Valle Rio Tunuyan, Mendoza – Argentina; Cajon del Maipo, Chile
OVERVIEW:
Breathtaking Chile and Argentina Horse Riding Holiday
Treat yourself to an extraordinary trek Crossing The Andes Mountain Range by beautiful valleys between the highest peaks of the Andes. This unmissable expedition starts in Argentina and finishes in Chile. It is one of the most spectacular trekking in the world and one that shall not be missed!
Dates:
| 1° – Arrival date: Sunday December 29, 2024 Departure: Friday January 3, 2025 | 2°– Arrival date: Thursday January 9, 2025 Departure: Tuesday January 14, 2025 |
| 3°- Arrival date: Thursday January 30, 2025 Departure: Tuesday February 4, 2025 | 4°– Arrival date: Thursday February 20, 2025 Departure: Tuesday February 25, 2025 |
| 5°– Arrival date: Thursday March 06, 2025 Departure: Tuesday March 11, 2025 | |
Key Information
- Rider weight limit: 90 kilograms / 198 pounds
Meet the instructors
Pablo Champagna:@pablo.champagna
Highlights
- 5 riding days
- Tunuyán river crossing
- Climb El Portillo Argentine
- Rest day in the middle of the Andes range
- Breakfasts, lunches, and dinners
- 5 nights’ accommodation
Skill level
- Intermediate
Styles
- Trail Riding
- Point to Point Trails
5 days with instruction in English, the organizer also speaks: Spanish
Accommodation
You will be accommodated in camping tents for the first 4 nights and 1 night in a complex of cabins in Cajon del Maipo.
The places you go through are inhabited and wild, far from any kind of civilization. During the trip, you won’t find any bathrooms or refuges.
The campsites will be set up in a place protected by the wind and where you will find streams from melted snow and crystalline water, pure and very cold, and small springs called.
Program
Previous day (not included)
You have to arrive in Mendoza a day before to departure date. It’s necessary to check the equipment. Trekking Travel offers you add one night of accommodation, they can help you with this reservation and add this cost to the total rate.
Day 1: Mendoza – Historic Manzano (horseriding starts)
Transfer from the city of Mendoza to the Historic Manzano (130 kilometers). Reception and presentation of the group of guides and baqueanos who are part of this spectacular journey on horseback. A sillero horse is designated per person and the great crossing begins. Arrival at the Portinari Refuge, (National Gendarmerie). Here the customs procedures and registration are carried out before the authorities of the National Gendarmerie. At noon, you will get a lunch box-type lunch. In the afternoon, in the Las Yaretas camp 3600 meters of altitude. We will prepare the camp to spend the first night in the mountain range. Dinner and stove.
Day 2: Las Yaretas – Protillo Argentino – Valle Rio Tunuyan
Breakfast and enlistment of the horses to follow the route. This day you will climb El Portillo Argentine, ascending to 4380 meters to continue to the Valley Tunuyán River, where you rest after a demanding crossing. This day is the most extensive and the most demanding of the expedition (8 / 9 hours approximately). When the night comes, you will enjoy an energizing dinner that will surely be adorned by the experiences of this day of adventure.
Day 3: Tunuyan River Valley
The third day will be destined to rest. You can choose to stay in the vicinity of the camp or take a reconnaissance trek accompanied by the guide, identifying native flora and fauna. In the afternoon, riding on horseback you will visit the panoramic views, and return to the camp. Dinner and overnight in tent.
Day 4: Tunuyan River Valley – Paso Hondo
After breakfast, you will start the Tunuyán river crossing. The ride continues to the viewpoint of the Tupungato volcano and then, following the Palomares river, to Altitud camp: Paso Hondo or Piedras Coloradas. In this place you will set up the camp to share a dinner in the light of the stars. Night in tent.
Day 5: Paso Hondo – International Border Arg/Chile – Parque Del Yeso
Departure towards the Argentinean / Chilean Border. Another big challenge lies ahead on the fifth day. Departure to Step Piuquenes to 4030 meters, boundary between Argentina and Chile. At noon you will enjoy a unique lunch at the border marker. At the border, you have to change the mules who carry loads (they are prohibited cross the border). New Chilean mules and Chilean muleteer guides will lead you going down to the river El Plomo in Chilean territory, the final leg of the expedition. After crossing the river, private vehicles are waiting for you. Transfer by minibus to the Cajon del Maipo, coasting the Yeso dam to San Gabriel Village where are customs formalities where you complete customs paperwork at the police office.
After 11 kilometers from the customs office, you will get to the accommodation in a beautiful complex of cabins and a farewell dinner at a local restaurant.
- Trek: Approximately 7-9 hours / 14-16 kilometers
- Waypoint: Piuquenes pass 4030 meters. Crossing the river Yeso. End in Parque del Yeso or Termas del Plomo 3000 meters.
