Futaleufu MultiSport, for pristine, unrivalled beauty and whitewater excitement
Duration: 9 days
Cost: $2800/Person
Travel to Patagonia and discover the Futaleufu River! For sheer beauty and whitewater excitement, there are few rivers that rival Chile's pristine Futaleufu. This Patagonia tour is located in the heart of Patagonia, the Futaleufu River is renowned as one of the best whitewater opportunities in the world. This thrilling Patagonia trip combines Class III, IV and V rafting with classic Patagonia hiking, bicycling, yoga, kayaking, horseback riding and many other outdoor pursuits enhanced by plush, luxury camping. Enjoy the breathtaking beauty of the area, while top rafting guides navigate through the legendary rapids of the Futaleufu. Each night you'll return to the exotic treat of fully-equipped campsites featuring a hot tub, sauna, massage studio, and gourmet meals. This is a world-class, once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Private departures for Futaleufu MultiSport can also be arranged. To learn more, please contact us.
Futaleufu MultiSport Itinerary
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**Please note that this is a suggested itinerary that can be adjusted based on river flows and traveler interests. There are ample activities from base camp to choose from including horseback riding, inflatable kayaking, fly-fishing, mountain biking, or repeating one of the more relaxing, less intense rafting days. We can also arrange special instruction for those interested in trying their hand at whitewater kayaking.**
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Day 1 ARRIVE SANTIAGO - PUERTO MONTT - PUERTO VARAS
Your Patagonia tour starts with your arrival in Santiago for your connecting flight to Puerto Montt. Our representative will meet you at the Puerto Montt airport middy to escort you to the charming village of Puerto Varas on the shore of Lake Llanquihue. Your hotel is conveniently located near the town plaza within view of the magnificent Volcan Osorno. Spend a relaxing afternoon swimming in the lake, sightseeing in town or visiting the quaint fishing village of Angelmo known for its traditional woolen products and Chilean crafts. For those desiring more activity, we offer four additional options for the afternoon. On Rio Petrohue, either get a head start on the whitewater with mellow rafting on this scenic Class III or enjoy a canyoneering along its banks. Travel along Lago Llanquihue by bike, or enjoy classic Patagonia hiking on Volcan Osorno with our local guide. There will be a group welcome-dinner at one of our favorite restaurants featuring delicious regional cuisine. (D)
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Day 2 PUERTO MONTT - CHAITEN – FUTALEUFU BASE CAMP
Camp - 5 star camping on the Futaleufu
Your Patagonia tour continues with a transfer from Puerto Varas to the Puerto Montt airport for your forty-minute charter flight across the straits of Chiloe to the seaside village of Chaiten. Here van will meet the group to enjoy lunch in town. Next, we will travel south on the Carretera Austral towards Coyhaique before switching to a scenic one-lane dirt road along the Yelcho River toward Lago Yelcho with views between mountain peaks of waterfalls, creeks and hanging glaciers that feed the lush temperate rainforest valley below. The Futaleufú River flows into Lago Yelcho, a world-class trout fishing lake. It is also home to Coho salmon that swim unimpeded up the Futaleufú to the Argentine headwaters or downstream to the Pacific at Chaiten. On the way to camp, you'll pass a few farms that are carved into the ancient rainforest offering a glimpse of Chileno style frontier living. Arrive at the Futaleufu base camp where your private tent platform, complete with river view and comfortable bed, will be waiting for you. After a short hike or a swim, you may wish to soak in the riverside hot tub or enjoy a hot shower before gathering in the sunset bar for the first welcome Happy Hour on your Chile tour. You'll be introduced to the entire Fu crew and go over the week's itinerary before enjoying a hearty dinner. (B,L,D)
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Day 3 FUTALEUFU RIVER RAFTING – MUNDACA – PUENTE
Camp - 5 star camping on the Futaleufu
Awaken to the warmth of the sun on the banks of the Fu and enjoy your first morning in camp where breakfast is served around 9 AM. A pre-breakfast yoga class is available on our customized yoga platform with river views. After a thorough safety briefing, the rafts will be launched from base camp, stopping at a safe 'eddy' a short distance downstream, to practice rescue drills and prepare to raft as a team. Your raft is head by a highly-trained and instinctive river guide with ace kayaking safety skills, who guides the boat from a stern-mounted oar frame. Guiding with oars does not detract from the paddling experience and provides greater control in pointing the bow straight through bus-size holes and fifteen-foot high 'haystack' wave trains. In addition, the rafts are supported by safety kayakers and a cataraft to ensure a safe experience. This style is consistent with any high-volume river that has strong currents where rapids graded IV to V+ rage on. Welcome to the Futaleufú!
