Most Inspirational Moment
It's very hard to choose as every part of the trip was special!
1. Seeing the Flamingos in their natural habitat
2.Torres del Paine National Park, seeing the granite peaks covered in snow and the turquoise lakes to experiencing the sunrise from the hotel. Our hotel also had the perfect view sitting on lake pehoe, I think we will always remember taking our luggage across the bridge to the hotel, this was a unique experience! Getting close up with the Glaciers, this was my first encounter and the colour was simply magnificent!
3. Atacama Desert - from the Geyser at sunrise to the seeing the milky way and seeing the whole of Scorpion constellation was truly memorable.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Miguel was fantastic! He was always on hand for any questions we had about Chile. He suggested which restaurants to eat at and joined us on our dinners suggesting the best local dish to try. Miguel was incredibly useful at the airports for all the internal flights, we literally did not have to worry about doing anything from checking in to adding our luggage tags, he was the pro. He knew the right timing to get to the sites so we had it to ourselves such as the hike in Patagonia (we were the only ones on the trail) to seeing the Flamingos (the crowds were leaving as we arrived so we were able to enjoy the landscape peacefully).
Some people in the group were not able to get onto the stargazing tour and Miguel was kind enough to take them to view the stars in San Pedro with his torch, he had an astronomy app on his phone and was able to point out the constellations. He went above and beyond as he didn't have to do that!
Our whole group said we would be very lost without him which goes to show how great he is!
Advice for Potential Travellers
- Bring good thermals, waterproof jackets, waterproof shoes as the weather changes very quickly, it can get rainy, windy, sunny and chilly (don't mind the pun!) in Patagonia and early mornings in the Atacama desert.
- Walking poles for Torres del Paine
- Bring a mask or scarf to cover your face for the Moon of Valley as it can get
- A few early starts and internal flights but that's the best way to see Chile as it's such a long country