11 days - 10 nights

Day 1 - Discovering Ushuaia: The Recidivist Prison & the End of the World Museum

Reception at Ushuaia airport and transfer to the hotel.

We will do a very special tour in the morning as we start knowing the magic of the city of Ushuaia which is very famous for being recognized as the "End of the World" (also known as the most southern city of all). We will also visit the Museum of the End of the World which started working in 1979. It was firstly for families and then became part of the heritage in Ushuaia. This museum shows its collections in five different rooms where there are glasses that honour those people linked with the local history such as the explorers, natives, etc. We will know the main and most famous attractions that Ushuaia has: the old Recidivists´ Prison which is known because of its exciting and strong history, every year many visitors go visiting it because of its prison architecture and also because of its history. It is important to higlight that it worked from 1900 to 1947 and the city started growing more and more around this prison where today many and important cruises and transatlantic.

We will enjoy the building, its corridors and even today we can feel the pain the people suffered. This militar prison worked firstly in the Staten Island in San Juan de Salvamento, then it was transferred to CooK Port until it was settled in Ushuaia for humanitarian reasons. It accommodated sentenced people like the anarchist Simón Radowitsky or Cayetano Santos Godino known as the big eared shorty or the writer Ricardo Rojas. We will visit the Port, the Paseo del Centenario, an excellent panoramic spot where there is the monument for the Ushuaia´s Centennial and then, the Beban House an important architectural heritage, which was bought in Sweden and made in Ushuaia between 1911 and 1913 by Don Tomas Beban. Is one of the most ambitious buildings in the city.

Day 2 - Tierra del Fuego National Park & End of the World Train

During the afternoon we will go to Tierra del Fuego National Park which highlights for being the only park with sea coast because it is located at the shore of the Beagle Chanel. Outside Ushuaia, we will go through the Valley of Pipo River to get to the entrance. We will get on board the Train of the End of the World which is outside the Tierra del Fuego National Park where we start in the Central Station until getting to the Tierra del Fuego National Park Station. We will have the excellent opportunity to meet the Southern Fueguino Railway which travels along one of the routes that were used in the past by thousands prisoners who obey everyday their routine in those legendary woods. The journey starts over the embankment that the prisoners made a long time ago, going through the Cañadón del Toro so then we can ascend a steep surrounding the Pipo River until getting to the "Cascada de la Macarena" Station where we will hace the possibility to descend to the restoration of a native camp or we can have the option to appreciate the amazing panoramic view of the fall´s source.

The train´s horn give us the signal that we have to continue with the journey to get into the sub-antarctic woods. Surrounding the Pipo river and the "turbales" area where the moss Sphagnum grows, the train ends the journey when it arrives at the Park´s Station where we will descend to continue with the tour. Once we get into into the Tierra del Fuego National Park which was founded in 1960 and it is located in the region of the patagonic woods and the Andean mountain chain. Our tour goes to Ensenada Bay where we will be able to see the Redonda and Estorbo islands and the Montes Nevados in front of them which belong to the Sampaio mountain chain in Chile. Then we get to Roca Lake.

We continue the way while we are surrounded by lengas, ñires and guindos woods until getting to the bridge of the Lapataia river, an ideal area to do trekking as there are many paths such as the Paseo de la Isla, Roca Lake, Black Lagoon, etc. We will go through a winding way where we will find the Green and Black Lagoons, this last one is an impressive "turbal", until flowing in the Beavers´ dike which will guide us to Lapataia Bay.

Day 3 - Ushuaia: Embarkation

During the early afternoon, we will check in at the city of Ushuaia, and then embark on one of Australis expedition ships: Mare, Via, or Stella. We will depart from the southernmost city in the world, Ushuaia, sailing through the famous Beagle Channel, passing Cape Horn, and navigating the Strait of Magellan to finally reach our destination port: Punta Arenas.

The Beagle Channel is a marine passage formed during various stages of the Quaternary glaciations, later dominated by the sea. It is bounded to the north by Ushuaia, and at other ends by various islands such as Stewart, O'Brien, Gordon, Navarino, and Nueva among others. The southernmost area of the South American continent, bordered to the north by the Drake Passage—also known as the Sea of Hoces—is the renowned Cape Horn. This sea is known for separating the American continent from the Antarctic Peninsula. The well-known passage that connects the two largest bodies of water on Earth (the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans) is the famous Strait of Magellan. Located between the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego and various islands of the Pacific Ocean and Chilean Patagonia, it holds a strategic position at the southern tip of South America.

Day 4 - Cape Horn (Chile) & Wulaia Bay

Following our pre-planned route, we will continue sailing through the Beagle Channel and the Murray Channel, then attempt to disembark (weather permitting) to admire the natural beauties of Cape Horn National Park. We will know we have arrived at this southernmost point when we see a hill over 400 meters high. This spot marks the farthest limit of the Fuegian islands group, representing the southernmost point of South America. It is also the northern boundary 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, an archaeological site that once sheltered one of the region’s greatest tribes, the Yámana people. In this bay, Fitz Roy, who discovered the Beagle Channel, founded the main Anglican mission during his second expedition, accompanied by the famous English naturalist Charles Darwin. During the bay tour, we will have the opportunity to appreciate its exquisite flora and geographic layout. We will trek through the Magellanic forest, home to numerous plant species such as lenga, coihue, ferns, among others, before arriving at a viewpoint offering an unparalleled view.