The first section from camp down to Puente Futaleufú (the Futaleufú Bridge) is only six miles but offers more rapids per kilometer than anywhere else on the river. This non-stop fun is the perfect warm-up run. The rapids of note are El Cojín, the Cushion, and Mundaca, a local family name. A vehicle will be waiting at take-out for the twenty-minute ride back to camp. Those who would prefer a lower body workout to complement their paddling are welcome to run or mountain bike back to camp. At our base, go fly-fishing, try out a kayak, do yoga, nap in a hammock, enjoy the sauna, have a massage, go for a hike, play a game of chess or cards, or soak in the hot tub. A hot shower, either indoors or out, is a luxurious treat while camping in the remote wilderness of northern Patagonia. Of course, for the hardy, the river provides a refreshing dip for another memorable experience on your Chile tour. Try the (short) cliff jumping, too! Every late afternoon is Happy Hour with an open, hot tub side bar stocked with beer, wine, cocktails, soda and juice. Candlelight dinners featuring fresh locally-grown produce and delicious breads baked fresh daily by our neighbors are served in the open-air kitchen and dining area. After dinner, enjoy the campfire and the stars before retiring to your cozy tent on your private platform where the sound of the river will lull you to sleep. (B,L,D)
**Please note that this is a suggested itinerary that can be adjusted based on river flows and traveler interests. There are ample activities from base camp to choose from!**
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Day 4 FUTALEUFU RIVER RAFTING – MAS O MENOS – CASA DE PIEDRA
Camp - 5 star camping on the Futaleufu
After breakfast and optional early morning yoga, you will launch your raft from camp following the same exciting route as yesterday to master your rhythm. We’ll break to have lunch on the river. This second day of your Chile rafting tour we’ll pass the Puente Futaleufú (yesterday’s take-out) and meet a big stomping continuous cascade of waves known as Mas o Menos, "More or Less". This is a good stepping stone towards the first true technical Class V rapid, Casa de Piedra (House of Rock) waiting around the next corner, which you'll have an opportunity to scout beforehand. It forms a series of water wheels that channel all of their fury into a final churning pit with a dragon's back highway through it; that is, if you hit it on line. The remaining rapids on today's trip are Class III and IV. If you have the energy and desire, you may again mountain bike back to camp. For everyone else, a vehicle will be waiting. Enjoy the rest of the day and get ready for yet another fabulous dinner and peaceful night riverside. (B,L,D)
**Please note that this is a suggested itinerary that can be adjusted based on river flows and traveler interests. There are ample activities from base camp to choose from!**
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Day 5 RIO ESPOLON KAYAKING
Camp - 5 star camping on the Futaleufu
After two days of mastering our raft together, today we learn how to navigate our own inflatable kayaks (or “rubber duckies” as they are endearingly known). Even for the river veteran, these inflatables are surprisingly fun and often a trip highlight. We head up to Lago Espolon, the source of the clear Rio Espolon Class II/III rapids that offer the perfect learning opportunity to master your kayak with the help of your river guide and several safety kayakers. For those interested in trying out a hard shell, whitewater kayak this is the perfect place. Rio Espolon is a major tributary to the Futaleufu, where it meets right above the Inferno Canyon, our afternoon take-out. Return to base camp for another relaxing late afternoon filled with your choice of activities or a delicious massage. (B,L,D)
**Please note that this is a suggested itinerary that can be adjusted based on river flows and traveler interests. There are ample activities from base camp to choose from!**
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Day 6 RIO AZUL VALLEY HORSEBACK RIDING – RIO AZUL KAYAKING
Camp - 5 star camping on the Futaleufu
Today's horseback adventure travels deeper into the heart of Patagonia to the Rio Azul valley, where you’ll be surrounded by snowcapped peaks along an eight-mile trail paralleling the turquoise waters of the Rio Azul, with a stop for lunch along the way. Patagonia horses are quite the different variety--well-mannered but incredibly powerful work horses that are as mellow or as exciting as you would like to push. The local expert equestrians and our horse-ready river guide will lead us on an adventurous, three-hour ride. We will stop for lunch and try our paddles on the challenging Class III/IV Rio Azul for the afternoon. From the Rio Espolon, this is a sizeable step up in difficulty. Return to camp for Happy Hour at the sunset bar and the much deserved hot tub. (B,L,D)
**Please note that this is a suggested itinerary that can be adjusted based on river flows and traveler interests. There are ample activities from base camp to choose from!**
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Day 7 FUTALEUFU TOWN - RAFTING RIO ESPOLON - INFERNO CANYON!
