Chilean Patagonia Fjords Glaciers & Torres del Paine

Arrive in Santiago, the capital city of Chile. Set against the Andes and Chilean Coastal mountain ranges, Santiago is home to half of the country’s population. Transfer from the airport to the Ritz-Carlton, Santiago (or similar).

Join the recommended flight from Santiago to Punta Arenas, Chile’s southern gateway to Patagonia; transfers to the airport and luggage assistance will be provided. From there, you’ll be driven to the outpost of Puerto Natales and check into The Singular Patagonia (or similar) for the evening. Enjoy a group dinner before retiring.

Drive into this UNESCO Biosphere reserve and spend three days at Tierra Patagonia Hotel or Explora Patagonia (or similar), discovering one of the most wildlife-rich areas in the Americas, covering 450,000 acres of glaciers, forests, grasslands, rivers and colorful lagoons. Choose among a variety of possibilities, including walks and hikes, horseback riding, sailing among icebergs to the foot of the immense Grey Glacier, visiting the Salto Grande waterfall and seeing the towers of the central massif from the Blue Lagoon. Look out for guanacos, gray foxes, rheas and Andean condors.

You’ll have a final morning to explore Torres del Paine before continuing on to Puerto Natales, where you’ll embark the ship. Be on deck to look for condors and other wildlife on your way out of Puerto Natales as your Captain and local pilots guide the ship through the Kirke or White Narrows, accessible only to small ships like the National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions fleet—always a challenge to navigate because of the powerful currents that flow through the pinch point.

Today and during the following days you’ll be treated to the spectacular features of an active glaciated landscape with hanging valleys and tributary glaciers. This region was navigated by Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition, and it took most of November 1520 for his ships to find a way through the channels that lie between the continental mainland and Tierra del Fuego to the south. The crew will look to make a first stop in the extensive maze of channels and islands of the Chilean fjords, where you may go out by Zodiac and kayak.

Tierra del Fuego is one of Patagonia’s crown jewels. Visit its newest and largest protected area: Karukinka Natural Park. Established in 2004 through a gift from Goldman Sachs, Karukinka is one of the largest donations ever made for conservation. National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions is thrilled to have special permission from the Wildlife Conservation Society to visit this private reserve, which spans 1,160 square miles and harbors the endangered culpeo fox, Andean condors, albatrosses, grebes, petrels, fulmars, shearwaters and many other kinds of wildlife. You might explore Jackson Bay, backed by a skyline of rugged mountains, and look for wildlife including black-browed albatrosses, which nest on one of the nearby small islands. You may walk a trail to a lovely waterfall and look for elephant seals resting on not only the beach but also high in the grass meadows and even in the small river draining the valley inland.

This southernmost corner of the South American continent is also home to Cape Horn, the island at the convergence of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans: famously difficult waters that, throughout the centuries, have been the graveyard of many ships from the time before the Panama Canal. Sail the Beagle Channel and look to hike and kayak one of the wild areas in this region of beech forests, mountains and rivers. Take Zodiacs out to explore these protected waters and rugged shores, keeping watch for the shearwaters, petrels, albatrosses and many other birds that inhabit this otherworldly realm. Experience more stunning wilderness as you explore the fjords and glaciers of the region by Zodiac, kayak and on foot.

National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions has been given special permission to visit extraordinary Staten Island, and this ship is one of the only expedition ships ever allowed here. It is a place of superlatives, barely touched in recent decades and visited primarily by a few scientists and the staff of the tiny naval observatory. The island was named by Dutch explorers in 1615. Its mountainous, forested landscapes and rugged fjords are beautiful, and there is much to discover here. The exact schedule remains flexible to take best advantage of conditions. Search for southern rockhopper and Magellanic penguins, other waterbirds, fur seals and sea lions. You might also look for otters on your landings ashore, and you’ll see the replica of the 1884 San Juan de Salvamento “lighthouse at the end of the world,” which inspired Jules Verne’s novel by the same name. There are chances to walk in the southern beech forests. These days are bound to stand out as a unique chance to explore a very remote place.

Disembark in Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world. Fly to Buenos Aires (National Geographic Explorer) or Santiago (National Geographic Endurance) and connect with your flight home.