Each of these EXCEPTIONAL Expeditions highlights the spectacular mountain, river, or coastal settings of northern Patagonia – havens of unimaginable beauty
and of gracious Andean traditions and customs.

For voyagers who wish to experience the out-of-the-ordinary, and are happy to take their time doing so, these trips offer an unforgettable blend of nature and adventure, culture and comfort, simplicity and style.

We have put together these itineraries with select partners, who share our ethos of enjoyable and responsible wilderness travel, and who have a solid track record of safety and efficiency. The programs are designed to minimize travel and transfer times, and to seamlessly integrate different activities and accommodations, from arrival until departure.

For more information, please download the attached pdf brochure, or drop us an email through the CONTACT US page.

CONTACT US NOW FOR MORE INFORMATION & PRICES! Discounted rates for each additional passenger on this trip.

For the mountain homesteaders and seaside villagers of southern Chile, firewood is the fuel of social practice. Old-fashioned wood-burning stoves mark the focal-point of every home, the gathering place for passing the maté cup (always counter-clockwise), the main source of heat, the place where meals are made and news is spread.

The most prized wood for burning is ulmo, a hardwood that lives for centuries and nourishes local honey production with late summer flowers. Saturated in natural oils, the wood burns green. The consistent, straight grain makes for easy splitting with a well-filed ax. The woodsmen of Cochamó cull these trees year round with chainsaws and oxen. It is hard work for modest gain. A cord split and delivered costs less than $20.

At campo aventura, we burn the equivalent of probably 25 large logs every year in our base camp and mountain lodge – without falling a single living tree.

We heat our home, sauna and restaurant with wood, and we often prepare and take meals by the fire in our fogon, a traditional building with a central fireplace for cooking surrounded by benches or a raised platform on all for sides for gathering and sleeping. The signature gaucho meal, a full lamb butterflied on poles slanting over a campfire, takes about five hours to prepare and require several wheelbarrow loads of wood cut into large chunks.

Like our neighbours, we burn ulmo and other hardwood species in our stoves and fire pits. But in keeping with our promise to be as eco-friendly as possible, we use only what nature provides. All year long and especially after big storms, the rivers that surround or run through our campos deliver ulmo, coigüe (coy-way) and other hardwood logs to our banks. There is always more than enough. If the logs are green and well-preserved, we cut these into fence posts and other lumber. If not, we load up our woodshed and terraces.

Here, told in pictures, is the story of a typical ‘catch.’

One day in late May it rained pretty hard. The rivers jumped their banks.

When the flood waters receded a day later, a huge coiqüe trunk was pinned vertically against our foot bridge across the Rio Estes. With the help of our neighbours, we winched it off the bridge.

A few days later, when the river had dropped more, we pulled the log into the middle of the river with a come-along …

… and chained it to the tow-bar on our old Landcruiser.

The log at our front gate – 5m x 1m.

Coigüe has a clean, straight grain, making it ease to split.

One log, a terrace full of firewood.

Their eight-year-old son Andres is on hand during the long summer vacations to delight guests and lead them on short walks, and to play with visiting children. The rest of the year, he lives in Cochamó with relatives and attends school. He can ride with the best of them and loves soccer and giggling!

For the traveler wishing to explore other parts of Chile, as well as neighbouring Argentina, campo aventura’s “travel office with a difference” will work with you and your traveling companions to tailor a package that exactly matches your interests, needs, and budget.

Our office in Puerto Varas can arrange accommodation, flights, vehicle hire (including campers and 4×4s), bus or coach transport, and organized wilderness, cultural, or other trips. Please contact our travel agency in Puerto Varas. It is centrally located on Ave. San Bernardo, and cannot be missed.

Our facilities consist of two rustic lodges, constructed from local materials to blend in with the environment and traditional style of northern Patagonia – Riverside Lodge and Mountainside Lodge.

RIVERSIDE LODGE – our ‘base camp’ – is located at the mouth of the Rio Cochamó, where it flows into Chile’s northernmost fjord, the Estuario Reloncaví. The garden blooms with deep-blue hydrangeas, shocking pink fuschias, bright orange michays and other native plants. Our three cosy shared cabanas and cottage, all with en suite bathrooms, can accommodate up to a dozen guests. For larger groups and busy periods, we have access to a four-bedroom, self-contained casa, as well as an additional cabana about 100 metres away from our main facility.

A sandy riverside beach, outdoor tables, a wood-fired sauna, a couple of hammocks, and laundry service are among the facilities available at our Riverside Lodge.

The owners live on-site at Riverside Lodge and, along with our international staff, are always available for information, requests, comments – or just a chat!

Our MOUNTAINSIDE LODGE, at La Junta lies at the “junction” of two rivers, peacefully awaiting guests who have chosen an overnight horse-trek or hiking package. Set amid a sprawling 50 hectares, bounded by two rivers, boasting a small lake, two waterfalls and its own marked nature trail, the Mountainside Lodge is a little piece of paradise! Accommodation is in a traditional, converted mountain cabin – with two double rooms, and a 5-7 bedded family or dorm-style room. There are two shared bathrooms with hot showers.

Upon arrival, after riding up the valley and through the amazing, ever-changing rain forest, you will be greeted by our resident hosts. Hot tea and baked goodies made the old-fashioned way – on a wood-fired stove — will refresh you. While you settle into the accommodations (which include two doubles and a five-bedded room) or stretch your legs, Horació will tend to the horses, and Tatiàna will be preparing a delicious traditional evening meal.