Camp - 5 star camping on the Futaleufu
After an early breakfast in camp, travel twenty-two miles up the road to visit the town of Futaleufú. You will have about an hour to stroll around this sleepy mountain town and its central plaza filled with fragrant rose bushes and cedar trees. We will continue on to our drop in on the Rio Espolon, a crystal-clear river that meanders for two miles before it flows into the Rio Futaleufú, one mile above the Inferno canyon. The upper canyon, where aggressive Class V paddling is required, is the most difficult section of whitewater on the river so we offer tamer river options for those who prefer a little less excitement. Five impressive rapids form a tight winding river passage creating an intense flow and the rushing adrenaline you dreamed of when you chose this Patagonia tour. Coming out of "Exit," the last of these rapids, you enter into a long calm of many miles, though the current remains swift.
After a relaxing float, things pick back up at the ferocious Zeta rapid, where portage (walk around) is mandatory. There the crew will "ghost" boat the rafts through this treacherous rapid while you enjoy lunch on the rocks and the view of the crushing intensity of the rapid. The afternoon begins with "Throne Room," a Class V+ rapid for kayakers, a ghost boat rapid for rafts. Walking around this rapid notice an almost 'river wide' hole that could destroy a raft. Back on board, a continuous Class IV corridor of rapids doesn't let up until take-out at the Rio Azul footbridge. Here the rafts are left for the night, tethered onshore. Early evening is spent in camp getting ready for the evening festivities, a journey to the neighboring farm of Miguel Toro who at seventy years young is one of the most colorful and charming residents of the valley. At his Casa de Ti, his daughter, Blanca, and her partner, Umberto, will prepare a very special treat, a delicious Curanto dinner, the cuisine typical of the south of Chile and the island of Chiloe. (B,L,D)
**Please note that this is a suggested itinerary that can be adjusted based on river flows and traveler interests. There are ample activities from base camp to choose from!**
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Day 8 FUTALEUFU RIVER RAFTING – TERMINATOR – CASA DE PIEDRA
Camp - 5 star camping on the Futaleufu
Today is the trip's peak of what we consider the best day of whitewater in the world, an unforgettable highlight of your Chile tour. After a wholesome breakfast, you head up river back to re-launch the crafts. Shortly downstream, the Rio Azul merges into the Fu and the river opens up offering breathtaking views of snowcapped peaks and the jagged ridges of the mountain called Las Tres Monjas ("The Three Nuns"). A four-mile stretch of warm-up rapids leads to "The Terminator," the longest and toughest of the rapids of the trip. After scouting and studying your line, you'll take the plunge and drop in to three miles of non-stop, exhilarating rapids. After this aerobic workout, the “Himalayas,” a mammoth haystack wave train, await. River calm returns, offering a gentle float into lunch served at base camp. The afternoon is yours to decide. For the river addicts, return to the rafts to complete the last challenge of the day: tackling as much whitewater as possible from camp to below Casa de Piedra. At take-out, cold beers and tea are waiting our triumphant day of exploration on the Fu. For the evening's festivities, our neighbors, Rolando and Nelli, will prepare a typical Chilean asado of lamb roasted over a bed of coals, salad, potatoes and fresh-baked bread. Under a starry sky, the group, guides, and crew spends one last night together on the banks of the majestic Futaleufu. (B,L,D)
**Please note that this is a suggested itinerary that can be adjusted based on river flows and traveler interests. There are ample activities from base camp to choose from!**
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Day 9 FUTALEUFU – CHAITEN – PUERTO MONTT - SANTIAGO - HOME
In the morning, our van will take you to Chaiten for your mid-day flight back to the real world of Puerto Montt and your connecting flight to Santiago. Your evening arrival in Santiago provides ample time to transfer to the international departure lounge, pass through customs and shop for duty-free wines to commemorate your thrilling Patagonia tour. (B)
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Key:
(B)reakfast (L)unch (D)inner
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*If you wish, a rafting day may be substituted with a day of horseback riding, inflatable kayaking, fly-fishing, mountain biking, or repeating one of the more relaxing, less intense rafting days.
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A note on weather:
One may experience many different weather patterns in the Futaleufú River valley including frequent storms off the Pacific. This also means that the river level can change dramatically if an unseasonable tormenta or rain storm passes through. We raft only on days when the river is at a safe level. The sunny months are usually December through March.
