fjords dotted with massive glaciers. Adventurous travellers can explore the wild and windswept landscapes of this little-visited, remote corner of the world. Visitors can start their exploration of this magnificent area starting from the seaport of Puerto Montt and venture down the Carretera Austral which traverses theses incredibly scenic landscapes. Climb vertical granite in the Cochamo Valley, soak in the hot springs of Puyuhuapi, hike through the green rainforests of Parque Pumalin, and raft the white waters of Futaleufu.

With its dramatic blue glaciers, vibrant forests, cascading waterfalls, aquamarine lakes, mighty rivers and towering jagged peaks, Chile’s Southern Patagonia is widely considered to be the final frontier of travel with some of the last truly untouched natural areas on earth. The heart of this sparsely populated and ruggedly beautiful area is the Torres del Paine National Park, featuring a massif crowned with otherworldly horn-shaped peaks, surrounded by pristine lowlands where the huaso countrymen, or baqueano, practice age-old cattle herding traditions. Whether you are keen to hike through rugged landscapes, see penguins by the thousands, or horseback ride across the breathtakingly beautiful steppe, Chilean Patagonia is an ideal destination for travellers seeking an unforgettably wild and impossibly scenic adventure.

Las Condes is found within the greater Santiago Metropolitan Region in central Chile. Nicknamed ‘Sanhattan’ (along with neighbouring district Vitacura), Las Condes is an affluent area home to some good cultural sights in addition to some of the continent’s largest skyscrapers. Check out Santiago’s glitzy CBD around Boulevard Nueva Las Condes, before visiting the Museum of Chilenidad (found in the beautiful patronage house of Santa Rosa de Apoquindo) and the Cultural Centre of the Counts, which features rotating temporary exhibitions. Take a walk through flower-filled Araucano Park to recharge your batteries, and then shop for exquisite handicrafts at Pueblito Los Dominicos, before visiting the Cerro Calan Observatory to learn more about its impressive collection of telescopes. Finally, note that – with more than 500 restaurants to choose from – Las Condes is a gourmand’s delight.

The region of Central Chile contains the capital city of Santiago, with its pulsating energy and vibrant cultural scene, as well as some fantastic out-of-the-way destinations and astounding natural sights. Pichilemu is one of the continent’s premiere surfing destinations, while the UNESCO-listed Valparaiso - with its gorgeous hillside setting, colourful buildings and historic harbour area - is one of Chile’s most-loved places to visit. For outdoors and adventure lovers, the region is home to a number of fine ski resorts (such as Valle Nevado and Portillo), incredible walking and hiking trails in the waterfall-rich Radal Siete Tazas National Reserve and some appealing coastal destinations, like Renaca, Vina del Mar and Cobquecura. Cobquecura also offers convenient access to the island of Loberia, which is famous for its impressive wildlife, including large numbers of sea lions and seals.