PHOTO: The San Rafael Glacier in southern Chile will make you understand your place in the world very quickly. (photo by David Cogswell)
Austin Adventures introduced a new series of hiking tours, the first in its 40-year history. A specialist in multi-adventure packages, Austin Adventures has always included hiking as one of the components in its trips, but now for the first time it has brought out a whole series of tours, 13 total, that focus primarily on hiking.
"We've always had a day or two of hiking included in our week-long multisport trips but felt it was time to launch a dedicated trip series focused purely on hiking a selection of the world's most breathtaking trails and paths," says Dan Austin, Austin Adventures founder and president.
Austin's new series of hiking tours covers a geographical range almost as broad as the operator's full range of destinations, which spans all seven continents. Almost but not quite. There are no hiking trips on the roster in Antarctica or Asia in the rollout. But the series does include trips in Alberta, Chile, Germany, Arizona, Peru, Montana, Utah, Costa Rica, France, Tasmania, Botswana and Morocco.
Mountain hiking is featured in the Canadian Rockies (Alberta), Bavaria (Germany) and Patagonia (Chile). In Patagonia, the tour is headquartered at the Hotel Salto Chico, which is the only lodge in the Torres del Paine National Park, which is a UNESCO biosphere reserve. The lodge is located within view of the Paine Massif and the two towers, or torres, that give the park its name.
While stationed at the lodge, tour participants can choose from 20 different treks among glaciers, volcanic mountains and lakes. Horseback rides are also available from the lodge. The lodge also provides high-quality cuisine featuring local specialties, such as southern king crab and Magellanic lamb, and there is plenty of Chilean wine to sample. The Hiking Patagonia program is priced $3,000 per person double occupancy, land only.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
