Australis in 9 days: From Punta Arenas to Punta Arenas

9 days - 8 nights

From Punta Arenas to Punta Arenas

Darwin's Route from Punta Arenas: The outer edge of the world awaits on an adventurous nine-day (eight-night) journey along the same waterways that inspired Charles Darwin. The itinerary retraces much of the route the renowned British naturalist took through the Fuegian Archipelago aboard HMS Beagle in the 1830s, a voyage that inspired him to write The Origin of the Species and formulate the theory of evolution. Departing from Punta Arenas, we’ll cross the Strait of Magellan to visit the Tuckers Islets penguin colony, wildlife rich Ainsworth Bay before cruising Patagonia down the Beagle Channel to visit Pía Glacier and sail through Glacier Alley. On either side of a half-day port call in Ushuaia, the ship stops at historic Wulaia Bay and fabled Cape Horn before returning to the Strait of Magellan and a shore excursion at Magdalena Island with its rowdy penguin colony.

Day 1 - Punta Arenas

By the afternoon, we will make the check in at Punta Arenas, so then we can embark in one of the ships of Australis Cruises: Mare, Via or Stella. The city of Punta Arenas is also considered as "the capital of the Chilean Patagonia", it is also famous because of its port in the south limit of Chile and point of South America.

Day 2 - Ainsworth Bay & Tucker Island

We will start our fifth day of navigation on board of the Australis Cruise at dawn, now we are close to Seno Almirantazgo, a fjord which is located in the west coast of Tierra del Fuego. Between the important sea biodiversity and underwater we will be able to sight sea elephants and black - eyebrow albatrosses. Then, we will do the first descent in the Marinelli Glacier, Ainsworth Bay, the largest glacier among those which come from the Darwin Mountain Chain´s Ice Field. This giant of ice will surprise us with its ice walls about 40 metres high. This is the place where we will do some hiking so we can sight varied fauna and nature from the Magallanes woods: dams built by beavers and a great quantity of sea elephants which constrast with the amazing landscapes. Later on, we will go to Tucker small island, a certain point which delimits the northwest of the Whiteside Channel. The region has become now into a very valuable territory thanks to the natural nutrients which gave origin to the wonderful fauna that we will be able to watch.

We will navigate in zodiac boats so we can appreciate the presence of several sea birds such as cormoranes, chimangos, skuas and Magallanes penguins, among others. If we cannot sight penguins, due to the end of the reproduction period in April, we will do an alternative route to Brookes Bay, where we will disembark so we can do a trekking in the area around the glacier. This big depth bay reaches its highest point in the Darwin Mountain Chain. It is a very famous bay because of its several waterfalls which are formed in their cliffs and impressive mountains´ elevations. During the hiking, we will be able to enjoy its floral and nature beauties which hide in the woods. We will come across ñires, a tundra region, southern dolphins, cormoranes and otters, among other species.

Day 3 - Pia Glacier & Glaciers Avenue

During our next journey, the route card in the Australis cruise will guide us to navigate through the main arteria of the Beagle Channel, we will get into by the northwest side of the Pia Bay chanel, so then we can make a descent in the glacier which has the same name. This snowdrift introduces in the Darwin mountain chain and it drains by the Waters of its bay. We will continue our crossing on the Australis to the northwest of the Beagle Chanel so we can gaze at the amazing "Glaciers Avenue" which is a narrow way in the Beagle Chanel where we will be able to watch many spectacular ice tongs that descend from the Darwin mountain chain to the sea. The name for this way was in honor to the glaciers which are particularly located one beside the other and very short distance between them to navigate. Those glaciers are: Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Netherlands and Romanche.

Day 4 - Cape Horn & Wulaia Bay

According to our fixed route, we will continue navigating by the Beagle Chanel and Murray Chanel, so then we can try to disembark (if weather conditions allows us to) and appreciate the nature beauties in the National Park Cape Hornos. We can realise about our arrival to this southern point, once we come accross with a 400 metres high hill. This place marks the most distant limit of the Group of the "fueguinas" islands, which is the most southern point in South America. It is also the point that defines the north extreme of the Drake Passage, it a sea which divides the American continent of the Antarctic Peninsula.

The National Park is located in the "End of the World", has been declared as a Biosphere Reserve in the 2005 by the UNESCO. During sunset, we will disembark in Wulaia Bay, current archaelogical place which was home of one of the most greatest tribes in the region a long time ago: the Yámanas. It was in this very same bay that Fitz Roy, who discovered the Beagle Chanel, found the main anglican mission during his second expedition with the famous english naturalista Charles Darwin. During our tour along the bay, we will have the opportunity to appreciate its magnificent flora and geography. We will do a trekking in the "magallánico" woods which will be waiting with a great quantity of floral species like lengas, coihues, ferns, among others, and then we will arrive to a viewpoint where we will have an Amazing view.

