|Places| Days are spent |Places| 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 spread across Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Argentina), the structure was built using recycled and locally sourced materials from old farms in southern Chile, and the on-the-ground experience, combining these older woodwork elements with strong wifi connectivity, plush creature comforts and cuisine by renowned chef Pablo Jesús Rivero, straddles the line between rustic and contemporary. While the lodge first began welcoming visitors in November of 2021, the property – and the park itself – is just a small part of a very, very big vision: most notably that of the late Doug Tompkins and his wife, Kris. With founding credits to clothing brands like The North Face and Patagonia, the couple’s true mission has long been conservation, a project which began in 1990 when Doug purchased 1.5 million hectares of land in Patagonia – whose environment, at the time, was threatened by widescale logging – with the idea of maintaining the majesty of the landscape for future generations in the form of national parks. This goal came to fruition in 2018 with the enshrinement of five Chilean national parks (and the expansion of three existing ones), including Patagonia National Park, which combined Tompkins-donated hectares with two existing parks. Much has already been done to rewild this natural wonderland. Once the domain of sheep farmers, whose woolly herds obliterated the grasslands, rewilding techniques were applied to allow local flora and fauna – including cougars, Andean condors and Darwin’s rheas – to flourish. Gauchos once tasked with killing pumas were hired to monitor the progress. Following the park’s establishment, Chile’s national forestry agency continues these efforts in collaboration with Tompkins Conservation. And today, Explora guests get a front-row seat to the fruits of those endeavours. After winning a public tender to manage the tourism and hospitality From left: El Chaltén, Explora‘s lodge in Argentinean Patagonia; a suite at El Chaltén looks out onto the Eléctrico river; a perfectly framed view of San Lorenzo mountain on an Explora Patagonia National Park expedition; previous page: a snapshot of the vast grasslands in Patagonia National Park PHOTOS © EXPLORA 20 CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM
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