{"id":201179,"date":"2024-03-05T10:46:31","date_gmt":"2024-03-05T10:46:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swoop-patagonia.com\/blog\/?p=201179"},"modified":"2025-08-08T10:37:02","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T09:37:02","slug":"responsible-travel-in-aysen-listening-to-local-voices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swoop-patagonia.com\/blog\/responsible-travel-in-aysen-listening-to-local-voices\/","title":{"rendered":"Responsible travel in Aysen \u2013 listening to local voices"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What happens when a place once overlooked by the world starts to be discovered by tourism? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was the question I was asking when I recently travelled through the Aysen region of Chile.Those that have visited Aysen talk about it with a glint in their eye, like they\u2019re letting you in on the world\u2019s best kept secret. They speak in hushed tones of its boundless mountains, glaciers and lakes.

Swoop carries a deep responsibility to protect all the incredible places we visit and Aysen\u2019s growing popularity is an opportunity to better understand what responsible tourism means to people on the ground. 
I started in Coyhaique<\/a> \u2013 the gateway to Aysen \u2013 on a trip that would take me south to meet with Swoop\u2019s friends and partners across the region. I wanted to listen to what they had to say about the best approaches for developing tourism in this previously undiscovered corner of Patagonia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slow travel<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u2018One thing that I think is key is the speed at which you’re travelling.\u2019 I was talking to tourism consultant Ian Farmer, who is based in Coyhaique. It was a reference to the saying across Patagonia that those who rush waste time \u2013 and often miss out those moments and connections that make travel so worthwhile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Ian Farmer in Coyhaique<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Connecting with local people is very positive, both for the tourists and for locals, but it\u2019s not always that easy to do \u2013 there’s a language issue and there are other cultural differences that sometimes make it hard,\u2019 he continued. \u2018I would come back to the point of trying to travel through all of Patagonia in two weeks. Yes, you can do it and you’ll see a lot of stuff, but you’ll never connect with anybody because you don’t spend enough time with them.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few people can boast to have slowed their travels more than Mary Vidal, the co-owner of our partner Senderos Patagonia,who are based on the edge of Cerro Castillo National Park<\/a>. Mary first came to Chile in 2007, before getting her Masters in sustainable tourism and settling here, where she met her husband Christian. Christian grew up in Cerro Castillo, and was practically born in the saddle. Christian is one of the best horse guides in the region and together they founded Senderos, specialising in horse riding and trekking in Aysen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Mary Vidal in Cerro Castillo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mary was clear that the travellers she sees from Swoop are eager to use local operators that contribute to the local community and have the lightest of impacts on the environment. According to her, tourists have a \u2018huge role\u2019 in the evolution of Aysen and crucially can act as a force multiplier beyond just the impact they have during their immediate visit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018If we have tourists that see the importance of the natural areas, the national parks and reserves we have as well as the culture,\u2019 said Mary, \u2018then I think the local government and the people also will see that value too.\u2019 Responsible tourism was about all stakeholders recognising the value of what\u2019s on your doorstep <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Mary (centre) with Swoop team members near Cerro Castillo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Economics and culture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I heard a similar story from Stefan Varinga when I continued on to Puerto Guadal. We were sitting on the veranda at El Mirador de Guadal<\/a>, the luxury cabins that he and his wife Carolina built on the shores of Lake General Carrera. It was easy to see why they\u2019d chosen this spot: looking across the water there was nothing to see but a wide sweep of snowy mountains, and beyond them the North Patagonian Ice Field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Stefan Varinga in Puerto Guadal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stefan developed the theme further. \u2018Tourism will not work if there is not any economic progress,\u2019 he said emphatically, but it would only be a success if that progress was in step with what made Aysen special. \u2018We should be responsible for what we have around us and keep the culture as much as possible in the region. If you don’t take care of the culture, you lose an important part of why people like to come here. They don’t come here to see Santiago stuff \u2013 they come here to see Patagonia stuff!