Argentina Patagonia

In the south of the South, Patagonia is a land at the end of the world.
In this portion of Chile and Argentina, nature joins all of its most spectacular here: dizzying towers of granite springing towards the sky, gigantic glaciers plunging into the lakes, rough mountains beaten by the winds come to die in the sea in an infinite chain of small islands... In a large fresh air blast, we take you along to discover, from North to South, the wonders of this part of the world which has been close to our hearts for decades!
Ushuaia, the most southern city of the world, capital of the Earth of Fire... Fitz Roy, mountain symbol of Patagonia...
Torres del Plaine, one of the most beautiful natural reserves in the world... do all of these mythical names make you dream? Well, do not wait any longer! For those in love with nature, come explore at our sides the secret faces of this paradise.

• A broad choice of voyages covering Patagonia from North to South up to the Earth of Fire.
• Safety and logistic effectiveness, with the support of our Argentinean partner, mountaineers of fame.
• Leaded guiding: a team of Anglophone Argentinean guides, all impassioned by Patagonia and large experts of the national parks (Ushuaia, Fitz Roy and Torres del Paine).
• High standard lodging every night.
• Our own subsidiary company right there to guarantee better services to you.

The climate of Patagonia is oceanic, very wet and constantly in flux changing. A powerful west wind strikes the continent during most of the year and precipitations are frequent. The Earth of Fire, in the extreme South, is extremely windy. We traverse this land at the end of the world between October and March. Temperatures never rigorous: 41 to 68 ° Fahrenheit.
- Southern summer, from December to February: season when the weather is most mild for discovering Patagonia.
- October/November and March: although colder and sometimes rainier, these months lend themselves well to the voyage. The prices are softer at this period! In March, full southern autumn, the brown moors and the entire vegetation is covered in splendid colors, a treat for the eyes!
Because of the climatic changes, Patagonia has been known, for the last few years to have much broader a few years, much broader beautiful time periods, ideal for fully benefiting from your voyage!

Population	40 million habitants in  Argentina - 13 million in Chile
Surface	1,073,514 square miles in Argentina  - 292,183 square miles in Chile
Capital	Buenos Aires in Argentina - Santiago in Chile
Main Cities	Patagonia: Puerto Natales, Río Gallegos
Peaks	Patagonia: San Valentin (13,314 feet)
Official Language	Spanish
Religion	A large majority of Catholics
Head of the State	Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (Argentina) - Michelle Bachelet (Chile)
Political Status	Federal Republic in  Argentina - Democratic Republic in Chile
Time Shift	Argentina:http://www.worldtimezone.com/utc/utc-0300.html Chile: http://www.worldtimezone.com/utc/utc-0400.html

In Argentina, the national currency is the Argentinean Peso (ARS)
In Chile, the national currency is the Chilean Peso (CLP)
Exchange Rate in 2008: - 1 USD= 3,17 ARS  - 1 USD = 475 CLP
Take dollars, preferably, in small increments ($50 maximum). There are ATM machines in the main cities.

As an organizer of worldwide trips, Mountain World Travel is concerned for our guest's safety and security. We always keep ourselves up to date with current travel warnings and always consider the government safety advices while organizing and preparing our different trips.
Please double check on the official government website regarding each country's warnings.
Argentina: US Government Travel Advices
Chile: US Government Travel Advices

In Argentina, we have two key players, Marcos and Yann, who are our representatives; adventure travel experts who can best take care of our Mountain World Travel clientele.  They are:

Marcos, Argentinean native, guide and organizer of our voyages in Patagonia, is, above all, a high level mountaineer, with an enviable list of achievements! With or without our Mountain World Travel group,he has scoured the summits of the Andes, from Ecuador to the Earth of Fire, garnering some beautiful "first ascents" in  his Patagonian Mountains or their immense fields of ice.
His most outstanding expedition is, without question, the first ascent of the "French-Argentinean" way in on the famous Fitz Roy, which then became the "traditional" route to this summit. In 1990, Marcos also achieves the first French ascent to Mount San Valentine, the highest summit in Patagonia.
This great charismatic traveler, fine expert of the glaciers of the Southern Andes, has been our partner for many years. Our Argentinean guides, that Marcos trained himself, benefit from his great experience in guiding you safely around the Patagonian Mountains.
As soon as he is available, Marcos accompanies our groups in Patagonia. Many of our trekkers have also been able to appreciate his communicative dynamism and his joy of life, in South America, in Kilimanjaro or in the Himalayas!

