Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Navarino mountain range, and Puerto Williams. The hike takes 3 hours round-trip. One
of Chile's best backpacking trails, the Dientes de Navarino Circuit , is here, thanks
to an Australian who blazed the trail in 1991. The circuit is 53km (33 miles) in length,
goes through very remote mountains, and takes at least 4 days to walk; the difficulty level
is medium to high. The trail is open only from late November to April; otherwise, snow
makes this walk dangerous and disorienting. The best map is JLM's Tierra del Fuego map,
sold in most shops and bookstor es.
WHERE TO STAY & DINE
There's a new option in town that's filled the void for those looking for more than a bed
with a pillow: Hotel Lakutaia, Seno Lauta s/n ( & 61/621721; www.lakutaia.cl), offers
simple luxur y in 24 r ooms, all with priv ate bathr ooms. They offer all-inclusiv e 4-day
package that include flights fr om Punta Arenas, trekking, sailing, horseback riding, and
all meals starting at $1,970 (£1,331) per person. Otherwise, pickings are slim but reason-
ably priced. Basic, clean accommodations can be found at the Hostería Camblor, Calle
Patricio Capdeville 41 ( & 61/621033; hosteriacamblor@hotmail.com), which has mod-
ern rooms for $38 (£26) or $58 (£39) per person (including meals and transfer). S ome
rooms come with a kitchenette. The Camblor also has a r estaurant that occasionally
serves as the local disco on F riday and S aturday nights, so noise could be a pr oblem.
Another simple but comfor table place is the Hostal Coir ón, Ricardo M aragano 168
( & 61/621227; hostalcoiron@tie.cl), with doubles for $45 (£30). F or dining, tr y the
convivial Club de Yates Micalvi ( & 61/621042 ), housed in an old supply ship that is
docked at the pier. It serves as the meeting spot for an international crowd of adventurers
sailing around Cape H orn. Or try Los Dientes de N avarino ( & 61/621074 ), on the
plaza. Also try the Restaurant Cabo de Hornos, Ricardo Maragano 146 (on the second
floor; & 61/621067 ), for Chilean specialties.
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3 ANTARCTICA
The coldest spot on the planet is one of the hottest destinations for trav elers seeking the
next gr eat adv enture. Antar ctica is its o wn continent, but the hook of the Antar ctic
Peninsula is closest to the tip of South America, and so the majority of visitors depart for
Antarctica from Ushuaia.
Antarctica is home to exotic wildlife and landscapes that are equally savage and beau-
tiful. Be prepared for ice like y ou've never seen it: monumental peacock-blue icebergs
shaped in surreal formations, craggy glaciers that crash into the sea, sheer ice-encr usted
walls that form magnificent canals, and jagged peaks that jut out of icy fields. A major
highlight here is the penguins—colonies of several hundred thousand can be found nest-
ing and chattering away thr oughout the ar ea. Humpback, orca, and minke whales ar e
often visible, nosing out of the frigid water , as are elephant, Weddell, leopard, and cra-
beater seals. Bird-watchers can spend hours studying the v ariety of unique seabir ds that
reside here, including petrels and albatrosses.
Most impor tantly, Antarctica sits at the end of the world, which is r eason alone to
compel many people to v enture here. Like the early explor ers who first visited this far-
away continent in the 1800s, trav elers today r evel in the chance to explor e a pristine
region where relatively few humans have stepped foot before. But Antarctica's remoteness
comes with a toll: No matter how you get here, it's not cheap. The tediously long travel
 
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