Highlights of Pumalín National Park

Day 1: Fly from Puerto Montt to Chaitén; Hike to Glacier El Amarillo; Caleta Gonzalo

Early in the morning, we'll leave Puerto Varas for the local airport at Puerto Montt for a 45min flight to Chaitén where a vehicle will be waiting to take us to the trailhead. Here we'll start our exploration of El Amarillo area of Park Pumalín with a hike to Glacier El Amarillo.

In the evening we'll drive to Caleta Gonzalo for dinner and enjoy the sunset and view of the fjord from the charming cabins in which we'll spend the night.

Length of hike: 6hrs, 18km, low difficulty

Meals: Breakfast, box lunch, dinner

Accommodation: Cabins at Caleta Gonzalo, Pumalín Douglas Tompkins National Park

Day 2: Hike to Chaitén Volcano; Caleta Gonzalo

After breakfast we'll explore different sections of the park with a hike to Chaitén Volcano and a hike to Cascadas Escondidas.

Chaitén Volcano is still active and an amazing example of the power of nature. The hike will be a great chance to learn more from our guide about the temperate rainforest and its wildlife with a great variety of flora, interesting and elusive amphibians and, with a little luck, some mammals and birds too.

Hopefully we'll spot pudu (smallest deer on Earth), the Magellanic woodpecker and the Chucao tapaculo, among others.

We'll return to Caleta Gonzalo to relax for the evening.

Length of hike to volcano: 4hrs, 5km, medium-high difficulty

Length of hike to waterfalls: 3hrs, 2km, low difficulty

Meals: Breakfast, box lunch, dinner

Accommodation: Cabins at Caleta Gonzalo, Pumalín Douglas Tompkins National Park

Day 3: Return to Puerto Varas

We'll depart from Caleta Gonzalo to Puerto Varas to the north-west, driving along the Carretera Austral (Road 7). A ferry will take us from Caleta Gonzalo through the Largo Fjord (45mins) and then after a short drive we'll board a second ferry for a 4hr trip along the Comau Fjord. Finally a third ferry takes us from Caleta Puelche to Caleta La Arena.

The ferry journey is one of the highlights of this trip with spectacular views of mountains, volcanoes and picturesque fishing villages along the shore. We'll arrive in Puerto Varas in the afternoon.

Meals: Breakfast, picnic lunch