Yann Wulser, UIAGM mountain guide, who has spent 6 years working for our partner, Allibert-Trekking, in France.  He began as a ticketing agent, then as a travel product manager and he has also guided many destinations.
At the age of 30, Yann decided to venture into creating an Allibert-Trekking/Mountain World Travel agency in Argentina, a land where Wulser believes that anything is possible.  Today, he divides his time between organizing group trips in Argentina-Patagonia, developing and promoting his "adopted" land and, of course, guiding mountain tours which he sees as the soul of his work.
Yann has traveled across Argentina from Quiaca to Ushuaia, from the summit of Aconcagua and around Fitz Roy , from Valdez all the way to Iguazu....it is his delight to help you to discover this magnificent country of the great outdoors!

Spanish is spoken by the majority of the population in Patagonia. Learning some Spanish key words will enable you to gain the respect of your interlocutors and to facilitate your exchanges with people of Bolivia and Chile.
Do not hesitate to use the following expressions:

Hello, how are you? : ¿ Buenos días, cómo está?
Very well, thank you: muy bien, gracias
This place is very beautiful: es a lugar muy lindo
Please: por favor
Thank you: gracias
Goodbye: Hasta Luego - Chau (en argentino)
"The best for you in  the future": que the vaya bien
Yes: sí
Not: No
Excuse me: discúlpeme

You can ask your guide how to pronounce these key words; your voyage will only be richer by attempting to speak the local language!
And smile, it is often the best means of having good contacts!

Patagonia corresponds to the southern most part of the South American continent. It includes portions of Argentina and Chile, which are both countries that have welcome European immigrants. Like the Far West, the conquest of the Patagonian land was done at the detriment of the natives, the Patagons of Magellan, now relegated to the memories of humanity. There now remains only the sons of the Welsh, Basque, Souabes or Croats, along with some "gauchos". The customs and habits are relatively comparable with Americans ones.

Are there precautions to take traveling in Patagonia?
In Argentina, since the economic crisis of 2002, minor delinquencies increased, in particular in Buenos Aires. We advise you, for example, to avoid, as far as possible, carrying valuable articles. The theft risk exists. It is appropriate not to flash one's wealth, to be vigilant in the attended places (markets, downtown areas...) and to leave money and valuable in the safes at the hotels. Don't hesitate to ask your guide which places one should be particularly attentive to and the areas that one should avoid.
Chile is one of the safest countries of Latin America. However minor delinquencies are also on the rise. The same precautions are thus advised.

Is trekking in Patagonia difficult?
We recommend that you, particularly, for this land at the end of the world, to save your energy during the treks. The same trekking schedule is more tiring here than in other parts of the world due to the climatic conditions and the land, which do not always have a regular rhythm to them. The abrupt weather changes, as well as the gusts of wind, can sometimes be difficult to deal with in the event of great fatigue.

US electrical devices are not compatible with most Argentinean and Chilean electrical plugs.
We recommend that you carry an adapter, because the plugs are 220/230 volts, as in Europe.

Harmonious landscapes of lakes and volcanoes, fields of ice, mountains among the most beautiful ones of the world, in the natural reserves classified by UNESCO, Patagonia (half Chile, half Argentina) are abound with spectacular sites.
We count on you to leave natural spaces that you pass through as clean as possible:
-  Smokers, bring along a "pocket ashtray" for your cigarette butts.
- We prefer to treat the water with tablets.
-  In order to not leave your garbage behind you, please remember to always carry with you a little bag for your personal waste: bring it back to the next hotel or camp. With the assistance of your local team, incinerate your burnable waste.
-  Separate your waste: do not to leave behind those very polluting items such as batteries, etc... but, instead, bring them back home with you, as there is no recycling for this type of material in the spot.
- In the camp sites, use the toilets or toilet- tents; if there are not any, move yourself away from water sources. In nature, burn, without creating a fire hazard, your toilet paper after use.
Patagonia shelters a unique flora and fauna in this world. More than 40 species of mammals are present here:, of Guanacos (wild lamas), pumas, the famous gray fox of Patagonia, the cat "del Pajonal", Patagonians Patagonian hares, skunks, condor, etc... We count on you not to seek to approach these animals too closely.