DAY 1: Depart UK.

DAY 2: Arrive Santiago de Chile. Included sightseeing.
On arrival in Santiago you will be met by our representative and transferred to your hotel for two nights. In the afternoon, enjoy an included tour of the key sights of this impressive capital city. Begin by travelling along the Alameda, the city's eclectic main avenue, to see the impressive San Francisco Church and Santa Lucia Hill where the city was founded in 1541. Afterwards pass through the older suburbs, featuring the Club Hipico horseracing track, Parque O'Higgins, and the Cousino Palace, a historic house built by the Cousinos, a wealthy Chilean silver mining family. Later visit the bustling Plaza de Armas with its impressive colonial architecture. We then cross the Mapocho River and pass through the suburb of Bellavista and up San Cristobal Hill, which offers incredible views over the city and the neighbouring Andes.

DAY 3: Santiago de Chile.
Today is free to further explore the capital at your leisure, or perhaps join our optional day excursion to the seaside cities of Valparaiso and Viña del Mar. Valparaiso, a UNESCO world heritage site, was an important site for world shipping until the opening of the Panama Canal. Naval history is strongly evident as you pass by the main square, featuring the monument to the historic Battle of Iquique of 1879. Heading along the coast, we reach the resort city Viña del Mar. After visiting the main square, Plaza Vergara and surrounding shops, we return to Santiago. (B)

DAY 4: Santiago de Chile - Calama - San Pedro de Atacama. Included walking tour.
Transfer to the airport for your flight to Calama. Continue your journey to San Pedro de Atacama, an important archaeological treasure, 7,999 feet above sea level. Join us on a walking tour of this picturesque centre of Paleolithic civilisation. Visit the Padre le Paige Museum which displays cultural artifacts, skulls, weapons and sand stone potteries recovered from the Atacama Desert, but the highlight is the White Church, built of adobe with shingles of giant cactus plants. (B)

DAY 5: San Pedro de Atacama. Full day excursion to the Atacama Desert.
Today start with a visit to the huge Atacama Salt Lake, an island sea dating back millions of years. Enjoy the unique experience of this desert, doubtlessly the driest in the world. From here travel to the Lagunas Miscanti and Meniques. These alti-plane lakes, set at the base of two volcanoes, are fringed with salt deposits and surrounded by brilliantly coloured clumps of 'Para Braja'. We visit Toconao, a small Indian village where the inhabitants produce small sculptures out of the local white volcanic stone. (B, L)

DAY 6: San Pedro - Calama - Santiago - Puerto Montt - Puerto Varas.
Start the day with our optional early morning excursion to the impressive El Tatio Geysers, at an altitude of 14,176 feet. Afterwards, transfer to the airport at Calama for your flight via Santiago to Puerto Montt, the gateway to the Lake Region, and then to Puerto Varas. Regarded as the 'City of Roses', the city sits on the shores of Lake Llanguihue - one of the largest natural lakes on the continent - whose mirrored waters reflect glorious views of the snow-capped Osorno Volcano. Before arriving at your hotel, we visit Puerto Varas' main square with its charming gardens and the statue of Vicente Perez Rosales - the founder of the region. (B)

DAY 7: Puerto Varas. Full day excursion.
Today, start with a scenic journey through the stunning green countryside - offset by wonderful local architecture - around Lake Llanguihue and towards the Ensanada village and Petrohue Rapids. This series of rapids and waterfalls form an impressive sculpture of extruded volcanic rock shaped by thousands of years of thundering water flow. From here you enter the Vicente Perez Rosales National Park, Chile's oldest national park, famous for its spectacular landscape and wealth of native birds. A highlight of today is a catamaran boat journey on the emerald Lake Todos los Santos. Make sure you have your camera ready to capture the images of the lake and the encircling snow-capped volcanoes. After reaching the charming village of Peulla, enjoy some time at leisure. We return across the lake and travel back to the port of Petrohue before returning to Puerto Varas in the afternoon.
Note: This excursion is subject to favourable weather conditions.
The entrance to the Petrohue Rapids is approximately $2.50 and needs to be paid locally. (B)

DAY 8: Puerto Varas - Puerto Montt - Puerto Varas.
Today, enjoy a short city tour of Puerto Montt. Take in its German colonial heritage, evident in the architecture, as you travel along Costanera Avenue to the observation point for stunning views of the city, Reloncavi Bay and Tenglo Island. Afterwards, we pass through the town centre with its traditional square and cathedral.

DAY 9: Puerto Varas - Puerto Montt - Punta Arenas.
Transfer to Puerto Montt airport where you will join your flight to Punta Arenas. (B)

DAY 10: Punta Arenas - Puerto Natales.
This morning take in a city tour of the southern most town of South America, founded in 1848 on the shores of the Magellan Strait. The highlight of the tour is an awe-inspiring view of the city, the Magellan Strait and Tierra del Fuego - from the vantage point of Cerro La Cruz. Later head to Puerto Natales (by public bus, without the guide) passing the massive sheep farms, pretty beech woods and large areas of untamed landscape of Patagonia. (B)

DAY 11: Puerto Natales. Full day excursion.
Spend today in the breathtaking Torres del Paine National Park. This UNESCO biosphere reserve is set amidst dramatic mountains, and is famous for its awe-inspiring views of the lakes and glaciers within the park. Enjoy a visit to the Milodon Cave, famous for its pre-historic fossil discovery. Throughout the park you can spot herds of guanacos - a type of llama native to the area. Before dusk enjoy a hike around the Grey Lake, with stunning views of the Grey Glacier. (B)

DAY 12: Puerto Natales - Punta Arenas - Santiago.
Today travel by a local bus (without guide) to Punta Arenas for your flight to Santiago. (B)

DAY 13: Santiago de Chile - UK.
Transfer to the airport for your flight to the UK. (B)

DAY 14: Home landing in the UK.