Horse riding in Chile, the Andes near Santiago

Take a trip into the past for a day - or a few days. Riding trails into the high Andes on horse back near Santiago  Chile   
for the perfect vacation - get away from it all to mountain lakes and flowers - horse riding at its most magnificent - small groups, tailor-made tours.  
Para Espagnol ir a Paseos a caballo Santiago

The high Andes, from Jan to March: Day trips & longer rides(3-8 days) camping or mountain hotel option.

Ride with us on horseback along trails in the high Andes near Santiago in Chile for the perfect holiday - to relax and refresh your creativity in mountain air, incredible views, away from it all. See rides

For a quote or to discuss, Contact us now at ridingsantiago@gmail.com or ring on (00569) 88272304. See also prices

Guides

Our rides and tours are led by local arrieros who have worked in this area all their lives.

Small groups, tailor-made rides

We are happy to take small groups and even individuals. Each ride is individually tailored

Horses

Our horses are wonderfully cared for. We have a mix of thoroughbred corralero (rodeo) horses which provide a better ride for experienced riders and some mountain-bred extremely quiet horses for beginners and less experienced.

Time of year

Rides in the high Andes are in January, February or early March, so make your plans early to avoid disappointment. For a quotation or to book now email us: ridingsantiago@gmail.com

Families with children

The camp site is so delightful, and the daily rides can so easily be tailored to individual needs - longer or shorter, more or less difficult - that this place would be suitable for a family with children.

Contact us now at ridingsantiago@gmail.com or ring on (00569) 88272304. Be sure to read About Us and Terms and Conditions before booking a trip

Note: Our rides in El Toyo go out from a location which is probably one of the nearest to Santiago on the eastern, cordillera side but it cannot be actually in Santiago, so a journey out will be necessary. We can give you directions or pick you up. We can discuss the options when we quote you for the ride.

Videos: we are preparing some videos to give you a better view of what you get. It takes time - watch this spot.

El Toyo, rides nearer Santiago, all year round. Day trips or rides 1-5 days, camping or hostal option

These rides go out from a starting point nearer to Santiago for a one day trip, or longer as part of a more general holiday or at the end of a business trip to Chile.

OR Several days with camping
In April, October and mild periods in winter, it is possible to camp. Usually you will lunch or camp near a place where you can take a dip in a nearby stream.

For a quote or to discuss, Contact us now at ridingsantiago@gmail.com or ring on (00569) 88272304. See also prices

Guides, and Fair trade

Our rides and tours are led by local arrieros who are, to use a Chilean word, 'autentico'. All the money apart from costs goes to local working men.

Small groups, tailor-made rides

We are happy to take small groups and even individuals. We do not offer package tours - each ride is individually tailored.

Horses

We have a mix of thoroughbred corralero (rodeo) horses for experienced riders and some mountain-bred extremely quiet horses for beginners and less experienced.

The trails and levels of difficulty

The paths are often steep and rocky, but our horses are bred in the mountains and are sure-footed and strong. They are well looked after and well fed and have no difficulty with the steepness, even with a heavy load on board. The skill of the horses, and the unimaginable beauty of the landscape, is such that the rides are fascinating and entertaining for advanced and less experienced riders alike.

For a quotation, to answer your questions or to book now, email us: ridingsantiago@gmail.com

telephone (00569) 88272304

What makes us so special? Then below read some of the opinions of our visitors

1. Tailor made rides for you and your companions, or even just 1 person, not a motley group

2. Authenticity. Your guides come from among the arrieros who live and work in the Cajon del Maipo. They enjoy showing you their country.

3. Good quality horses, some of whom are corraleros, others quiet but sturdy mountain horses.

4. Efficient administration by an English family living in Chile. We know how to care for you.

5. "Fair trade". After costs all money goes to local Chilean workers.

6. Consumer satisfaction:
From Aaron Kolpelowitz (5 days high Andes) "The ride was one of the highlights of the last 10 years. The horses were wonderfully well cared for and it was apparent in their stature and gate. Rigo and Angelo were excellent guides. It was a pleasure to be able to ride at any pace at all times. The vistas and terrain were inspiring and significant. The night sky glowed with the white moon overhead and the southern hemisphere has stars i have never seen.
I do expect to be able to ride with Rigo again soon and look forward to it very much."

From Tobias Megerle (1 day trip El Toyo) "Hi, thanks again for the very nice trip :-)))... Okay, that's it, I am going to recommend your company to friends, colleagues..."