Day 5 - Arrival to Ushuaia City, Tierra del Fuego

In the morning we will disembark in the City of the End of the World, Ushuaia. During our visit to this city we cannot miss the famous "Presidio de Reincidentes". we will also visit the natural charm of the National Park Tierra del Fuego and its beautiful lakes. The national park is a strict Natural Reserve, which was home of the natives Yámanas in the past, where we will able to find several archaelogical sites that belonged to this Group.

Day 6 - Cape Horn & Wulaia Bay

We will visit Cape Horn. To get to our goal we must sail through the Murray Channel reaching Nassau Bay then we will enter to Cape Horn National Park, depending on weather we will see if it is possible to disembark. This promontory was discovered in the early seventeenth century, has an elevation over 400 meters high. Was consider for a long time a shipping route for sailing ships crossing from ocean to ocean, leaving the rough waters of the Drake Passage to reach the cool waters of the Pacific. In 2005 it was called World Biosphere Reserve. After noon we try to make a dry landing Wulaia Bay in, a settlement for the Yagan Indians historically famous for the arrival of HMS Beagle which Captain was Fitz Roy and the researcher Charles Darwin in 1933. We do a walk surrounded by native conifers and beech, coihues, cinnamon and ferns that dreases this Antarctic Magellanic forest.

Day 7 - Garibaldi Glacier & Pia Glacier

In the morning, we will enter Garibaldi fjord, once we will disembark to trek through the Southern Patagonian forest, we will climb to the base of a waterfall of the glacial era. Those who decide not to walk to the Garibaldi Glacier, will navigate to it as close as possible to appreciate the glacier from very near. During our second journey, the route card in the Australis cruise will guide us to navigate through the main arteria of the Beagle Channel, we will get into by the northwest side of the Pia Bay channel, so then we can make a descent in the glacier which has the same name. This snowdrift introduces in the Darwin mountain chain and it drains by the Waters of its bay.

Day 8 - Piloto & Nena Glaciers, Seno Agostini & Aguila Glacier

In our next navigation day, we will go to the desert inlets of the Brecknock, Ocasion and Cockburn chanels, so we can arrive to our first destination: Seno Chico. The Brecknock passage is a short lenght chanel, but there are waves and runnings to take into account among its many islands. We will leave this route so we can get into the Cockburn Passage and keep safe from the big waves produced in the chanel. We will finally get to Seno Chico so we can disembark in zodiac boats through the Alakaluf Fjord. This Fjord was named in honor to the ancient groups of nomad canoeros, who could made the Alakaluf ethnic Group in the last hundred years, also known as the Kaweskars. These fishermen and sea hunters lived in the archipelagos, fjords and chanels surrounded by the Gulf of Penas and Brecknock Peninsula. We will continue through beautiful waterfalls to Piloto and Nena glaciers, where we would be able to know more about the origin of the glaciers and their repercussion on the patagonic chanels region. One of the most memorable experiences will be the sound produced when we go through fragments of ice from the glaciers. We will continue our crossing to the Glacier Águila Bay, where we can do a light trekking along its marvelous Beach and then we can surround its lagoon to arrive to the glacier.

We will navigate the waters of different channels, such as Brecknock, Occasion, Cockburn and Magdalena with the main objective to get to the Seno Agostini. This is a fjord located in the region of Magallanes and the Chilean Antarctic territory, its characteristic is long and narrow, has steep walls on deep water. Divides the two sectors of the Mountain Range Darwin, the mountainous area called Navarro in the southwestern with a predominant presence of ice and the mountain range that covers Monte Buckland in the far north, named after an exceptional Italian explorer Alberto de Agostini. In the afternoon we will sail towards Aguila Glacier to disembark and walk along the Antarctic-Patagonian forest, an extremely wet and cold place, finally we will meet the Águila Glacier located in the Alberto de Agostini National Park. It is worth making the trek in this majestic place where we can feel that we are very small in the middle of this amazing place.

Day 9 - Magdalena Island & Punta Arenas

During our last day of navigation we will go to Island Magdalena to try to make a disembark at the beginning of the day. This natural spot is distinguished for being the Natural Monument Los Pingüinos together with the small island Marta, one of the most outstanding group of penguins in the Chilean Patagonia. Another important attraction in the island is its lighthouse, an old one declared as a National Historial Monument which guides the navigators who go through the Strait of Magallanes. We will do a trekking to this high and illuminated tower to appreciate all the natural charm that the region offers, among them the important group of "magallánico" penguins. If we do this expedition crossing during September and April, we will replace this experience with a descent to Island Marta to enjoy watching the seals which we will be able to watch from our zodiac boats. This replacement is done because the groups of penguins in the mating period only stay in the island from October to March, every year. We will end our sea expedition by disembarking in the city of Punta Arenas when midday comes.