CHILEAN FJORDS AND ANTARCTICA  

SHIP OFFERING THIS ITINERARY

SILVER CLOUD

Spacious yet intimate, the yacht-like Silver Cloud carries 240 guests in incomparable comfort and style combining spacious ocean-view suites and private verandas with excellent dining and entertainment options. Silver Cloud epitomizes a vision of world-class cruise accommodations, cuisine, service and amenities.

The Silver Cloud is equipped with a fleet of zodiacs and expert guides to escort you on excursions from the ship.

Day 1 Valparaiso, Chile

Day 2 At Sea

Days at sea are the perfect opportunity to relax, unwind, and catch up with what you’ve been meaning to do. So whether that is going to the gym, visiting the spa, whale-watching, catching up on your reading, or simply topping up your tan, these blue sea days are the perfect balance to busy days spent exploring shoreside.

Day 3 Puerto Montt

For most of its history, windy Puerto Montt was the end of the line for just about everyone traveling in the Lake District. Now the Carretera Austral carries on southward, but for all intents and purposes Puerto Montt remains the region’s last significant outpost, a provincial city that is the hub of local fishing, textile, and tourist activity. Today the city center is full of malls, condos, and office towers – it’s the fastest-growing city in Chile – but away from downtown, Puerto Montt consists mainly of low clapboard houses perched above its bay, the Reloncaví. If it’s a sunny day, head east to Playa Pelluco or one of the city’s other beaches. If you’re more interested in exploring the countryside, drive along the shore for a good view of the surrounding hills.

Day 4 Puerto Cisnes

Seek out the peaceful isolation of Puerto Cisnes, surrounded by the vast drama of Chile’s national parks and snow-capped mountain peaks. Puerto Cisnes sits on the eastern shore of the Puyuhuapi fjord, just across from the beautiful National Park Isla Magdalena. Explore the park, which is dominated by Mont Melimoyu, a dormant volcano, defined by a striking caldera that is perpetually capped with ice. Meet the rangers and hike through the beautiful reserve of protected ecosystems and landscapes, discovering rich wildlife such as penguins, cormorants, sea lions, and southern river otters. Named after the black necked swans of the region, Puerto Cisnes is part of the Aysén Province of spectacular Chilean Patagonia. A relatively new town of just 3,000 residents, it was incorporated in 1965, and is the largest in a region that is dotted only with isolated and peaceful fishing communities where the traditions of Patagonian Andes life endure. Visitors to the town can also pick up local crafts like unique wallets, purses and handbags, carefully created from the local speciality of dried fish leather. The thrilling beauty of Queulat National Park is also close by, with sharp mountain landscapes, suspended ice fields, waterfalls, and extraordinary wildlife, including pumas, Andean foxes, and black woodpeckers. Birdwatching hikes can reveal Magellanic woodpeckers, Chiloe wigeons, and ringed kingfishers.

Day 5 At Sea

Winding through the vast expanses of the Chilean Fjords will reveal mountains looming on both sides, waterfalls, and the marvel of hardy flora clinging to barren rocks. Seals and dolphins patrol the length of these uninhabited fjords as they have done for millennia. Small fishing-boats come out of Punta Arenas luring fish and trapping for king crab, while terns dip and glide coaxing their own small fish out of the deep, dark fjord waters amongst tiny islands thick with vegetation.

Day 6 Tortel

Tortel is a commune located in Southern Patagonia, a spectacular wilderness region of rugged mountains, glaciers, rivers, and forests of infinite beauty. The uneven geography of Tortel shapes a unique landscape, characterized by an archipelagic area with numerous islands and channels. Tortel is known as the “footbridge city” for the unique beauty of its wooden walkways that connect the piers and houses of this quaint place through bridges and stairs, built from cypress wood, that run for four and a half miles around the cove and that respect the rich vegetation that grows under them. Even though it is the sixth largest commune in Chile, it has the lowest population of all with roughly 531 people. The history of the town dates back to 1520 when it was inhabited by nomadic Kawesqar, now extinct. Its definitive foundation was in 1955, after numerous attempts to populate the area. In 2001, it was declared by the Chilean government as a Picturesque Zone of National Heritage.

