11 days - 10 nights

Day 1 - Boarding in Puerto Montt

At check-in, the ship staff will take custody of the luggage, which must be collected by each passenger at boarding. If you board with a vehicle, we will provide instructions to complete the procedure. Once aboard, the crew will hold a welcome meeting and outline the itinerary stages. Then we will set sail to navigate through the Patagonian fjords until we reach our final destination: the southern city of Puerto Natales. We will depart from Seno Reloncaví, then cross the Gulf of Ancud, and during the night, reach the Apiao Channel and the Corcovado Gulf.

Day 2 - Moraleda Channel & Gulf of Penas

Dawn will catch us as we navigate the southernmost part of the Corcovado Gulf, heading into open sea in the afternoon. At sunset, we will begin ocean navigation north of the Gulf of Penas. The open sea crossing will last about 12 hours, during which it will be possible to spot humpback whales, minke whales, and blue whales.

Day 3 - Bajo Cotopaxi & Puerto Edén

At dawn, we will continue navigating among fjords crossing the Messier Channel, which reaches 1,270 meters deep, and we will spot the cargo ship “Capitán Leonidas,” stranded since the 1970s on a submerged islet called “Bajo Cotopaxi.” Shortly after, we will cross the English Narrows to reach Puerto Edén, home to Chile's last indigenous Kaweskar population, located on Wellington Island, one of the largest in the country. It is part of Bernardo O'Higgins National Park. After a short stop (only for boarding and disembarking residents), we will continue navigating through the Patagonian channels.

Day 4 - Angostura White, Puerto Natales & Punta Arenas

We will wake up navigating the calm waters of the Santa María Channel, surrounded by the majestic silence of southern Patagonia. Soon we will reach one of the most extraordinary points of the trip: Angostura White, a narrow passage of just 80 meters that requires precision and skill. We will then continue along the serene Seno Unión, which will gently lead us to the access channel of the picturesque town of Puerto Natales, where this first great crossing among the fjords of southern Chile ends. Once at the port, we will transfer to the hotel and you will have the afternoon free to explore at your leisure the wonders of Puerto Natales: its waterfront, the cafés overlooking the fjord, and the unique atmosphere of Patagonia, perfect to relax and start cherishing the memories of this unforgettable experience.

Day 5 - Milodon Cave & Torres del Paine

Today we will visit Torres del Paine National Park. This park owes its fame to the mountain groups that give it its name, monumental granites shaped by glacial ice. The tour begins by traveling to the Milodon Cave, a 200-meter-long cavern very close to the city of Puerto Natales. The route takes us to Cerro Castillo where we stop at a café, and then to Torres del Paine. On the trip, if we are lucky, we might see rheas or South American ostriches, or the guanaco, a wild camelid of Patagonia, all part of the native Patagonian fauna. Once inside Torres del Paine National Park, we observe lagoons with strong colors, mountains full of ice, and native fauna. We will do a trek to Salto Grande on the Paine River. After lunch, we head to Grey Lake to hike to a viewpoint where icebergs and Grey Glacier can be seen. We return to Puerto Natales by the same route we came, or we can pass by Lakes Toro, Porteño, and Sofía.

Day 6 - Navigation through Última Esperanza Fjord: Balmaceda & Serrano Glaciers

The navigation begins 15 minutes from the center of Puerto Natales, at the Puerto Bories dock. The trip starts with a view of the facilities of Frigorífico Bories, one of the largest meat processing industries in Patagonia. You will see a colony of Imperial Cormorants, a small colony of Sea Lions, and a great variety of vegetation composing the local flora, such as Coigüe, Canelo, Lenga, Ñire, Chilco, and Calafate, among others. After three hours, you will see the Balmaceda Glacier, then continue towards the Serrano Glacier. Entering the fjords, Balmaceda Glacier can be seen from the boat, and to visit Serrano Glacier, we have to take a 20-minute trail that skirts a lake created by the melting of this glacier. After visiting the glaciers, we return to Puerto Natales, but not without first visiting Estancia Perales to enjoy a tasty and abundant local lunch.

