Patagonia's Pirenwinkul holiday

When should I go?
The best time of year to visit the Lake District and Patagonia is October to April. There is relatively little difference in precipitation across this period.

You are likely to experience cold evenings and mornings but mild daytime temperatures – Torres del Paine is basically at sea level and you are on the same latitude, roughly speaking, as Birmingham.

However, the proximity of the Patagonian icefields means that you can expect weather to change rapidly from warm sunshine to cold rain and and wind.

Overall you should expect fairly cool nighttimes but warm daytime temperatures of around 20c.

Who is it for?
In general this holiday attracts people in their 40s and 50s with some a bit younger or a bit older.

Broadly speaking, there is usually a 70:30 mix of couples and solo travellers.

The holiday appeals to people who enjoy being outdoors; are reasonably fit and active.

We do not expect you to be expert at any of the activities. On the contrary, most people coming on this holiday will have little or no experience of either rafting or riding.

How active?
Riding and rafting are suitable for any level from beginners up.

Walks are strenuous at times, particularly Villarica volcano. We ensure that alternatives are available for people who do not want to participate in the main activity on any given day.

All activities are at low altitude. Porters carry your bags in Torres del Paine.

How comfortable?
Very comfortable small hotels and lodges except for two nights in Patagonia’s mixed, communal refuges.

Refuges are like mountain huts – bunk bedded dorms with between four and eight people in a room. Downstairs is the main dining room, kitchen and bathrooms. Conditions are simple but comfortable, relaxed and sociable.

Please note that refugios may not be heated.

How independent?
You will be part of a small, guided group of up to 12 people maximum, more normally groups are of six or eight people.

How responsible?
Pura Aventura is passionate about the places it visits.

To preserve the integrity of destinations we:

• Keep groups small to minimise impact.
• Work directly with local businesses and organisations to directly benefit local economies.
• Use small, locally owned hotels and restaurants.
• Work with local guides so that our holidays are more interesting for clients and beneficial locally.
• Make payment to suppliers before our clients arrive.

What is Pirenwinul?
The short answer is that it means ‘the Milky Way’ in the Mapuche language, Mapudungu.

The first part of the holiday, through the Chilean Lakes, runs the length of the Mapuche indigenous lands.

When Pura first started, all of our holidays were named using local indigenous languages. After a while we realised that most people had no idea how to pronounce weneleufu, pilanpiren or winkulentu and that probably wasn’t helping our cause.

We kept pirenwinkul though, just to be difficult. And because it’s close enough to periwinkle that most people have a stab at pronouncing it.