|Places| Beyond
|Places| Beyond Patagonia Explora’s portfolio also includes a number of lodges in fascinating sites across this corner of South America, from the desert plateau of Chile’s Atacama desert to the awe-inspiring Uyuni salt flats of Bolivia, from the mysterious Easter Island to Peru’s Sacred Valley. explora.com Above: a rustic-chic Explora Patagonia National Park suite; below: a huemul makes its way through Patagonia National Park elements across the entire park for the next 25 years, Explora entered the scene as steward in 2020. It was a natural fit for the now fully carbon-neutral B Corp with a longstanding commitment to the local environment. The menu of explorations on offer is as diverse as the landscape itself. Led by intrepid guides – all graduates of the Explora Guide School, a rigorous two- to threemonth boot camp – days are spent tracking pumas and guanacos on the steppe, spotting rare birds in dense lenga forests and alongside a glittering lagoon, or on a hike to Huemul Post, a basecamp for the protection of the endangered deer so emblematic of the region that it even appears on Chile’s coat of arms. But the Patagonia National Park outpost wasn’t Explora’s only mark on the region in the past years. Just one month after the former’s unveiling, it launched a new riverside lodge, El Chaltén, across the border in Argentinean Patagonia. Positioned at the heart of the 6,000ha Los Huemules Conservation Reserve, the remotely built chalet boasts 20 rooms and suites with jaw-dropping panoramas of Marconi Glacier and the Eléctrico river valley, giving guests a great overview of the adventures ahead – there are more than 30 excursions on offer here. It’s a finely tuned recipe for adventure Explora has been honing for nearly 30 years – since the debut of its first lodge in 1993, a 49-key chalet at the wild heart of Torres del Paine National Park, facing the placid shores of Lake Pehoé and the craggy snowcapped peaks of Paine Massif beyond. These days, many guests opt for the 12-day Explora Connect journey, which offers a rare, 360-degree view of Patagonia with stays in all three lodges (or an eight-day combination of any two). It’s a whirlwind snapshot of one of the world’s most beautiful, fierce and fragile corners – and one that may be your journey, like the Tompkinses’, of falling in love with the region. PHOTOS © EXPLORA 34 CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM
