Cochamó Crossing from £2,258
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What makes this special?
Swoop Says...
There are other ways to cross the border from the Chilean Lake District to Bariloche in the heart of the Argentine Lake District. But, this one tops them all, and really gets you off the beaten track. Ride for 7 days, with an experienced local guide, through rivers, forests, lakes & marshes. On some of ...
Operator Says...
We have chosen this beautiful and relatively unknown area because we think it is a good representative of Northern Patagonia. It has huge granite walls which are the remains of ancient glaciers. It is also called the Chilean Yosemite by climbers from all over the world are starting to explore new routes. As we go deep into the valley we ...
Itinerary Map: Key landmarks and route for Cochamó Crossing
Landmarks visited on Cochamó Crossing
Start from
Puerto Varas
and end at
Bariloche
Operator's Itinerary
Day 1 Puerto Varas / Las Juntas We will go to Cochamó, a town by the Reloncavi Estuary --the first fiord of the Patagonia-- and meet our local guide and his horses. You will be given safety instructions and we will begin our horse ride in the Andes Range trough the valley with lots of vegetation and spectacular views of the granite walls surrounding it. We stay in a refuge close to the river with good food and spectaculars views of the mountains around. BL-D
Day 2 Las Juntas / Arco iris Today we’ll have many chances to do hikes around the refuge, all of them very attractive- in special the Arco Iris hike that is one of the best viewpoints in Patagonia. It will take 7 hours and 900mts up and down to make the hike. Once in the refuge we will enjoy the good food to celebrate the day. B-BL-D
Day 3 Las Juntas / El Arco This is a great day because at dawn we will be surrounded by granite walls and as we go up the valley we will see alerce forests. We will cross many rivers and ancient forests and visit a peculiar rock formation called El Arco (Arch). Free afternoon to explore and set camp B-BL-D
Day 4 Las Juntas / Vidal Gormaz Lake We will go deeper into the Andean Range, go past a lake and some marshes where we will find traces of early settlers (early 1900´s) and finally reach Vidal Gormaz Lake and meet a family who lives in the area and set camp in the family’s property. B-BL-D
Day 5 Bahamondes Family / Torrentoso River We ride for 4 hours and cross a river to get to the next family; from here we have the chance to go see rock paintings made by the indigenous people 800 years ago. We’ll enjoy the free afternoon and the chance to sleep either in the tents or in the family’s lodging. B-BL-D
Day 6 Torrentoso / El León After drinking a mate and saying goodbye to the Bahamomdes family, we will go down to Correntoso where we will have lunch and rest for one hour. We will then go up the Manso River valley and reach El León, a small village on the border with Argentina. We will set camp here and spend the afternoon with a local family. B-BL-D
Day 7 Crossing to Argentina As we cross the border on this day, we say goodbye to our local guide and his horsesand go through with the frontier paperwork -both in Carabineros de Chile and Gendarmería Argentina. We will cross two large hanging bridges and we will visit a Chilean family who has their garden divided in two by the frontier. Here we will catch our bus that will take us to Bariloche. B-BL
Contact us about this trip
Swoop says...
There are other ways to cross the border from the Chilean Lake District to Bariloche in the heart of the Argentine Lake District. But, this one tops them all, and really gets you off the beaten track. Ride for 7 days, with an experienced local guide, through rivers, forests, lakes & marshes. On some of the nights you'll eat and stay with locals in the area.
Trip Information
| Total Days: | 7 |
|---|---|
| Group Size: | 2 — 8 |
Horse Riding in Cochamo
| Number of hours riding per day: | 5 to 8 hours |
|---|---|
| Type of horse: | Chilean criollo |
| Park entrance included: | N/A |
| Number of nights camping: | 4 |
| Number of nights in lodges: | 2 |
| Experience necessary? | Advisable |
| Approx. travellers per guide: | 6 |
About the operator
This company is committed to eco-tourism and donates 7% of its profit to environmental initiatives in North Patagonia. Its high quality trips are a mixture of appreciating nature, having a laugh and seeing the most remote parts of the National Park.
