From the Atacama Desert to Patagonia - Trip of a Lifetime

Chile | Jan 29 - Feb 14, 2026

We have just returned from a truly wonderful 14-day February trip to Chile, booked on kimkim with the excellent, professional help of Jesse. First we must write about Jesse. From the moment I began looking into doing this trip, Jesse provided thorough, competent, and sensitive assistance. She "listened " to all our hopes and preferences, designing for us the trip of a lifetime. She adjusted hotels for us to make the package more affordable. And every tour she arranged for us revealed things we had hoped for and amenities we couldn't even have imagined - like early morning outdoor breakfasts in the desert, and phenomenal trekking and viewing experiences.

Once we arrived in Chile, again, Jesse could not have been more helpful. Communicating with her on WhatsApp, she ensured that all pick-ups and drop-offs went smoothly, and answered all the questions we had immediately, even sometimes quite late at night. Her responses were always kind and personable. We always knew we were in good hands with her guidance, and when we return to Chile - which we will! - we hope we will be lucky enough to work with Jesse again.

We began our trip in Santiago, and thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Valparaiso, with its incredible murals and steep, winding streets. Our guide, Javi, made sure we spent as much time as possible walking those streets, and she pointed out many treasures that we would have missed without her help. And we were thrilled with the "San Jose Volcano and Andes Mountains" experience. We had our guide, Juan Paulo, all to ourselves, and his love of the area and of the climb was so evident and genuine that it filled us with love for the experience, as well. He was also a true professional, teaching us things about the flora and fauna and ensuring that we were always safe as we climbed and descended.

Then we flew to the Atacama desert, and began our time there there with what was my favourite tour of all - the "Atacama Experience." We visited the farm of Gonzalo, a young indigenous farmer who introduced us to his llamas, and then demonstrated and talked us through the experience of making pottery with local materials, helping us each to create pieces of pottery that we could take home. Next we sat 'round a small fire with him while he prepared infusions from local herbs, which we gratefully drank. And last of all, he "gave" us each a llama to walk, and we spent an hour or so walking with "our" llamas in the desert as the sun was setting. Gonzalo was an excellent, knowledgeable and gentle host whose passion for the way of life he was retaining has stayed with me and made me want to return to Atacama.

Everything we experienced in the Atacama was wonderful. Our guide for "Exploring the Atacama Salt Flats" and "Valley of the Moon Tour" was Daniel - a true professional with an uproarious sense of humour. We learned about the salt flats, saw statuesque flamingos and wild vicunas with their young and had a great outdoor breakfast. Daniel brought us to a small village where he helped us find and purchase genuine alpaca products - and when we saw things we wanted to photograph he always made that possible. We were thrilled to have him as a guide again to visit the Valley of the Moon. The trek along the salt caves and stone formations was awe-inspiring, and Daniel thoroughly explained the formation of these geological wonders.

Marta was our guide to the Tatio Geysers, and she too was a wealth of knowledge and a great outdoor breakfast provider. And seeing the geysers steaming into the air at sunrise was beautiful and otherworldly.

I was sad to leave the desert, but other wonders awaited us. We flew to Santiago and from there, via Puerto Montt, to Puerto Varas. We loved our "Day Trip to Vincente Perez Rosales National Park" as well as our wonderful and quick-witted guide, Jorge. The highlight of this tour for us was the amazing view of the volcanoes and glaciers, and our ascent of the Osorno volcano. We chose to take the lifts up the side of the volcano, and I'd recommend that to anyone taking this tour. We also had a fabulous lunch of local salmon. All the while Jorge had us learning and laughing. He was an excellent guide.

Nest we went "Trekking in Alerce Andino National Park" with Luis, whose knowledge of local flora was impressive. He shared with us his fascination with the plants, flowers, and trees of this rainforest - and kindly taught us a lot of Spanish, which really pleased us.

Then we flew to Punta Arenas. It proved too windy to go see the penguins on Magdelena Island, but we enjoyed time to ourselves exploring the town with its amazing waterfront statues. We could feel the pull of Antarctica from there. Punta Arenas is another place we'd like to return to.

In Puerto Natales. the "Boat Tour to Balmaceda and Serrano Glaciers" was a fantastic day. We saw sweeping waterfalls, sea lions resting on shore, and beautiful views of the glaciers. It was doubly gratifying to be able to land and walk to the base of one of them, where the view was amazing. So was our stop at the ranch and our meal of lamb there. And so was our surprise treat of whisky served with glacier ice, on the boat!

We finished our time in Patagonia with a day of trekking Torres del Paine. Three treks in one day was challenging, but the views of mountains, glaciers, and waterfalls was memorable.

Jesse and Kimkim made all of this happen for us, and we will certainly want to work with them both again for our next South American adventure. Thank you for this amazing experience.