Cruise the Glaciers: Ushuaia to Punta Arenas Adventure

The boarding will start at 6 PM at Ushuaia Tourist Port. After a welcome cocktail hosted by the Captain and his crew, the Stella Australis will depart from Ushuaia. The journey starts passing by the Strait of Magellan and sailing on the Beagle Channel, exploring one of the most breathtaking wilderness regions on earth : Southern Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego.

In the morning, you will enjoy breakfast at the restaurant. Sailing through Murray Channel and Nassau Bay to reach Cape Horn National Park, we will disembark (If the weather allows it) at the National Park. Discovered in 1616, the mythical Cape Horn is a sheer 425-meter high rocky promontory. For many years it was an important navigation route for sailboats between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, and it is known as the “End of the Earth”. The park was declared a World Biosphere Reserve in 2005. In the afternoon, we will go ashore to the historical Wulaia Bay, one of the region's largest Yamana native settlements.This is where Charles Darwin landed in 1833, during his journey to the HMS Beagle. Renowned for the mesmerising beauty of its vegetation and geography, this area hosts the Magellan forest. Made of Lengas, Choihues, Canelos, Ferns and other endemic vegetation, we will take a walk with the forest and reach a panoramic viewpoint.

Overnight we will continue our Patagonia glacier tour around the western end of Tierra del Fuego via the very narrow Gabrial Channel, Magdalena Channel and Cockburn Channel. After rounding the remote Brecknock Peninsula, the Australis cruise tacks eastward and enters the Beagle Channel again. By morning we are entering Pia Fjord and boarding the Zodiacs for a shore excursion to Pia Glacier.After disembarking, we will take a short hike to gain a panoramic view of the spectacular glacier, which extends from the mountaintops down to the sea or a longer much more difficult walk up a lateral moraine of the old Pia Glacier. Making our way further west along the Beagle Channel, we will enter another long fjord and drop anchor near Garibaldi Glacier for another shore excursion. Garibaldi is one of only three glaciers in Patagonia gaining mass rather than staying the same or slowly shrinking. This time we will hike through virgin Magellanic forest to a glacial waterfall, a towering wall of ferns and moss, and spectacular viewpoints looking down on the glacier and fjord. The walk is demanding -- very steep, negligible trail, rough footing -- and not for everyone. For those who choose to stay onboard, our captain will point the bow towards the beautiful sky blue Garibaldi Glacier so everyone can enjoy the panoramic view from the upper decks.

In the morning, you will enjoy breakfast and sail through Brecknock, Ocasión, Cockburn and Magdalena Channels to enter the spectacular De Agostini Sound, at the heart of Darwin Mountain Range. There, observe glaciers descending the mountain all the way down to the sea. This extraordinary landscape mixing the Sea and moutnain Worlds offers a breathtaking view. On the afternoon, board on Zodiac boats and sail towards Aguila Glacier, where you will disembark and take an easy walk to the base of the Glacier. Experience the beauty of Patagonia's cold rainforest and witness how the power of nature shaped the area's landscapes. We will sail back to the Stella Australis for the rest of the day.

Early in the morning, you will have breakfast and if the weather allows it, go ashore on Magdalena Island, located in the middle of the Strait of Magellan. Former essential source of of supplies of navigators and explorers, the island is inhabited by a wide colony of Magellan Penguins, that you will be able to observe during the little walk to the lighthouse. In April, this excursion is replaced by a Zodiac ride to Marta Island to observe South American Sea Lions.Then, after a 4 days journey through Patagonia's Glaciers and amazing landscapes, we will disembark around 11:30 am at Punta Arena.