Day 7 English Narrows and Pio XI Glacier

English Narrows refers to a narrow passage at the southern end of the Messier Channel. The narrow passage is at times 180 meters wide, while the entire length is given as 18 kilometers. Low-lying islands and steep mountains are seen on both sides and the Magellanic subpolar forest with its evergreen trees of the genus Nothofagus has taken hold where possible.

Within Bernardo O’Higgins National Park, the Pio XI Glacier can be found. Pio XI Glacier is the largest western outflow of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field and is South America’s longest glacier and the largest in the Southern Hemisphere outside of Antarctica. One of the few advancing glaciers, its front has a width of 4.5 kilometers, a height of approximately 80 meters and shows several central moraines, indicating that Greve Glacier and Occidental Glacier to the north once joined the glacial tongue. Approaching the glacier by ship and by Zodiac safe distances will be maintained, as the glacier shows extensive mudflats on its southeastern side leading to Exmouth Fjord and calvings can always occur. Chilean and Peale’s dolphins and the endangered southern river otters have been recorded, and South American sea lions can be seen. Among the birds expected are Imperial Shags, South American Terns, Brown-hooded Gulls, Kelp Gulls, Kelp Geese, and Fuegian Steamer Ducks.

Day 8 At Sea

Winding through the vast expanses of the Chilean Fjords will reveal mountains looming on both sides, waterfalls, and the marvel of hardy flora clinging to barren rocks. Seals and dolphins patrol the length of these uninhabited fjords as they have done for millennia. Small fishing-boats come out of Punta Arenas luring fish and trapping for king crab, while terns dip and glide coaxing their own small fish out of the deep, dark fjord waters amongst tiny islands thick with vegetation.

Day 9 Aguila Glacier

Standing before the Águila Glacier as it spills down the valley toward the glassy water below has an epic, end-of-the-world drama. Located at South America’s fractured edge, amid the moody peaks of Parque Nacional Alberto de Agostini in southern Patagonia, the glacier tumbles through landscapes of snowcapped summits, blackened mountains, and dark Magellanic forests. The enormous wall of turquoise ice is suspended above the Agostini Fjord, and you can soak in spectacular views from below. Sail on Zodiacs or kayak among drifting ice, watching it shift with the seasons — calving dramatically as the forests bloom in summer sunshine.

Day 10 Punta Arenas

Welcome to Chile’s City at the End of The World – a wind-whipped, fractured land of islands, glacial fjords, and mountains, which drop away towards Antarctica. A hardy city, where the temperature hovers in single figures throughout much of the year, Punta Arenas nevertheless offers a warm welcome and refuge, ahead of – and following – epic adventures and expeditions south across the Drake Passage. The town is built around the Plaza de Armas, its central square – be sure to kiss the toe of the Monumento del Indio Patagon statue, said to guarantee you good luck on your return. Look down across this colourful city, stretching out to meet the waters of the Straits of Magellan, from the viewpoint at Cerro De La Cruz. Natural wonders abound in the region, whether it’s Alberto de Agostini National Park’s glacial sculptures, or Torres del Paine National Park’s soaring mountains, rushing waterfalls, and picturesque lakes. Offshore, in the Strait of Magellan, you can find the birdlife sanctuary of Magdalena Island – an uninhabited island, where hundreds of thousands of penguins march and crowds of cormorants and gulls call out.