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More information about Traveling in Patagonia
Itinerary Map
CONTACT A BOOKING AGENT
CALL
1.877.784.5400
TOLL FREE
OUTSIDE
THE U.S.A. CALL
1.206.784.8111
2008 - 2009 SCHEDULED TRIP DATES
December
11-19
20-28
28-January 5
January
6-14
15-23
25-February 2
February
3-11
12-20
22-March 2
March
3-11
12-20
22-30
Private Departures can be arranged. Please contact us regarding private departure costs.
INCLUSIONS / EXCLUSIONS
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Included in tour cost
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- Meals as indicated
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- All luxury camping accommodations (twin shared basis)
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- All transfer as noted
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- All services, guides and equipment
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- All kitchen and cooking gear
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- Bilingual world class rafting guides
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- Southern Explorations pre departure services.
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Excluded in tour cost
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- International round - trip airfare to and from Santiago, Chile
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- Airfare $225 (Santiago - Puerto Montt - Santiago), subject to change
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- Airport taxes international (around $30) and local (around $5)
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- Tips and gratuities
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- Travel insurance
PHYSICAL RATING
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Difficult - Strenuous
CHILE ACCOMMODATION
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Futaleufu MultiSport:
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1 night hotel
7 nights camping
(Eureka 3 person tents for 2)
SINGLE SUPPLEMENT
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Additional $200
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- Single Supplement is the additional cost of a single traveler not sharing a room in double occupancy. We will match you with another same gender traveler unless you request single accommodations.
Prices based on 3% cash discount
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Duration: 9 days)
Your Patagonia tour continues with a transfer from Puerto Varas to the Puerto Montt airport for your forty-minute charter flight across the straits of Chiloe to the seaside village of Chaiten. Here van will meet the group to enjoy lunch in town. Next, we will travel south on the Carretera Austral towards Coyhaique before switching to a scenic one-lane dirt road along the Yelcho River toward Lago Yelcho with views between mountain peaks of waterfalls, creeks and hanging glaciers that feed the lush temperate rainforest valley below. The Futaleufú River flows into Lago Yelcho, a world-class trout fishing lake. It is also home to Coho salmon that swim unimpeded up the Futaleufú to the Argentine headwaters or downstream to the Pacific at Chaiten. On the way to camp, you'll pass a few farms that are carved into the ancient rainforest offering a glimpse of Chileno style frontier living. Arrive at the Futaleufu base camp where your private tent platform, complete with river view and comfortable bed, will be waiting for you. After a short hike or a swim, you may wish to soak in the riverside hot tub or enjoy a hot shower before gathering in the sunset bar for the first welcome Happy Hour on your Chile tour. You'll be introduced to the entire Fu crew and go over the week's itinerary before enjoying a hearty dinner. (B,L,D)
)
Awaken to the warmth of the sun on the banks of the Fu and enjoy your first morning in camp where breakfast is served around 9 AM. A pre-breakfast yoga class is available on our customized yoga platform with river views. After a thorough safety briefing, the rafts will be launched from base camp, stopping at a safe 'eddy' a short distance downstream, to practice rescue drills and prepare to raft as a team. Your raft is head by a highly-trained and instinctive river guide with ace kayaking safety skills, who guides the boat from a stern-mounted oar frame. Guiding with oars does not detract from the paddling experience and provides greater control in pointing the bow straight through bus-size holes and fifteen-foot high 'haystack' wave trains. In addition, the rafts are supported by safety kayakers and a cataraft to ensure a safe experience. This style is consistent with any high-volume river that has strong currents where rapids graded IV to V+ rage on. Welcome to the Futaleufú!
)
After breakfast and optional early morning yoga, you will launch your raft from camp following the same exciting route as yesterday to master your rhythm. We’ll break to have lunch on the river. This second day of your Chile rafting tour we’ll pass the Puente Futaleufú (yesterday’s take-out) and meet a big stomping continuous cascade of waves known as Mas o Menos, "More or Less". This is a good stepping stone towards the first true technical Class V rapid, Casa de Piedra (House of Rock) waiting around the next corner, which you'll have an opportunity to scout beforehand. It forms a series of water wheels that channel all of their fury into a final churning pit with a dragon's back highway through it; that is, if you hit it on line. The remaining rapids on today's trip are Class III and IV. If you have the energy and desire, you may again mountain bike back to camp. For everyone else, a vehicle will be waiting. Enjoy the rest of the day and get ready for yet another fabulous dinner and peaceful night riverside. (B,L,D)
