Horse riding holiday in the Chilean Andes near Santiago. Ride
up on horseback from Bano Morales in the Cajon del Maipo. Live in the past for a few days.

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The rides:

Combine them to make:
one day, two day, three day,
four day, five day, six day,
seven day
or
long rides - 7+days

The guides

The horses

The saddles

The camp site

or, the hotel

The flowers

Mountaineering services ** new

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Terms and conditions

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

Ride on horseback along trails in the high cordillera of the Andes near Santiago in Chile. Our horse rides start up there at around 2000 metres (about 7000 feet), with no long preliminary trail up through the pre-cordillera. The views are always unimaginably 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 lake or 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 these trails. There are mountaineers and walkers, but we rarely encounter them. Horse riding is the easiest way to access these high mountains, where there are nearly always trails, made in the ancient of days by arrieros (horsemen) driving cattle to and from Argentina, and riding up to care for the horses which are pastured there.

Our rides are led by local arrieros who have worked in this area all their lives and are, to use a Chilean word, 'autentico'. We are happy to take small groups and even individuals

For some time mountaineers, solitary and on foot, have been exploring these mountains, sometimes to practise 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. Our guides are expert in the terrain, and can offer rides with differing levels of difficulty and excitement, tailored to your preferences.

It is important to be aware that we are not a company, with offices and insurance policies. We are working men living in the Cajon del Maipo near Santiago. Our life has been spent working with horses and mules in the mountains and we are expert at what we do. We know the mountains like the backs of our hands, we respect them and we love them. All mountains have their dangerous aspects and the Andes are no different. The paths are steep and rocky, the rivers though not large can be turbulent, there are loose stones and rocks everywhere. It is essential to take great care and to go with people who know how to take that care, and where, and who have good, strong, sure-footed horses to carry you.

We are confident that we can guide you safely in these mountains and that you can have an enchanting, exciting riding holiday. But you will be renting from us horses, mules and guides to look after the horses and show the way, and also food and tents. You are not buying a comprehensive holiday with insurance against all risks. We are not a big business offering packaged tours, although we can arrange for you to be fetched from the airport, or to give you hotel accommodation before and after the ride. We do not speak much English ourselves, but an English-speaking guide can be arranged.

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, 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:

Rides can be for anything from one to eight 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. This makes every day more relaxed, 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.

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 or teenagers. Not to mention riding out to a glacier, or crossing easy rivers on horseback.

Be sure to read About Us and Terms and Conditions before booking a trip

Mountain scenery on horseback

** As well as horse riding in the Andes near Santiago we now have a service to carry the baggage and equipment of mountaineers, walkers or climbers to their base camp destination.