Day 11 Ushuaia, Argentina

A southerly frontier – on the cusp of wild nature and extraordinary adventures – the excitement in Ushuaia is palpable. Prepare for memorable exploits amid the extremes of this southerly location – as you adventure into the colossal scenery of the fractured Tierra del Fuego and beyond. Known as the “End of the World” Ushuaia looks out across the Beagle Channel and is surrounded by the Martial Mountains to the north. Despite its remote location, Ushuaia is a surprisingly busy and lively resort, with lots to keep its visitors entertained. For many people, Ushuaia is their last glimpse of anything resembling a city, before they jump off the map into the wilderness, to answer the call of immense national parks or Antarctic expeditions. One of the most dramatic landscapes on the planet – Argentina’s land of fire, National Park Tierra del Fuego, is a place of titanic natural forces and limitless beauty. Snow-covered mountains poke the sky, while glaciers spill down between peaks, and gaping fjords open up. With incredible wildlife – from penguins to whales – the park offers some of South America’s most amazing hiking opportunities and panoramas. When it comes to food in Ushuaia, locals cook up fierce flavors using the freshest ingredients. King crab is one of the most popular dishes, while sea bass – hauled freshly from the waters – and mounds of meaty mussels – known as cholgas – are also on the menu here.

Days 12 – 13 At Sea

Sailing the legendary Drake Passage is an experience that few are ever lucky enough to experience. The southern tip of the Americas already feels like a wild enough environment – but the sensation of watching the distant cliffs of the peninsular known as the “End of the World” fade into the horizon, is one that’s equal parts epic, eerie, and magical. Set sail, to slowly drop off the bottom of the map from Cape Horn, and voyage on an expedition down into the icy underworld of Antarctica. Drake Passage is an extraordinary voyage of romantic ocean-faring legend, as you aim for Antarctica’s icy realm.

Day 14 Antarctic Sound

The Antarctic Sound will be one of your first encounters with this whitewash kingdom, located at the northerly tip of the Antarctic Peninsula – which sprawls up like a tentacle towards Tierra del Fuego, South America’s most southerly point, otherwise known as the “End of the World”. Taking its name from the first ship to brave the passageway between the peninsular and the Joinville Island groups back in 1902, the Sound is a raw, sensory assault of imposing iceberg slabs, broken away from the disintegrating Larsen Ice Shelf. Come face-to-face with arena-sized islands of ice and meet the extraordinary birdlife that calls this whitewash kingdom home. Watch on, as colonies of Gentoo penguins hop around, and cape petrels sweep overhead, as the continent’s unique wildlife thrives around you.

Days 15 – 17 Antarctic Peninsula

Day 18 South Shetland Islands

The ice-coated Antarctic Peninsula forms perhaps the most accessible region of mainland Antarctica, lying a mere 480 miles away from South America, across the fabled waters of Drakes Passage. Lying close to the northwestern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, separated by the Bransfield Strait, the South Shetland Islands fall under the jurisdiction of the Antarctic Treaty, suspending claims on their sovereignty. Several countries maintain research bases here, and with plump elephant seals, and crowds of Gentoo, Chinstrap, and Adelie Penguins also calling the islands home, it can even feel a little crowded at times. King George Island is the largest and most hospitable island, hosting the majority of the research stations – some of which are populated all year round by tiny, hardy crews. Don’t be fooled though, these islands offer extraordinary adventure in one of the most remote locations on Earth. The triple peaks of Mount Foster tower above the archipelago, and you’ll feel your heart pumping a little quicker, as you sail into the core of Deception Island’s magnificent collapsed volcano caldera. Hike the lunar landscapes within, and even dip into the improbably warm, geothermally heated waters of Pendulum Cove. Elephant Island, meanwhile, is written deep into the annals of Antarctic expedition legend, as the site where Ernest Shackleton and the stricken crew of the Endurance miraculously survived a harsh Antarctic winter, in 1916.

Days 19 – 20 At Sea

Re-cross the Drake Passage as you return to South America.

Day 21 Puerto Williams, Chile to Santiago

Puerto Williams offers a quiet and relaxed experience, charming visitors with a small village feel, complete with rustic buildings and the homely smell of drifting wood smoke. A haven of peace at the end of the world.

After breakfast, disembark the ship and transfer for your return flight to Santiago.