Chile & Falkland Islands 6704

We depart from London on an overnight flight to Santiago, Chile. Regional flight connections, flight upgrades and overnight accommodation before or after the tour available on request – please ask for a quotation.

On arrival at the airport in Santiago we will be met and transferred to our hotel, the Hotel Marina Las Condes (or similar).  

In the afternoon we depart on a half day tour of historical Santiago, Chile’s capital city. We will see the neoclassical La Moneda Palace, the seat of the government; the Plaza de Armas, surrounded by the 18th century cathedral, the National Historical Museum and the central post office notable for its lobby. We continue to the Parque Forestal and the bohemian area of Bellavista, where we climb San Cristobal Hill which offers excellent views of Santiago and the Andes beyond. A welcome drink is included this evening.

After breakfast this morning we depart for a full day excursion to La Campana National Park at Ocoa, to the north west of Santiago in the coastal ‘cordillera’ mountain range of Quillota province. The park is dominated by the mountains of La Campana and El Roble, both over 2000m above sea level. The National Park was created in 1967 to help preserve one of the most important ecosystems of the region, Mediterranean Esclerophic Scrub is now a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The park’s vegetation is predominantly made up of native esclerophic woods, such as Peumo, Quillay, Boldo, Litre, from which appear wonderful examples of native Oaks – the densest and largest in central Chile – and the endemic Jubaea chilensis or Chilean Palm. The area was also made famous by the English naturalist Charles Darwin who visited Campana on several occasions and was particularly taken with the views from the summit - on clear days it is possible to see the whole width of Chile from the coast to the high Andes around Aconcagua. Evening at leisure.

Following breakfast we check out of the hotel and transfer to Santiago airport for our flight to Punta Arenas. We will be met on arrival and transferred to Torres del Paine National Park. As we drive though the vast Patagonian steppes we will take the opportunity to look for some of the great array of plants endemic to this dry region of Patagonia as well as surrounding regions of southern Argentina and the Falkland Islands.

Our base for the next three nights is at the Hotel Las Torres (or similar).

After breakfast we have a full day excursion to Torres del Paine National Park, where we can expect to find a very interesting array of plant species. Our first encounter with this stunning place will lead us to find striking species such as various Lady's Slippers of the genus Calceolaria including C. biflora and the striking C. uniflora. We will visit low-growing patches of Antarctic Beech (Nothofagus antarctica) and arid sectors with the presence of the endemic shrub Paramela (Adesmia boronioides). On the wildlife side we can expect to see herds of Guanaco (a relative of the Llama), Andean Deer and Culpeo Foxes. Pumas are relatively abundant here but we will need to be lucky if we are to spot one.

Following breakfast we transfer to the Grey area and take a boat trip across Lake Grey, which is fed by the Grey Glacier. Smaller inflatable boats will take us up to the glacier itself.

Later we continue our exploration of the Torres del Paine National Park and aim to discover representative species of the Patagonian steppes. We will try to find, among several others, the tiny Patagonian Alstroemeria (Alstroemeria patagonica) or the conspicuous Oxalis (Oxalis enneaphylla), both of which have a very restricted range.  This afternoon we will continue across vegetative formations with the highest plant diversity of the whole region of southern Chile, known as the pre-Andean Mesophytic Scrub. Extensive shrubby areas hold stunning species such as the Chilean Fire-Bush (Embothrium coccineum) or the fragrant Escallonia (Escallonia rubra). We will also look for the most beautiful orchids of the region including Chloraea magellanica, Codonorchis lessonii and Gavilea littoralis. The grandeur of the scenery should make for a truly memorable day in this magnificent Biosphere Reserve.

After breakfast we check out of the hotel and transfer to Punta Arenas where we will stay overnight at the Hotel Cabo de Hornos (or similar). A packed lunch is included today. The remainder of the day and the evening are at leisure.

Following breakfast, we check out of the hotel and transfer to Punta Arenas airport for our flight to Mount Pleasant International Airport on the Falkland Islands. On arrival a 30-minute internal flight will take us to Bleaker Island, which lies close to the south-east coast of East Falkland, at the entrance to Adventure Sound. Together with its outlying islands, the Bleaker Island Group is internationally recognised as an Important Bird Area. The northern part of the Island is a National Nature Reserve.

We will explore Bleaker Island today, beginning with an orientation tour. Bleaker was first known as Long Island (and referred to as such on the chart compiled by the Beagle survey of which Charles Darwin was a part in 1834). It subsequently became Breaker Island, after the large waves that crash against it, but since at least 1857 it has been called Bleaker Island – although it is far from bleak, with a varied coastline of low cliffs, sloping bedrock beaches, wide sandy bays and sheltered coves. For many years the Island was owned by the Falkland Islands Company and it has been a sheep farm for over 100 years. Now privately owned, and under organic sustainable management, it has 1,000 sheep and a nucleus of 55 Hereford breeding cows. Flowers on Bleaker include the yellow and dog orchids, lady’s slipper, common violet and vanilla daisy. Queen of the Falklands fritillary butterflies breed in the Pebbly Bay area, feeding on native violet flowers.

Our exploration of Bleaker and its wildlife continues today. Forty different breeding birds have been recorded, including Magellanic, southern rockhopper, macaroni and gentoo penguins and a very large colony of imperial cormorants. Peale’s dolphins reside in the bays south of the settlement year-round and sea lions can also be seen at this time of year.

After breakfast we fly to the penguin paradise of Pebble Island, and our accommodation at Pebble Island Lodge, originally built as a farm manager’s house in 1928. Pebble Island is named after the unusual and attractive pebbles that were once abundant on some of its beaches. For many years it was one of the most important wool producers on West Falkland. The island qualifies as an Important Bird Area, a global standard set by Bird Life International. Around 40 bird species have been recorded, including over 1,000 pairs of imperial cormorants that breed on Tamar Point.

We have a full day excursion exploring Pebble Island, which is home to several large colonies of gentoo, Magellanic and southern rockhopper penguins. Eight of the Falkland endemic plants grow here, including vanilla daisy and lady’s slipper. Commerson’s dolphins are regularly recorded at Green Rincon and in Elephant Bay, and the Queen of the Falklands fritillary butterfly occurs on the heathlands.

After breakfast we depart on an internal flight to Stanley, where we will stay for the next two nights at the Malvina House Hotel. The remainder of the day is free to explore this little town of around 2000 inhabitants, which replaced Port Louis as the islands’ capital in 1845.

After breakfast we depart on a full day excursion to Volunteer Point, travelling overland in 4x4 vehicles. Volunteer Point is a stunning 3-mile long beach which is home to the Falklands’ largest colony of breeding King penguins, here at the northerly limit of their breeding range, along with Gentoo and Magellanic penguins. The birds are generally very tame and approachable and will not hesitate to come up and investigate their visitors!

After breakfast we transfer from Stanley to Mount Pleasant Airport for our flight to Santiago, Chile, where on arrival we will be met and transferred to the Hotel Maria Las Condes. Evening at leisure.

Following breakfast we return to Santiago Airport for our international overnight flight back to London.

On arrival in London the group will disperse or make onward connections.