CAMPO AVENTURA Outfitters for Horseback Riding Expeditions, Outdoor Activities, River Wilderness & Andean Campsites in Northern Patagonia, Chile

Less than hundred miles from Puerto Montt, at the end of the Reloncavi Estuary, the northernmost of Chile's glacial inlets, there's a forgotten world known as "Selva Cochamo" - the "Cochamo Wilderness" More than a million acres, only 10 percent of the area has been cultivated or even explored, the gravel roads total just 30 miles, and the area's inhabitants are greatly outnumbered by their horses, cattle and sheep! Because of the remoteness of the region, the environment has changed little over the millennia. Amidst the labyrinth of waterfalls and rivers, small trails connect rustic farms in the foothills of the Andes. The friendly farmers, still ride horses and transport their produce on packhorses and oxcarts, just as their ancestors did.   The staff-team and owner Clark Stede(German) and manager Manuela
Paradeiser (Austrian) of CAMPO AVENTURA would like to share the unspoiled beauty of this wilderness with you.

You can expect in our two camps an experienced English spoken Team, Gaucho guides, contact with the  locals, good meals cooked with local farm product's, hot showers , sauna and a warm, dry bed. Camping facilities on the river side. Our Service include horses and packhorses with gaucho guides, English & German spoken guides, tents, roll mats, sleeping bags, inlets, waterproof camera bags and pack sacks, safety helmets and ponchos. We are the only "on location" Eco-tour company operating in the region with well equipped excursions, 14 trained horses and the infrastructure of two camps.

Our Base camp CAMPO AVENTURA is located in the valley of Río Cochamó 4 km outside of the village of Cochamó and offers camping, bed & breakfast accommodation. Our second camp, OUTBACK CAMP, in La Junta is located 5 to 6 hours from the base camp CAMPO AVENTURA on horseback trekking into the region of pumas, condors, ancient forests, mountains and rivers. In the middle of the Andes where our visitors stay in the OUTBACK CAMP, in our outdoor lodge with warm, dry beds and good meals, you will find yourself in the "Yosemite of Chile."- just no cars, not routes, no peoples , only you in your small group.

Day 1: Arrive in the afternoon in the base camp Campo Aventura by transfer with the local bus (see shuttle times below) or with your private transfer - which we offer. Enjoy your dinner on the riverside. Overnight in our cabins. (hot showers, sauna, sand beach on the river for swimming)

Day 2:  After Breakfast pack a light sack and choose your horse for the adventure. Ride along the crystal Río Cochamó stopping for a picnic lunch in the temperate Valdivian rain forest. A five hour ride along the legendary Gaucho Trail , a 300 years old horse path, into the Andes unveils waterfalls, alerce forest, wild rivers, canyon's and remote valleys. Climb up the old log road that remains from cattle rides of the 1800s. Arrive at La Junta "Outback Camp". Enjoy a tasty "Asado", a lamb or salmon barbecue, prepared by gaucho guides over an open fire. You will spend overnight in the lodge.

Day 3: Breakfast will be served on the balcony of the rustic lodge. Today you may choose to hike the well-marked six kilometer nature trail in to the Andean rain forest (well-eqipped with a trail book and a picnic lunch) where you will find more than 50 different plants and trees identified. Or you may hike to a nearby lagoon in the ancient forest, where some of the trees are 1000 years old. If you prefer , relax by the lodge overlooking the spectacular La Junta valley. A hearty dinner will be cooked on a wood-burning stove. You will spend overnight in the lodge.

Day 4:   Leisurely breakfast at the lodge. Depart late in the morning, descending through the rain forest. Keep your cameras handy and be on the lookout for puma tracks on the ground and condors overhead. A midday picnic revives you for the remaining ride back to Base Camp.  Around 4:00pm transfers leave for Puerto Varas and Puerto Montt.  If you choose you can return by bus.

