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CHILE & ARGENTINA:
Andes, Patagonia, Pampas
Tierra Del Fuego and Iguazu Falls
General Natural History and Birdwatching
November 11 - December 1, 2012
November is spring in the south of South America. This tour visits the most beautiful natural areas of both countries, an itinerary seldom offered. Beginning in Santiago we pass through Mediterranean-looking wine country to La Campana Park, a land of rare palms, cactus, and native dry forest, full of wildflowers and unusual birds. On the rocky Pacific coastline we embark on a tranquil boat trip into the Humboldt Current for some of the world's finest pelagic birdwatching; six different albatrosses, varied petrels and penguins can be seen.
South, we pass through the picturesque Chilean Lake District to the slopes of the Andes and Puyehue National Park, where we stay in a fine ski lodge at timberline and walk through flowering alpine meadows and forests of southern beech. Still further south in the Andes are famous Torres Del Paine National Park (Chile) and Los Glaciares National Park (Argentina), with impressive glaciers, blue lakes and granite peaks. Condors, Black-necked Swans, and guanacos and rheas, relatives of llamas and ostriches respectively, are common through the vast Patagonian steppe.
From El Calafate we fly south to Tierra del Fuego, a land of windswept grasslands, beech forests and snow-capped mountains. At Ushuaia, the southernmost town in the Americas, we cruise the Beagle Channel to view mountainous islands and seabirds, including two species of penguins and albatrosses. After a flight north we stay three nights on the Valdes Peninsula, a park of Patagonian steppe that juts into the Atlantic. Here we observe elephant seals, sea lions, a huge Magellanic Penguin colony, and boat out to view southern right whales.
Near Buenos Aires we explore the Pampas; the variety of marsh, meadow and coastal birds is astonishing, including Screamers, Greater Rhea, and the Firewood Gatherer. Iguazu Falls is a mile-long arc of more than a dozen falls, surrounded by verdant subtropical rainforest inhabited by parrots, trogons, and the Toco Toucan, the world's largest. The incredible geographic variety and the diversity of large, spectacular wildlife combine to make this one of the most exciting and interesting tours in the Americas. Popular Argentine naturalist Santiago de la Vega, author of five books on Argentine nature, has led this tour five times. Join us for this unique tour exploring the "Southern Cone."
November 11 - December 1, 2012
GROUND COST: $6,885
LEADERS: Marc Egger and Santiago de la Vega
LIMIT: 14
Note: Each country may be taken separately
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