You will dine with your fellow guests in the main lodge, by candle-light, listening to the sounds of the Andean night, sipping wine chilled by the cool river waters. The next morning, after a hearty breakfast that rivals the fare at Riverside Lodge, you will continue with the rest of your planned trip – be it more horse-back riding, a nature walk around La Junta, hiking in the magnificent El Arco national forest, tracing the path of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, mountaineering, or a return ride to home base.

• Breakfast at the Riverside Lodge includes a European-style buffet of rolls and breads, fruit and muesli, cheese, locally harvested Ulmo honey, and a variety of jams. This ‘continental’ fare is followed by hot entrées served at your table –crêpes, pancakes, or eggs, with tea, coffee, and juices. Breakfast is normally between 9 and 9.30 am.
At the Mountainside Lodge, breakfast comprises more traditional and hearty dishes – piping-hot sopaipillas with honey, warm oatmeal with raisins, or French Toast, for example.

• Lunch is a popular meal at La Mesa de los Sabores. Although most of our overnight guests have departed on their horse treks, visiting groups make a special stop at campo aventura for a multi-course vegetarian or fish luncheon, including drinks and a delectable dessert. This meal is usually served al fresco, on wooden tables, or in the fogón.

The guests on the horse trails or on boating excursions are also well catered for, with packed lunches, including delicacies such as home-made mini pizzas, savory pastries, fresh fruit, and muffins. Guests who are just spending a relaxing time at the lodge will be served a daily lunch selection – quiche with rice; empanadas with salad; artisanal sandwiches; or pizza, for instance.

• Once – or the traditional tea-time – is a welcome afternoon treat for guests returning from the day’s activities, as well as newly arriving guests. Tea or coffee are accompanied by delicate pastries, hearty cakes, or fragrant muffins.

• Dinner is definitely the highlight for the hungry! A three-course meal, with china, silver, and candle light is usually served in the restaurant. It starts out with a light entrée – a soup, a salad, a selection of pates or dips. The plato principal is hearty and artfully presented – perhaps a lasagna, or a colorful lightly spiced stir fry, accompanied by sides, fresh rolls, and butter. After the mains are cleared away, those with a sweet tooth are rewarded – perhaps with a flan caramel, ice cream with berry sauce, or a chocolate mousse. Tea and coffee round off the service.

• Asados or curantos can be offered on request during the long summer evenings, when the sun does not set until 9 pm.

Typically, the asado will be grilled on the banks of the river, though it is usually served at our specially built fogón, with wooden picnic tables and seating. The hearty meats – chicken, pork, lamb – are skewered on large metal or wooden sticks and grilled to perfection over a blazing fire. The asado is usually accompanied by baked rosemary potatoes, a selection of salads and vegetables.

• The curanto is always served on the river banks. A local Mapuche chef is brought in to oversee the cooking and serving of this traditional meal. A variety of shellfish, sausages and chicken are first wrapped carefully in cabbage leaves, then layered on pre-heated rocks, placed in a pit, and covered with more stones and leaves. Traditionally eaten with the fingers, the flavours of the curranto are enhanced by the peaceful setting.

• Chilean wines, pisco sours, beer, and a limited selection of soft drinks are available to order during all meals.

• We do our best to cater to guests with special dietary requirements – and request that you notify us of these at the time of booking so arrangements can be made in advance.

• Where possible, we source fresh ingredients from neighbouring farmers and the local community – as well as from our own pastures, which offer a bounty of herbs, apples, avellano nuts, and all kinds of berries — strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, murta berries. Plans are afoot to produce our own free-range eggs, as well as summer greens and tomatoes.

• The avellano nuts, Ulmo honey, and dried herbal teas are also available for sale as attractive gift packages.

campo aventura’s signature guided horse-back treks take you between our two lodges – the sea-level Riverside Lodge, and the Mountainside Lodge in a high Andean Valley – as well as beyond. The trails traverse endangered temperate rainforest and Andean homesteads, allowing you to experience wider vistas, mountain hospitality, and nature at its most pristine.

The horseback trails range from one-day rides to expeditions of 7 – 10 days or more. All are designed to suit the absolute beginner, without any previous riding experience – while also appealing to the seasoned equestrian. The longer trails involve some hiking as well as sleeping out under the stars.

Our criollo mounts are sturdy, calm mountain creatures. They know the trail as well as the huasos and guides! With them, you will cross ice-cold streams and rivers, negotiate rocky paths, and reach places in the towering green Valdivian rainforest where very few outsiders ever venture.

On the one-day hikes, we supply a picnic lunch and snacks – and you can choose the option of being accompanied by one of our team, or going it alone with directions. A number of one-day hikes depart from our Riverside and Mountainside Lodges. They range from easy to moderate to challenging – and each of them rewards the hiker with beauty, solitude, and majesty.

For the multi-day trips – Rainforest Ramble and Beyond the Timberline, for example – we take care of transporting your belongings and all other supplies, so you can focus all your energies on the walk and the views. Typically, a guide will accompany you – although we also consider self-guided options for those with requisite experience and fitness levels.

In addition to our specialized hiking packages noted in this section, all our longer horseback trails – Ride & Trek, Frontier Trail, and Gaucho Trail – are also available as hiking options, with or without packhorse support.

If you are interested, talk to us. We can outfit and provide all the supplies, camping equipment, a guide, a gaucho and a packhorse as needed. We will be happy to design an itinerary that gets you out there – within your timeframe and your budget!

You can combine one – or more – of these water activities with an existing horseback trek or hiking package with Campo Aventura.

For those of you who just can’t decide what you’d like to do – take a look at the “Paddles, Saddles, Pedals, & More…” program! It is a multi-activity program based at our lodges that lets you engage in a variety of activities.