Cost:  Price per person in double  $494 USD including private transfer. ( $424 USD without private transfer)
 

If you wish, return on the 17:00 local bus (in Puerto Varas at 19.30 , in Puerto Montt at 20.00) and stay with us in our Hosteria (Hotel) OUTSIDER with private bath and central heating in Puerto Varas ( San Bernardo No. 318, Phone +56 - 65 - 23 29 10). Below the Hosteria, in the same house, you find our outdoor travel agency and the coffee shop & restaurant "OPEN CAFE" with full service, coffee maker, home made food, salad buffet and good breakfast. Other opportunity is: Stay overnight and have dinner at the Base Camp CAMPO AVENTURA and continue at 08:00 on the next morning bus to Puerto Varas or Puerto Montt.  We offer also private Transfer from Puerto Montt, Puerto Varas and Petrohue and we will pick you up from the hotel or Airport Puerto Montt

All inclusive: Overnights, meals, guide, horse. Every visitor get his waterproof - pack sack & camera back, one rain-poncho, helmet, sleeping bag with hygienic inlet, first aid kit and if you have special wishes, like vegetarian meals, time for bird watching, photo or film stops - No problem, we are hear for you!

"Buses Fierro" that departs Puerto Montt for Cochamó at 12:30 & 16:00 / Puerto Varas at 13:00 & 16:30.  Ask the bus driver for CAMPO AVENTURA in Valle Cochamó.

 HOW TO GET THERE:
  Cochamó is in the Puerto Montt - Puerto Varas area. To see where Puerto Varas and Puerto Montt are located go to Chile Map. By air: Fly via Santiago to Airport Puerto Montt. Transfer (27 km) to Puerto Varas:

You can meet with us at our office CAMPO AVENTURA & OUTSIDER for reservation in Puerto Varas . Also you are welcome to stay in our Hotel OUTSIDER ( $19 USD includingbed & breakfast per person in double). If you go directly to CAMPO AVENTURA on Río Cochamó by local bus, please do first your reservation in our office. Access by route from Puerto Varas, Ensenada, Ralún, Cochamó and 4 km more to the Río Cochamó. "Buses Fierro" leaves Puerto Montt at 12:30 & 16:00, Puerto Varas at 13:00 & 16:30. Bus returns from the camp 08:00 & 17:00 and on Sunday also at 11:00.
 
 

CHECK WITH US ABOUT OUR UNTAMED HORSEBACK ADVENTURE'S INTO THE ANDES:

Gaucho Trail:  The horseback journey from the Pacific across the Andes onto a plateau of lakes, waterfalls, rivers and ancient forests. Follow the legendary 300 year old pioneer trail, a horse path, once used by Indians, Spaniards, Missionaries and the notorious outlaw duo Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.. You will ride through the pristine wilderness of the Andes passing granite mountain peaks, 3000 year old Alerce forest and the amazing variety of wildlife. Today it is used by gauchos and their families who drive their cattle between pastures on the Patagonian frontier.

Campo Aventura's 14 day small group adventures, only 5 trips per year, on horseback will take you into a forgotten world of pure nature far from tourist tracks . This program include sightseeing of the lake district, hotel overnights, transfer in/out from Airport Puerto Montt, the 10 day horseback tour (overnights in tent), all meals and equipment. The complete service is managed by our self : we run transfers, own the hotel Outsider and the camps, we have our own horses and operating the tour personally always with English spoken guide.
You are right, if you ask maybe for references: For 6 years we have  provided this service! Tour Operators in the USA, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, England, Austria, France and Holland working with together us. We offer individual travelers our tailor-made service and believe it..........nothing is a problem for us! We know exactly what you want in your valuable holiday or vacation, because we have  traveled the world ourselves: ...with camels in the dessert Sahara, trekking in the Himalayas and Hindukush and have visited more than 70 countries. Clark Stede, owner of the company and always in the camp, sail as the first man in his yacht ASMA from the Atlantic through the arctic Northwest Passage and circumnavigate the total Americas via Cap Horn back to the North Atlantic.  Manuela Paradeiser, the manager of Campo Aventura and a professional nurse, has traveled more than 12,000 hours on horses, knows the Patagonia, the trails and trains all our horses personally.

Cost: $2,584 USD per person

WELCOME TO THE END OF THE WORLD

Before and after your great adventure at "CAMPO AVENTURA" get a good nights sleep at the Outsider Hostería( click here to see small hotel) in Puerto Varas.

Interesting links and information about Cochamó region, our Patagonia Pioneer Trail, Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid in South America:

• Cochamó: Gateway to the Andean Wilderness.
• The Wild Bunch Ranch in Argentina.
• Seattle Times: Chile's Andes an oasis of grandeur (This will link you to the Seattle Times, please click the back button to return to CAMPO AVENTURA's page.)
• Book: "Digging up Butch & Sundance," Bison Books, http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/danne/books.htm