Itinerary ten days trail-ride Glacier and Hot Springs Trail

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  DAY ONE

  We pick you up in Pucon and welcome you to the ranch where we‘ll eat breakfast together. Then we‘ll take an initial ride through the Mapuche Indian community Quelhue and along the rapids of the Trancura River to evaluate your riding experience, get familiar with the saddle and tack, and determine which horses to take on our adventure. In the afternoon we‘ll go to our base camp at Laguna Geppinger, make dinner and enjoy the evening on the lakeside.

  DAY TWO

  Leaving Laguna Geppinger, we‘ll ride deeper into the Huife valley past rural farms and peaceful countryside. After lunch in the shade, we‘ll enter the dense rain-forests typical of southern Chile, and wind our way around the massive trunks of the Coighue trees. Eventually we‘ll meet with an old logging access road and follow it down the Rio Blanco Valley until we arrive at our campsite at Termas San Sebastian. There we‘ll set up camp, cook dinner over the fire, and relax in the natural hot springs.

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  DAY THREE

  After a hot bath in the morning we‘ll head back into the forest, ascending out of the valley toward the dramatic peaks of Sollipulli. We‘ll emerge from the forest onto the high, rolling plains beneath the volcano‘s crater and cross the vast landscape and conical hills. There, with the snow-capped volcano above, and the entire mountainous region of southern Chile spreading out before us, we‘ll make camp in the plains and enjoy our night alone in the mountains.

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  DAY FOUR

  Today we‘ll traverse this intense volcanic landscape and observe the various features of Sollipulli: bland hillsides of shale and slate; huge deserts of black volcanic sand; snow fields; and gushing streams of glacial runoff. From this high altitude we‘ll have truly stunning views of the dozens of volcanoes, mountain ranges and deep blue lakes that constitute the local landscape. In the afternoon we‘ll descend to the Flor de Valle valley and make camp in the back pasture of a local farmer.

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  DAY FIVE

  After a breakfast with fresh bread baked by the senora of the farmhouse, we‘ll continue down the valley for a more relaxing day of riding. We‘ll follow the Maichin River, passing several isolated, rural farms tucked into corners of the valley, until we arrive to the area of Huachalepun and our campsite for the night at the Domes of Los Nevados de Sollipulli. We‘ll spend a night protected from the elements in these Domes, or permanently installed tents, and feast on a typical Chilean asado.

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  DAY SIX

  To the Crater! We ascend out of the valley again, back up the hillsides of Sollipulli arriving on the rim of the vast, glacier-filled crater. We‘ll enjoy this spectacular sight before descending once again to "Nevados de Sollipulli" mountain lodge.

  DAY SEVEN

  We will have a day off to give the horses time to recover. time for a hike in the mountain, fishing in the lake or relaxing in the hot tub.

  DAY EIGHT

  After a full-day of riding through the low Flor de Valle valley and several winding hours through the dense bamboo and Coighue forests of Huerquehue National Park, we‘ll reach Laguna Isolde, a crystal mountain lake surrounded by the peculiar Araucaria (monkey puzzle trees). We‘ll make camp nearby in a forest clearing and leave the horses in a paddock made of stacked tree trunks.

  DAY NINE

  A day of dappled sunlight, rich greenery, thick forest canopies, and tranquil farm-dotted countryside will bring us back to our campsite at the natural hot springs in the Rio Blanco valley.

  DAY TEN

  We‘ll get an early start on our last day, riding out of the Rio Blanco Valley and meeting up sparkling tributaries of Caburgua Lake. We‘ll skirt this vast lake all day, following its rocky shore until we reach an abandoned farm in the mountains from where we‘ll descend and return to Antilco. Once back at the ranch we‘ll indulge in a huge barbecue and recount our adventures from this stunning trek.