Day 5 - Garibaldi & Pía Glaciers

In the morning, we enter Garibaldi Fjord and disembark for a trek through the Patagonian forest, climbing to the base of a waterfall dating back to the glacial era. Those who prefer not to hike will head by boat to Garibaldi Glacier to admire it up close. The Australis cruise itinerary will guide us to navigate the main artery of the Beagle Channel, entering the northwest section in Pía Bay to then descend onto the glacier of the same name. This glacier flows down the Darwin mountain range and empties into its bay.

Day 6 - Agostini Sound & Eagle Glacier - Piloto and Nena Glaciers

We will navigate the deserted arms of the Brecknock, Ocasión, and Cockburn channels to reach our first destination: Seno Chico. Brecknock Passage is a short channel but with considerable waves and visible currents among its many islands. We will leave this route to enter Cockburn Passage, avoiding the huge waves of the previous channel. Finally, we will arrive at Seno Chico, where we will disembark in Zodiac boats through the Alakaluf Fjord. The name of this fjord honors the ancient nomadic canoe groups who, over the last few hundred years, formed the Alakaluf ethnicity, also known as Kaweskar. These marine fishermen and hunters inhabited the archipelagos, fjords, and channels surrounding the Gulf of Penas and the Brecknock Peninsula. We will proceed past beautiful waterfalls to the awaited Piloto and Nena Glaciers, where we will learn about the origin of glaciers and their impact on the Patagonian channels region. We will sail through various channels such as Brecknock, Ocasión, Cockburn, and Magdalena, aiming to reach Agostini Sound. This fjord, located in the Magallanes region and the Chilean Antarctic territory, is long and very narrow, with steep walls over deep waters. It divides two sectors of the Darwin Mountain Range: the mountainous Navarro area to the southwest, dominated by permanent ice, and the range including Mount Buckland at the northern end, named after the exceptional Italian explorer Alberto de Agostini. The most rugged mountains are in the northwest sector. Thanks to Keats Sound, it connects to Magdalena Channel. This is an important strategic point for the best views of the glaciers descending from the Darwin Range into the sea. After midday, we head to Eagle Glacier for a dry landing and a walk through the extremely cold and humid Antarctic-Patagonian forest, which will guide us on a path to finally confront Eagle Glacier, located within Alberto de Agostini National Park. This glacier is worth the prior trekking trail to stand at its base. It is a moment in time when we pause to feel insignificant before such a majestic natural work, like Friedrich’s “Wanderer above the Sea of Fog.”

Day 7 - Magdalena Island & Punta Arenas

On our last day of navigation, we head to Magdalena Island to attempt a landing at dawn. This natural spot, together with Marta Islet, forms the Natural Monument Los Pingüinos, one of the most notable penguin colonies in Chilean Patagonia. Another important attraction on the island is its lighthouse, an old lighthouse house declared a National Historic Monument that guides navigators crossing the Strait of Magellan. We will trek to this elevated, illuminated tower to appreciate the various natural charms the region offers, including the prestigious colony of Magellanic penguins. If we undertake this expedition between September and April, this experience will be replaced by a landing on Marta Island to enjoy sea lions observed from our Zodiac boats. This substitution happens because the penguin breeding colonies only remain on the island from October to the end of March each year. We will finish our maritime expedition by disembarking in the city of Punta Arenas. Transfer from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales.

Day 8 - Puerto Natales & White Narrows

Transfer from the hotel in Puerto Natales to the port. Upon departure from Puerto Natales, we will enter the channels and navigate to the narrowest point on the route, the White Narrows, only 80 meters wide, then continue sailing through Santa María Channel.

Day 9 - Puerto Edén & Bajo Cotopaxi

We will navigate through the southernmost Patagonian channels in the world. Then we arrive at Puerto Edén, home to the last indigenous Kaweskar population in Chile, located on Wellington Island, one of the largest in the country. It is part of Bernardo O’Higgins National Park. We continue sailing through the English Narrows and Messier Channel, where we will see the ship "Capitán Leonidas," stranded since the 1970s at "Bajo Cotopaxi." It is currently used as a navigation beacon and a reference point for sailors.

Day 10 - Gulf of Penas & Moraleda Channel

Today we will sail through the Gulf of Penas, where it is possible to spot humpback, Minke, and blue whales. Afterwards, we will navigate through various channels depending on visibility, traffic, and crossings with other vessels; these channels are rich in vegetation (lenga and cypress forests). Finally, we will sail through Moraleda Channel, a passage historically used by notable navigators and canoeists from the Chonos and Chiloé archipelagos. Lastly, we will navigate through the Chonos Archipelago to continue our route toward Puerto Montt.

Day 11 - Puerto Montt

Continuing our journey northward, we will navigate the Corcovado Gulf, then Apiao Channel, Ancud Gulf, and Reloncaví Sound, arriving at Puerto Montt in the morning, the city where this great adventure ends.