Sea Kayak & Trekking Pumalín

North & South Sections of Pumalin National Park

Day 1

Day 1:

We depart early in the morning, leaving your hotel; we ride by coach south on the Southern Highway to our destination, the village of Hornopirén. Arriving in about four hours, we set up our kayaks. Our Boat will be waiting for us to accompany and provide support and comfort throughout our journey. This is the northern entrance of the Pumalín National Park. After eating lunch, we take to the kayaks, setting out towards a beautiful island called Llancahué (about 3 hours paddling).

Camping

Day 2

Day 2:

We shall leave Llancahué early morning, making our way back across the Comau fjords, and from there we continue our trip into the fjords of Quintupeu. Here we camp with a view of glaciers in one direction and four miles of fjords in the other (about 4or 5 hours of spectacular paddling). Set up camp and eat a hearty lunch. Afternoon free to explore the beautiful surroundings, or just kick back.

Day 3

Day 3:

Leaving Quintupeu with the change of the tide, we shall make better time paddling back out of the Quintupeu fjords. This day will be our longest paddling day, in which we shall cover about 20 miles. Today we reach the waters of the Cahuelmó fjords and a soothing hot springs will be our reward. Local people had carved many rustic tubs in rock at the water edge years ago. Each one is a different size and all have very hot water, easily regulated by simple and natural methods to attain the temperature desired for an extremely pleasant bath. These baths are part of the Pumalín National Park, and thus have more Comfortable camping facilities and bathrooms. We proceed to prepare our campsite in order to enjoy the rest of the afternoon in this incredible place, with a beautiful sunset, and have a relaxing night at the hot springs.

Day 4

Day 4:

Today we shall have time to relax while we wait for low tide to start our trekking around, nestled between tremendous spires of the Andes. We shall enjoy dramatic scenery on this hike, and start making our way back to base camp in the afternoon to arrive for dinner, and after a long day, a dip fjord and relaxing soak in the hot springs.

Day 5

Day 5:

Today we leave the Cahuelmó hot springs (High tide) and paddle towards the Comau fjords, observing some flora And fauna all along the way: dolphins, cormorants, penguins, and sea lions. After about four hours paddling we shall have lunch on our bout, and then continue towards Porcelana, a rather special creek of natural hot water emerging from the temperate rain forest. This particular spot does not belong to the Pumalín project, here we will set up camp, enjoying dinner on the boat. Afterward we shall hike a very short path where the creek is located; enjoying the most extraordinary nature hot baths and then return to base camp.

Day 6

Day 6:

Breakfast on the boat, today we shall leave Porcelana on a day-trip to the Vodudahue valley where ancient peoples sought the mythic “Cesar’s” city. We make our way to the river of the same name and navigate up stream. Here we shall have some lunch and then take the afternoon to do some hiking in this marvelous landscape, returning for dinner and sleeping at the Porcelana hot springs.

Day 7

Day 7:

Returning to the boat and the kayaks, we navigate to the Leptepú ramp. Here we finish with our kayaks and support boat, and start a three our walk along a trail that is part of the Southern Highway, to arrive at Reñihue fjords where another boat will be waiting. Pumalín National Park, toward where the creator of the project, Douglas Tompkins, lived. We will continue to Caleta Gonzalo, Where we will stay in marvelous cabins that are part of the infrastructure of this southern Entrance to the Park. We will enjoy a wonderful meal cooked by local people at the Caleta Gonzalo Café.

Download Full Itinerary below to view days 8-9-10