Day 7 - Boarding in Punta Arenas: Start of the second leg

Transfer from Puerto Natales to the port of Punta Arenas. In the afternoon we will do check-in in the city of Punta Arenas. The city of Punta Arenas, also considered the "Capital of Chilean Patagonia," is famous for its port at the southern limit of Chile and the end of South America. Our journey begins heading to the southernmost city in the world: Ushuaia, passing through the Strait of Magellan, Cape Horn, and finally the famous Beagle Channel. The famous passage that connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, the two largest bodies of water on Earth, is the Strait of Magellan. This passage is located at the southern tip of South America, between the Province of Tierra del Fuego and various Pacific Ocean islands, and Chilean Patagonia.

Cape Horn, the southernmost area of the South American continent, marks the northern end of the Drake Passage, the sea that separates the American continent from the Antarctic Peninsula. The Beagle Channel is a maritime passage formed by various stages of the Quaternary glaciations, which years later was dominated by the sea. The channel is bordered to the north by the Big Island of Tierra del Fuego and at its other ends by various islands such as Stewart, O'Brien, Gordon, Navarino, and Nueva among others. Among the numerous bays it comprises, the Bay of Ushuaia stands out, on which our destination city Ushuaia is located.

Day 8 - Ainsworth Bay & Tucker Islet

We will begin this second day of navigation aboard the Australis cruise at dawn, near Almirantazgo Sound, a fjord on the west coast of Tierra del Fuego. Among the important marine and underwater biodiversity of this area, we can see sea elephants and black-browed albatrosses. Then we will make the first landing at the Marinelli Glacier in Ainsworth Bay, the largest glacier among those coming from the Darwin Mountain Ice Field. This giant may surprise us with its ice walls about 40 meters high. Here we will do walks to observe the varied fauna and nature of the surrounding Magellanic forest: dams built by beavers and colonies of sea elephants contrasting with an incredible landscape. Later, we will head toward Tucker Islet, a point defining the northwest limit of Whiteside Channel. Due to its sedimentary origin and location, the region has become a very valuable territory in terms of natural nutrients that have given rise to the wonderful fauna we will witness.

We will navigate in zodiac boats to perceive the presence of various seabirds such as cormorants, chimangos, skuas, and Magellanic penguins among others. In case penguins cannot be seen, as they leave in April, we will take an alternative route to Brookes Bay, where we can disembark to do a trek around the glacier. This very deep bay reaches its maximum point in the Darwin Mountain Range. The bay is famous for the numerous waterfalls formed on its cliffs and imposing mountain elevations. During the hike, we can enjoy the floral and natural beauties hidden in its forest. We will encounter ñires, a tundra region, southern dolphins, cormorants, and otters among other species.

Day 9 - Pia Glacier & Avenue of the Glaciers

On the third day, the Australis cruise itinerary will guide us to navigate along the main artery of the Beagle Channel, entering the northwest part of this channel at Pia Bay to then disembark at the glacier of the same name. This glacier extends into the Darwin mountain range before flowing into the waters of the bay. We will continue our Australis journey northwest along the Beagle Channel so we can admire the impressive "Avenue of the Glaciers," a narrow passage in the Beagle Channel where we will see numerous tongues of ice descending from the Darwin mountain range towards the sea. The name of this passage honors the glaciers that are peculiarly located side by side and at a very short sailing distance from each other. The glaciers that make up this passage are: Germany, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, and Romanche.

Day 10 - Cape Horn & Wulaia Bay

On this day, we will continue cruising on the Australis through the Beagle Channel and Murray Channel, then attempt to disembark (weather permitting) to appreciate the natural beauty of Cape Horn National Park. We will recognize our arrival at this southern point when we encounter a hill over 400 meters tall. This place marks the farthest limit of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, constituting the southernmost point of South America. It is also the point that marks the northern end of the Drake Passage, the sea that separates the American continent from the Antarctic Peninsula. The national park located at the "End of the World" was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2005. At sunset, we will disembark at Wulaia Bay, a current archaeological site that once sheltered one of the greatest tribes of the region, the Yámanas.

In this bay, Fitz Roy himself, who discovered the Beagle Channel, founded during his second expedition the main Anglican mission accompanied by the famous English naturalist Charles Darwin. During the tour of the bay, we will have the opportunity to appreciate its exquisite flora and geographic layout. We will do a trek through the Magellanic forest, which awaits us with numerous floral species such as lenga, coihue, ferns, among others, and then arrive at a viewpoint where we can contemplate an unparalleled view.

Day 11 - Arrival at the city of Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego

We will disembark during the morning in the City of the End of the World, Ushuaia.