\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I thought I\u2019d already seen quite a bit of the \u2018Patagonia stuff\u2019 in Cerro Castillo, taking to the hiking trails and trying my hand at being a gaucho. It wasn\u2019t until I got to Puerto Guadal that I also realised just how diverse that stuff is. While the mountains were wild, the lake and the cabins felt like a slice of southern Italy, reminding me that Aysen didn\u2019t have to be all about deep adventure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Matt takes in a view over Lake General Carrera<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Returning to nature<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Leaving the tranquillity of Stefan\u2019s cabins behind, I headed off to explore Patagonia National Park<\/a>. The park was once one of the largest sheep ranches in Chile, until it was developed by the Tompkins Foundation<\/a> in 2004, who worked in partnership with local communities to help return it to its wilderness. The reserve was donated to the Chilean state in 2018. Trekkers come here for some of the most spectacular trails in Patagonia and the fantastic birdwatching the Chacabuco Valley. Even the approach to the park has you feeling dwarfed by the epic landscapes, as you drive along the famed Carretera Austral which runs along the park perimeter.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Luis Ibache in Patagonia National Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Rewilding for me is returning nature to a wild state before the estancias existed,\u2019 explains Luis Ibache, who now works in the national park for Rewilding Chile, the local NGO who have taken up the conservation challenge from Tompkins. \u2018It\u2019s a grand name but it\u2019s just\u00a0about returning the ecosystem to what is \u2018normal\u2019 and what was here before \u2013 not interfering, just removing obstacles that do not belong.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Views across Patagonia National Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That involves taking the communities who live around the park along with them. Luis works in part with a project to conserve the nandu<\/a> (or Darwin\u2019s rhea), South America\u2019s largest flightless bird, who can face threats from people stealing their eggs. It\u2019s a multi-generational effort: working with schools so that children can enjoy and fall in love with the nature on their doorstep, while ensuring that their parents also see the economic benefits of the park and its tourists. In a classic case of poacher-turned-gamekeeper, the area\u2019s last puma hunter now even works as a wildlife guide in the park.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I experienced some of these rewilding efforts firsthand at Explora Patagonia Park<\/a>. There were no pumas for me this time (everyone working there seemed to have a photo of one taken on their phone), but I did wake each morning to wild guanacos grazing around the property. It was a sign of what can happen when the ranch fences come down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Laura, guide at Explora Patagonia National Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018When you see wildlife and you don’t expect it, it wakes you up!\u2019 my guide Laura laughed when we talked about it over breakfast. Laura was another Aysen local and for her this was one of the great joys of the job. \u2018It’s like a magical moment. I feel that with the landscape, with the changing of the weather \u2013 everything is moving and it’s pretty much alive and beautiful.\u2019 This was a place where rewilding and tourism could work happily hand in hand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shared experiences<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

John Hauff, who specialises in remote adventure travel and expedition trekking from Lago Plomo, underscored that everyone in Aysen had the same open approach, even if the routes to responsible tourism would always depend on the location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
John Hauff at Lago Plomo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018We\u2019re not about conserving the land just to put it in a box and not let anybody access it or anybody use it like it’s \u2018ours\u2019. What we want is to have something which is able to help drive the local economy. Whatever we can share with folks here and whatever they can share with us \u2013 fantastic!\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before I flew home, I had coffee with Explora\u2019s sustainability manager in Santiago, Juan Marambio. We talked about the challenges of scaling up businesses and the opportunities that working togethers with local communities always bring. But he also reminded me about that Patagonian adage of not rushing. It seemed like a good philosophy for those trying to develop tourism here as well as those coming as visitors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Juan Marambio in Santiago<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Think of how many times you are going to be here in your life?\u2019 he asked. \u2018Once at most or twice or three times if you are very lucky. So if you’re going to be here just one time in your whole life, why hurry? Take your time, be here, be present and enjoy the moment. Feel the smell, listen to the sounds \u2013 and see with different eyes.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What happens when a place once overlooked by the world starts to be discovered by tourism?  That was the question I was asking when I recently travelled through the Aysen region of Chile.Those that have visited Aysen talk about it with a glint in their eye, like they\u2019re letting you in on the world\u2019s best […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":201189,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,311],"tags":[50,347,355],"class_list":["post-201179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aysen-2","category-stories-and-inspiration","tag-aysen","tag-responsible-travel","tag-sustainability"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nResponsible travel in Aysen \u2013 listening to local voices - Swoop Patagonia Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What does responsible travel mean in Aysen in Chile? 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