From Luiz Fernando Saife Salemi (1 day trip El Toyo) : Our day at the mountains was just amazing. I can't describe what I felt that day

see our Facebook pages (facebook.com/riding.santiago) for photographs of individual rides

Send us, or upload to Facebook, photos of your rides when you get home.

Blog (just started. There's more to come)- for what to wear, what to bring, what it's like, who can enjoy. Please add a comment. http://ridingsantiago.wordpress.com/

Riding the high Andes on horse back, ice blue lakes and flowers - horse riding at its most magnificent

Ride on horseback, take a vacation in the high cordillera of the Andes in Chile. Our horse rides start up there at over 2000 metres (6,500 feet), with no long preliminary trail up through the pre-cordillera. The views are always spectacular and, depending on the time of year, you will also find myriad exotic wild flowers, snow and always water to bathe and refresh after the day's riding, whether it be an ice blue lakeor rushing streams. The beauty is truly indescribable. In all of time very few people have been there before, even though now, in addition to the local arrieros, or horsemen, a few intrepid tourists are beginning to find this place. There are mountaineers and walkers, but horse riding is the pleasantest and easiest way to access these high mountains, where there are nearly always trails, made in the ancient of days by arrieros (horsemen) driving for cattle to and from Argentina, and riding up to care for the horses which are pastured there.

For some time mountaineers, solitary and on foot, have been exploring these mountains, sometimes to practice before an expedition to Everest. Now it is possible to go on horseback and experience the same contact with nature at its wildest and most inspiring, and also at its most beautiful and reassuring.

In addition to riding in the Andes, you can walk and have your baggage and equipment carried for you. We have a service for mountaineers in January and February.

The paths and trails

The paths and trails are sometimes steep but our horses are bred in the mountains and are sure-footed and strong. They are well looked after and well fed and have no difficulty with the steepness, even with a heavy load on board. The skill of the horses, and the unimaginable beauty of the landscape, is such that the rides are fascinating and entertaining for advanced and less experienced riders alike, even though we rarely go out of a walk. We offer camping or hotel alternatives, or a mixture of the two, since although the tracks are remote there is a dirt road to a small nearby mountain resort, Bano Morales, where there is also a national park with some good walking.

The horse rides - length and difficulty:

Rides can be for anything from one to seven days, or even up to two weeks if required. We have a heavenly campsite in a 'vega' (green meadow) by a little river, with flowers, birds and the occasional fox and condor to accompany you. We have cooks who will provide a delicious evening meal, around the camp fire, after a pleasant day followed perhaps by a bathe in the small nearby lake. Most of the rides can go out from this one place with no need to keep changing campsites, although for longer rides we might need to change occasionally. Also, there is a small, clean, simple hotel accessible from where the rides start out, so that visitors who prefer not to camp can sleep there.

We can tailor the rides to be long or short, more or less challenging and all variations according to your taste. Because the mountain paths are often steep and the terrain is rugged, we rarely go out of a walk. The rides are still exciting and fascinating, because of the nature of the mountains, the paths and the incredible views which cannot be accessed in any other way, unless you are a mountaineer.

The campsite and nearby lake

We pitch camp in a little green valley crossed by a small river and many little streams. The valley is full of birds and flowers and is a delight in itself. Close by there is a small lake where you can bathe after a the ride. Evenings can be spent walking around to look at flowers , or relaxing with a book on our camp chairs, glancing up from time to time to see the hummingbirds gathering nearby in the evening light. They behave like flycatchers and hover near us catching the few insects that survive up there, rather than sipping from flowers as they do down below.

The camp site is so delightful, and the daily rides can so easily be tailored to individual needs - longer or shorter, more or less difficult - that this place would be suitable for a family with children. Parents need to be aware that the cordillera de Los Andes is not a country club park, and there are dangers, but our guides are experienced and careful so that the pleasure of a campsite, barbecues, lassooing and managing horses and mules and so forth, could give enormous pleasure to children. Not to mention riding out to a glacier, or crossing easy rivers on horseback. This is the perfect holiday on horseback.

It is difficult to think of a vacation which could help you relax, free you from pressures and stress, more effectively than riding in the cordillera - the mountain chain - of the central Andes. Easy access from Santiago and its international airport. A holiday which combines extreme location and activity with the relief and relaxation that comes form being well looked-after and cared for, surrounded by the most incredible beauties of nature. Contact us soon @:    ridingsantiago@gmail.com