Discover Patagonia

Check-in takes place in the center of Ushuaia between 10:00 and 17:00 on the day of departure. Guests board the M/V Stella Australis at 17:30 p.m. After a welcome toast and introduction of the captain and crew, the ship sets off to one of the most remote corners of the Earth. At night it crosses the Beagle Channel and crosses from Argentina into Chilean territorial waters. The lights of Ushuaia slowly disappear as the ship sails through the narrow Murray Channel between the islands of Navarino and Hoste.

As dawn breaks, the luxury ship M/V Stella Australis crosses Nassau Bay and enters the remote archipelago that includes Cape Horn National Park. If weather and sea conditions are favorable, travelers will be able to disembark on the windswept island that hides the legendary Cape Horn (Cabo de Hornos). Discovered in 1616 by a Dutch naval expedition - named after the town of Hoorn in western Frisia - Cape Horn is a vertical, 425-meter-tall rocky promontory overlooking the stormy waters of the Drake Strait separating South America from Antarctica. For many years it was the only shipping route between the Pacific and the Atlantic, often called the "End of the Earth". The park was declared a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve in 2005. The Chilean Navy operates a permanent lighthouse on the island, staffed by a lighthouse keeper and his family. There is also a tiny Stella Maris chapel and a modern Cape Horn monument.

Sailing back through Nassau Bay, we anchor in the legendary Wulaia Bay, one of the few places in the archipelago where the history of civilization is as fascinating as the natural environment surrounding guests. It was originally the site of one of the largest indigenous settlements of the Yámana tribe in the region. This bay was described by Charles Darwin and sketched by Captain FitzRoy in the 1830s while traveling on HMS Beagle. The area is known for its fascinating beauty and dramatic geography. After visiting the Australis-sponsored museum located in an old radio station, which is dedicated to the Yámana people and the activities of European missionaries in the area, passengers can choose from three hiking tours (of increasing difficulty) that lead into the densely forested mountains above the bay. On all trails, visitors have the opportunity to walk through the enchanted Magellanic Forests full of Lenga, Coigüe, Canelo and ferns, finally reaching viewpoints over the bay.

After dark, the ship returns to the Beagle Channel and sails west along the southern tip of Tierra del Fuego to a wonderland protected within the Alberto de Agostini National Park. Rounding the Brecknock Peninsula on the western edge of Tierra del Fuego, the luxury ship M/V Stella Australis briefly ventures out into the open waters of the Pacific Ocean. It then navigates a zigzag route through the Cockburn, Magdalena and Keats Fjord canals, finally reaching the picturesque Agostini Fjord. Named after an Italian Salesian priest who worked in the region in the first half of the 20th century, Agostini Fjord is surrounded by numerous glaciers and steep, wild mountains reminiscent of the famous towers of Torres del Paine.

This day's morning tour takes travelers to the Águila ("Eagle") Glacier, which rises above a tranquil glacial lagoon surrounded by ancient forest. After the Zodiac lands on the beach, passengers hike around the lagoon to where the glacier's jagged blue façade rises. Sometimes you can spot a condor circling high in the sky, and there are always plenty of birds on the shores of the lagoon. This landing is the perfect opportunity to experience the beauty of Patagonia's subarctic rainforest and see how the forces of nature have shaped this spectacular landscape.

*In April and September, instead of Magdalena Island, we take guests to Marta Island

After an overnight cruise through the Magdalena Channel, the M/V Stella Australis returns to the waters of the Strait of Magellan and then drops anchor off the shores of Magdalena Island, which lies halfway between Tierra del Fuego and Chile. Topped with a distinctive lighthouse, this island was an essential source of supplies for sailors and explorers, and is inhabited by a huge colony of Magellanic penguins. At dawn, weather permitting, hikers will go ashore and walk along a path that leads among thousands of penguins to a small museum housed in a lighthouse dating back to 1902. The island is inhabited by many other species of birds. In April and September - when the penguins live elsewhere - this tour is replaced by a trip aboard the Zodiac boat to Marta Island to observe South American sea lions. After a short cruise south along the strait, the expedition aboard M/V Stella Australi ends with disembarkation in Punta Arenas, which is scheduled to take place around 11:30.

Please note: the use of photographic tripods is prohibited on Magadalen Island.