From Patagonia: Earth’s Secret Paradise

Day 1 Fly from London Heathrow to Santiago de Chile.

Day 2 Transfer to the Hotel Singular for two nights, Santiago is set in a broad valley between ranges of the Andes, with majestic snow-capped peaks, and a smaller coastal range with a distinctly Mediterranean feel. Enjoy a walking tour of historic Santiago. See Santa Lucia Hill where Spanish conquistador Pedro de Valdivia founded Santiago. Explore Plaza de Armas, Santiago’s cathedral, the main post office, and city hall are all located around the square. Welcome dinner at one of Lastarria’s exclusive restaurants. (D)

Day 3 Travel into the heartland of Chile’s wine growing region. Pirque in the Maipo Valley is home to several of the country’s top vineyards. Visit the Perez Cruz winery, a family-run operation producing Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Petit Verdot, Syrah, and Malbec. Tour the bodega and cellar followed by a tasting and lunch. (B, L)

Day 4 Fly to Punta Arenas and continue to your lodge on the edge of Torres del Paine National Park. Be enthralled by the grandiose scenery, the huge granite massif of Torres del Paine, milky blue and gem-sharp emerald lakes, sinuous rivers, glaciers and wind-scoured steppes. The habitat of over 150 species of birds; flamingos, condors, eagles and rhea and 25 mammal’s; guanacos, armadillos, silver foxes and pumas. Tierra Patagonia, your home for the next four nights sits on a bluff overlooking the rain-fed lake Sarmiento, view iceberg-dotted lakes, snow-jacketed mountains, scrawny forests and expanses of open steppe. (B, L, D)

Days 5-7 A full range of excursions within and around Torres del Paine National Park are available. Explore on foot, horseback, bike, or by boat, your local guide will create a plan tailor-made just for you, assessing your physical activity level and interests, so that your exploration of Torres del Paine is perfect for you. (B, L, D)

Day 8 Take the scenic drive over the frontier to Argentina across the Patagonian steppe. The beautiful mountainous scenery is staggering. Reach the shores of the turquoise Lago Argentino and town of El Calafate. Stay two nights at the Xelena Hotel, meet your expert tour manager who remains with you until Rio. (B, L) 

Day 9 Excursion to Perito Moreno glacier. Drive to Los Glaciares National Park, explore the walkways and viewing platform overlooking the glacier. The thundering shards of falling ice are a breathtaking spectacle at the Canal de los Tempanos. The glacier is 5km wide and stands 60m above the surface of the lake. Its ice masses are fed by the southern continental ice field from the west and from other smaller surrounding glaciers. Later take a launch for a cruise on the lake beneath the glacier. (B)

Days 10-11 Fly to Bariloche in Argentina’s lake district, an unspoilt region of sleeping snow-stifled volcanoes, dark sapphire lakes fringed by dense forests and small Alpine-style towns. Transfer along the lake shore to the Llao Llao Hotel Resort, your home for the next two nights. On an enviable position on a promontory between the crystalline waters of lakes Nahuel Huapi and Moreno, surrounded by ancient cypress woods, spectacular views extend to an amphitheatre of mountains including the snow-drenched volcanic peak of Mount Tronador. You have a full day at leisure to enjoy the hotel’s facilities, excursions and activities. Perhaps take a boat excursion on the surrounding lakes. The hotel and your tour manager will assist you in arranging your preferred activity. (B)

Day 12 Fly to Buenos Aires and the Hyatt Palacio Duhau for a two night stay. The Argentine capital is elegant, cultured and cosmopolitan, has interesting museums and the fascinating port district of La Boca, with its cobbled streets and brightly painted houses. Here tango was born and Diego Maradona honed his footballing skills. The centre of town has a nostalgic European feel, the bohemian quarter of San Telmo is full of quaint old houses interspersed with antique shops, tango bars and restaurants. Recoleta has an evocative French influence with much Belle Epoque and Italianate architecture, and is where Eva Peron was laid to rest. (B)

Day 13 City tour visiting the 19^th-century Teatro Colon, with its excellent architecture, design, and acoustics, it is considered one of the world’s best. On Plaza de Mayo see the Metropolitan cathedral, Town Hall, Casa Rosada and presidential palace. Continue to La Boca, settled and built by Italian immigrants and explore Recoleta. Later enjoy an elegant tango show with dinner at La Gala. (B, L, D)

Day 14 Fly to Puerto Iguazú in the subtropical northeast corner of Argentina. Your hotel, the Gran Melia, is a short stroll from Iguazú Falls, so you have the advantage of being able to get down to the water’s edge before all the Day trippers. The Iguazú Falls are one of the most extraordinary natural phenomena in the world. A total of 275 falls thunder over a rust-coloured cliff surrounded by dense tropical forest. The U-shaped Devil’s Throat is the most dramatic sight, here the frothing water of the Iguazú River crashes over a 1.5km wide precipice and columns of vapour are thrown skyward. You can often spot colourful toucans and other exotic birds perched in the foliage above the tumultuous waters. (B)

Day 15 Join the little train as it chugs to Cataratas Station where the Upper Walk begins. A sequence of causeways link dozens of tiny basalt islands at the top of the sheer rock face and the walkways cross the myriad of streams of the Iguazú River as they cascade over the lip of the precipice. The train continues to Devil’s Throat Station and a walkway across the river to the thunderous Garganta del Diablo. From this spectacular vantage point you can feel the incredible power of the water, the flow is mesmeric as it plummets into the vortex below. (B)

Day 16 Cross the border into Brazil, stopping to explore the falls from the Brazilian perspective. Fly to Rio de Janeiro and the Belmond Copacabana Palace for three nights. Rio is the most romantic, intriguing and beautiful city on the continent, it has an awesome bay-side location among near-vertical granite mountains and sparkling bays against the backdrop of favelas, which cling precariously to the hillsides, as tropical foliage swoops down to its sandy beaches. (B)

Day 17 Discover the iconic sights of Rio. Climb aboard a cog railway to the statue of Christ the Redeemer, where you can view the city. The steep ride up the hill is worth the trip alone, the panoramas at the peak on a clear day are stupendous. Walk down into the city via the arty district of Santa Teresa, the colonial heart of the city close to the Cathedral, stopping for lunch. Continue to Sugar Loaf Mountain, ascending by cable car, from the summit take in Copacabana beach, Botafogo Bay with its bobbing sailboats and yachts, and at sunset watch the city prepare for nightfall as twinkling lights penetrate the purple haze as dusk falls. (B, L)

Day 18 At leisure to soak up your sumptuous surroundings – visit the hotel spa or relax by the pool. The chic boutiques of lpanema are a stroll away along the beachfront. The quarters of Leblon and Lagoa have excellent restaurants and night clubs with world class performers. Farewell dinner. (B, D)

Day 19 Full day at leisure for independent exploration or simply to relax and enjoy the wonderful atmosphere. Evening transfer for the homeward flight.

Day 20 Morning arrival at Heathrow.

• Key
• B - Breakfast
• L - Lunch
• D - Dinner