- By car: Yeso / San Gabriel Cajon del Maipo 1260 meters
Day 6: Transfer Cajon Del Maipo (Chile) / Santiago De Chile
After breakfast, transfer to Santiago de Chile. Leave the group of expeditionaries in the bus terminal Alameda.
Level of riding
Moderate difficulty.
A specific riding skill is NOT necessary to realize the Andes crossing on horseback, you don’t need any previous instruction or practice.
Horseback riding trips have been designed for all members of the public (expert or beginner). The horses are tame and calm and they are used to mountainous paths.
The difficulty is given to the conditions that the mountain shows. The path is irregular and narrow in some sections. The activity is hard for geographical and weather difficulties. It’s possible to find high temperatures, winds, snow, sun, rain, and other inclement weather. You must be strong to cross all these situations and the lack of everyday conveniences.
Physical conditions
It doesn’t matter how athletic you are, you need to be in good health condition, so that you can enjoy a 10 days expedition in direct contact with nature, far away from daily comfort or commodities (For example It is necessary to mount and get off a horse many times a day, sleep in tents, etc.).
Difficulty
The land, you will cross shows permanent irregularities for example crossing of rivers, ascents and descents through narrow and steep paths, these conditions raise the difficulty to a «difficult level», but this is not a difficulty for the horses, as these same horses are mountain horses who are used to the mountains climbs.
The days vary between 6 and 8 hours on horseback. The maximum altitude above sea level reached 4500 meters. This Andes crossing is in the category «moderate difficulty».
Location 
This horse riding holiday will start from Base Manzano, Manzano Historico, Mendoza, Argentina.
The high mountain pass Portillo Argentino 4380 m, located in the Argentinean Range, is the gate to an old trail used by ‘arrieros’ (muleteers) and travelers, such as Charles Darwin and General San Martín, to cross the Andes. From this steep col at 4.380 meters of altitude, the path descends into a world where an ancestral culture of gauchos and mountain people is still alive, in harmony with the wildlife and breathtaking landscapes.
You are going to follow the history path, of those who bravely transited these mountains two centuries ago, integrating the columns of the Army of the Andes led by Liberator General San Martin.
Food
For breakfast, Trekking Travel offers homemade bread and toast, (caramel spread) and fruit jam, tea, coffee, milk, cookies, and crackers.
Lunches are light because you must continue riding after eating. They prepare cold cuts and cheese sandwiches, salami, ham, and other cold meat nibbles. Tuna fish or mackerel, olives, homemade bread, mayonnaise, fruits, and juice.
Suppers are abundant and comforting, charcoal – grilled or chicken, pasta, rice, salads of lettuce and tomato, homemade bread, vegetable soups, fruits from the season, wine from Mendoza, and juice.
Asado: charcoal – grilled bovine meat.
If you have special dietary requirements it’s a good idea to communicate them to the Trekking Travel when making a reservation.
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Drinks
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Regular (typically includes meat and fish)
If you have special dietary requirements it’s a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation
What’s included
- Tame horses with mounts
- Professional instructor guide; Baquianos and arrieros permanently
- Transfer from the city of Mendoza to the starting point of the ride
- Saddlebags
- Transportation of personal equipment on mules (up to 10 kilograms per person)
- All meals and drinks during the development of the horseback program
- Complete campaign team (tents, kitchen utensils, crockery, etc.)
- 5 nights’ accommodation
- First aid kit
- Satellite telephony for emergencies (does not include private calls)
- Personal accident insurance
- Transfer from the end of the ride to the place of accommodation in Chile (Cajón del Maipo)
- Transfer from the lodging place in Chile (Cajón del Maipo), to Santiago de Chile
- IVA
- The program includes a transfer from the city of Mendoza to the starting point of the expedition (Manzano Histórico, Tunuyán – Mendoza)
What’s not included
- Transfer (return) from Santiago de Chile to Mendoza (consult for option)
- Transfer to Chile of the luggage that is not carried on the expedition
- Sleeping bag (available for rent)
- Personal equipment (clothing, clothing, etc.)
- Meals not stipulated in the program
- Drinks in restaurants
- Personal expenses such as telephone calls, tips, laundry, etc.
- Any cost derived from the abandonment of the program ahead of time
- Rescue expenses
- Medical or air evacuation expenses
- Travel insurance or medical assistance
How to get there
Recommended Airports
MDZ – Gov. Francisco Gabrielli International Airport (El Plumerillo) – 10 km from Mendoza City.
Transfer not provided
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 14% of the total price.
- The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
- The rest of the payment should be paid on arrival.
Book with flexible conditions
Need to cancel your trip due to COVID-19? Cancel up to 7 days prior to the arrival date and you can reschedule your booking free of charge, or receive store credit for your non-refundable deposit to use at another time.
Payment method:
Send Money Online | Transfer Money Fast
PayPal: Open the app and log in to your account. Choose “Send” and then Pay
Contact Us: request to book
We are entirely at your service to answer your questions Don’t hesitate to contact us!
Contact form (click here) and we will contact you shortly Normally answers within a day
