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 - Ushuaia: Embarkation

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

The Beagle Channel is a marine passage formed by several stages of the Quaternary glaciations, later dominated by the sea. It is bounded to the north by Ushuaia, and at its other ends by various islands such as Stewart, O'Brien, Gordon, Navarino, and Nueva among others. The southernmost area of the South American continent, bounded 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 joins the two largest water masses on Earth (Pacific and Atlantic Oceans) is the famous Strait of Magellan. Located amid the Big Island of Tierra del Fuego and various islands of the Pacific Ocean and Chilean Patagonia, it holds a strategic location at the southern tip of South America.

Day 3 - Cape Horn (Chile) & Wulaia Bay

According to our pre-planned itinerary, we will continue sailing through the Beagle Channel and the Murray Channel, then try to disembark (if weather permits) and appreciate the natural beauty of Cape Horn National Park. We will realize our arrival at this southernmost point when we encounter a hill over 400 meters high. This place marks the southernmost limit of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, making it the southernmost point of South America. It is also the point that marks 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 served as refuge to 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 geography. We will trek through the Magellanic forest, which awaits us with numerous floral species such as lenga, coihue, and ferns, to then arrive at a viewpoint with an unparalleled view.

Day 4 - Garibaldi & Pía Glaciers

In the morning, we enter Garibaldi Fjord, disembark for a trek through the southern Patagonian forest, and ascend to the base of a glacier-era waterfall. Those who do not want to walk will go by boat to the Garibaldi Glacier to admire it up close. The Australis cruise route will guide us along the main artery of the Beagle Channel, we will enter northwest of this channel into Pía Bay to then descend the glacier of the same name. This glacier extends into the Darwin mountain range and flows into its bay waters.

Day 5 - Agostini Sound & Aguila Glacier - Piloto and Nena Glaciers

We will cross the deserted arms of the Brecknock, Ocasión, and Cockburn channels to reach our first destination: Seno Chico. The Brecknock Pass is a short channel but inhabited by considerable waves and visible currents among its many islands. We will leave this route to enter Cockburn Pass and keep safe from the immense waves of the preceding channel. Finally, we will reach Seno Chico to disembark by zodiac boats through the Alakaluf Fjord. The name of this fjord honors the ancient nomadic canoeing groups who, in the last few hundred years, formed the Alakaluf ethnicity also known as Kaweskar. These fishermen and sea hunters inhabited the archipelagos, fjords, and channels surrounding the Gulf of Penas and the Brecknock Peninsula. We will head through beautiful waterfalls to the awaited Piloto and Nena Glaciers, where we can learn about the origin of glaciers and their impact on the Patagonian channels region. We will navigate the waters of different channels such as Brecknock, Ocasión, Cockburn, and Magdalena aiming fundamentally to reach Agostini Sound. This fjord is located in the Chilean Magallanes and Antarctic region, characterized by long and very narrow walls with steep slopes over deep waters. It divides two sectors of the Darwin Range, the mountainous area called Navarro in the southwest with a predominant presence of eternal ice and the range that includes Monte Buckland in the northern end, named after the exceptional Italian explorer Alberto de Agostini. In the northwest sector are the steepest mountains. Thanks to Keats Sound it connects to Magdalena Channel. It is an important strategic point for the best views of the glaciers descending from the Darwin Range to the sea. After midday, we head to Aguila Glacier to make a dry landing and walk through the Antarctic-Patagonian forest that is extremely humid and cold, which will guide us as a path to finally face Aguila Glacier, located in the Alberto de Agostini National Park. This glacier is worth the prior trekking path to stand at its base. It is a moment in time where we stop to feel insignificant before such a great natural work, like Friedrich’s Wanderer above the Sea of Fog.

Day 6 - Magdalena Island & Punta Arenas

On our final day of navigation, we will head to Magdalena Island to attempt a landing at daybreak. This natural sanctuary, together with Marta Islet, forms the Los Pingüinos Natural Monument, one of the most remarkable Magellanic penguin colonies in Chilean Patagonia. Another major attraction on the island is its lighthouse, an old house-lighthouse declared a National Historic Monument that guides sailors crossing the Strait of Magellan. We will hike to this illuminated tower to admire the natural beauty of the region, including the famous colony of Magellanic penguins. If this expedition takes place between September and April, this activity will be replaced by a landing on Marta Island to observe sea lions from our zodiac boats. This change is due to the fact that penguin breeding colonies are only present from October to the end of March each year. We will conclude our maritime expedition by disembarking in the city of Punta Arenas.

Day 7 - Discovering Punta Arenas

Today we will explore the beautiful city of Punta Arenas, its history, and its most iconic landmarks. We will begin our tour at Cerro de la Cruz, a unique viewpoint offering panoramic views of the port city, the Strait of Magellan, and Tierra del Fuego. We will then visit Muñoz Gamero Main Square, the heart of the city since the late 19th century, known for its neoclassical architecture. We’ll see the Monument to Hernando de Magallanes and, optionally, visit a museum. We will also view monuments located north of the city, such as the Monument to the Shepherd, the Croatian Immigrant, and to Oil, all of which reflect the rich colonial Portuguese-style history of the city.

Day 8 - Puerto Natales & White Narrow

Transfer from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales. Upon departure from Puerto Natales, we will sail into the channels and reach the narrowest part of the route, the White Narrow, just 80 meters wide, and then continue through the Santa María Channel.

Day 9 - Puerto Edén & Cotopaxi Shoal

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

Day 10 - Gulf of Penas & Moraleda Channel

Today we sail through the Gulf of Penas, where humpback, minke, and blue whales can often be spotted. We will continue through various channels depending on visibility, traffic, and vessel crossings; these channels are surrounded by lush vegetation (forests of lenga and cypress). Finally, we will sail along the Moraleda Channel, a historic route for navigators and canoeists of the Chonos and Chiloé archipelagos. We will then navigate through the Chonos Archipelago, continuing our journey toward Puerto Montt.

Day 11 - Puerto Montt

Continuing our journey northward, we will sail through the Gulf of Corcovado, then via the Apiao Channel, the Gulf of Ancud, and the Reloncaví Sound, to finally arrive in Puerto Montt in the morning, where this great adventure comes to an end.