Chilean Wine Valleys 3 Day Adventure Tour

 

Early in the morning the van picks us up from our hotel in Santiago and we head out of the city towards Viña La Montaña, a novel project in the Maipo Alto zone located at the foot of the Andes Mountains. After an hour’s drive we reach the vineyard and are welcomed at reception and given a short introduction to the vinyard and its surroundings. We board a unique truck from the 1950s that takes us to the start of the trekking trail leading through a small, beautiful forest with local flora and fauna.

 

The trek ends with zip-lining!  After a safety briefing, we climb up to the first ‘canopy’ launching platform on a cliff with a spectacular view.  The next kilometre is an exhilarating stretch of four zip lines, looking out over magnificent landscape. After completing the last canopy line we are rewarded with a Chilean barbecue and a tasting of the remarkable La Montaña Wine. This is the perfect time to talk about the day’s experience and relax over great food and wine. After lunch there is a short while to rest and enjoy the surroundings before we head to our next destination.

 

Just a few minutes drive from Viña La Montaña we reach Paseo del Vino*, an entertaining Winery-School-Museum with an energetic owner teaching visitors how to produce wine. Here we learn all about the Chilean artisanal way of making wine and also about how nature cycles and geography affect the wine production in Chile. We finish with a superb wine tasting! 

 

We will then drive south for a couple of hours towards Santa Cruz, nestled in the Colchagua wine valley. When we arrive in town we check in to our hotel and are free to relax. Our first choice hotel will be Santa Cruz.

 

* As Paseo del Vino is run solely by its owner (with no other employees) its possible that occasionally it may be closed. In this case we will take an alternative tour at the neighbouring boutique winery Viña Perez Cruz.

 

We start the day with a visit to the world-renowned Montes winery located in the Apalta Valley. Upon arrival we meet our guide and receive a brief introduction about the trail we’ll hike during the morning. The trail leads up to the summit of one the few hills surrounding the valley and during our climb we see a wealth of local wildlife. At the summit there is a spectacular view of the entire Apalta Valley! After admiring the view we begin our descent to the winery, where we are taken to the modern cellars before enjoying a light lunch and tasting some of their famous wines. After lunch we have some time to relax and wander around the beautiful grounds before heading back to Santa Cruz.

 

Our next activity is a visit to the Colchagua Museum, home to one of the most surprising collection of artifacts in Chile.

 

Next, we visit the enigmatic ‘Espiritus de Colchagua’ (Colchagua Spirits) house, where owner Cristian and his family prepare some of the most delicious liquors in the Valley using traditional artisanal techniques and local ingredients. Cristian invites us into his home and teaches us about the different spirits made there and the history of the Colchagua Valley. The homely atmosphere, liquors and anecdotes make for a very memorable afternoon! We spend the night at our hotel back in Santa Cruz.

 

Today we get up with plenty of time to enjoy a final stroll around the grounds, have breakfast and pack. We board the van and start driving back to our hotel in Santiago with fond memories of Chile's finest vineyards.