The Grand Tour: South America’s Ultra-Luxury Circuit

Perched on the shores of Lake Pehoé with uninterrupted views of the Paine massif, Explora Patagonia is the property that invented the South American exploration lodge. 49 rooms, each oriented toward the granite towers, serve as base camp for over 40 guided explorations ranging from half-day walks to multi-day traverses of the park’s most remote valleys.

The all-inclusive model is total: every meal, every expedition, every transfer. The guide team—many with 15+ years in Torres del Paine—adjusts daily programmes to weather, fitness levels, and interests. You might spend a morning hiking to the base of the towers, return for lunch with a view of Grey Glacier, and end the day in the open-air hot tubs watching condors circle the peaks.

The architecture, by Germán del Sol, is a long, low structure that echoes the horizontal lines of the Patagonian steppe. Inside, warm wood, local textiles, and floor-to-ceiling glass create spaces that feel simultaneously sheltered and immersed in the landscape. The bar, with its curated selection of Chilean wines, becomes the social heart of the lodge each evening.

Set on 17 hectares in the oasis of Ayllu de Larache, Explora Atacama offers 50 rooms, four infinity pools, and access to the driest desert on Earth—and the clearest skies in the Southern Hemisphere. The lodge’s astronomical observatory, equipped with research-grade telescopes, offers nightly stargazing sessions that reveal the Milky Way, nebulae, and planets with a clarity that is genuinely life-altering.

Daily explorations span the Atacama’s extraordinary diversity: the salt flats of the Salar de Atacama, where flamingos feed in turquoise lagoons; the El Tatio geysers at 4,300 metres, erupting at dawn against a backdrop of snow-capped volcanoes; the Moon Valley’s sculptural rock formations at sunset. Mountain biking, horseback riding, and volcano ascents expand the programme for more adventurous guests.

The spa draws on ancestral Atacameño traditions, using local herbs, salts, and volcanic mud. The cuisine emphasises indigenous ingredients—quinoa, chañar fruit, alpaca—prepared with contemporary technique. Like all Explora properties, the experience is all-inclusive: your only decision each morning is which exploration to choose.

The most remote inhabited island on Earth—2,300 miles from the Chilean coast—and Explora’s most radical expression of its philosophy. 30 rooms, deliberately without televisions or in-room WiFi, because the point of being here is to be here: among the 887 Moai, the volcanic craters, the wild horses, and the Polynesian culture that created one of history’s most mysterious civilisations.

Explora’s guides are drawn from the Rapa Nui community, offering perspectives on the island’s archaeology, ecology, and living culture that no guidebook can replicate. Explorations include visits to the quarry at Rano Raraku where Moai were carved, the ceremonial village of Orongo perched on a volcanic cliff, and snorkelling in waters so clear that visibility regularly exceeds 60 metres.

The lodge itself sits on the island’s eastern coast, facing the sunrise. The architecture is low-profile and sensitive to the UNESCO World Heritage landscape. Evenings bring communal dinners featuring Pacific seafood and Chilean wine, followed by stargazing that rivals Atacama’s—the nearest light pollution is thousands of miles away.

Tierra Patagonia holds a distinction that speaks volumes: 3 MICHELIN Keys, the highest recognition in the MICHELIN Guide’s hotel rating system, making it one of the most acclaimed properties in South America. The 40-suite lodge is built into a hillside overlooking Lake Sarmiento, with the Torres del Paine massif filling every window like a painting that changes by the hour.

The design, by Cazú Zegers, is a masterwork of organic architecture—a sinuous, wood-clad structure that appears to grow from the landscape rather than sit upon it. Inside, the Uma Spa (meaning “water” in the Kawesqar language) offers a heated indoor pool with panoramic mountain views, treatment rooms using local botanicals, and a outdoor terrace and plunge pool.

The exploration programme, led by bilingual guides with deep knowledge of the park’s ecology and geology, offers over 30 excursions. The restaurant serves a daily-changing menu built around Patagonian lamb, king crab, and produce from the lodge’s own garden. The wine programme is exceptional, with a cellar focused on Chile’s finest producers and rare vintages.

Awarded 1 MICHELIN Key, Tierra Atacama offers 28 rooms oriented toward the Licancabur volcano, four outdoor pools, and an intimacy that larger properties cannot match. Now part of the Baillie Lodges portfolio (alongside Longitude 131 at Uluru and Capella Lodge on Lord Howe Island), the property benefits from an Australian sensibility for lodge design that complements its Chilean soul.

The architecture embraces the desert: adobe walls, courtyards that channel ancient Atacameño building traditions, and terraces designed for watching the volcano change colour as the sun sets—from gold to pink to deep purple against the darkening sky. The pool deck, with its woven cocoon loungers and infinity edge dissolving into the desert horizon, has become one of the most photographed hotel scenes in South America.

Explorations mirror Explora’s range—salt flats, geysers, Moon Valley, volcano ascents—but the smaller guest count means more personalised attention and flexibility. The restaurant’s focus on hyper-local ingredients and Chilean wines creates evenings that feel less like hotel dining and more like a private dinner party in the desert.

Days 1–5: Atacama Desert — Arrive Santiago, connect to Calama. Transfer to Explora Atacama or Tierra Atacama. Four full days of desert exploration: salt flats and flamingos, El Tatio geysers at dawn, Moon Valley at sunset, astronomical observatory by night. The altitude (2,400m) requires a gentle first day.

Days 6–7: Santiago — Fly to Santiago. One night at The Singular Lastarria or Ritz-Carlton Santiago. Visit the Pre-Columbian Art Museum, lunch at Boragó (Latin America’s 50 Best), and explore the Lastarria neighbourhood’s galleries and wine bars.

Days 8–13: Patagonia — Fly to Punta Arenas, transfer to Torres del Paine. Five nights at Explora Patagonia or Tierra Patagonia. Trek to the base of the towers, kayak on Grey Lake, ride through the steppe on horseback, and watch condors from Mirador Condor. This is the emotional centre of the journey.

Days 14–15: Buenos Aires — Fly to Buenos Aires via Santiago. Two nights at Alvear Palace or Four Seasons Buenos Aires. Tango show at La Ventana, steak dinner at Don Julio, gallery walk through Palermo Soho, and a private tour of the Malévich Collection at MALBA.

Days 16–18: Iguaçu Falls — Fly to Iguaçu. Three nights at Awasi Iguaçu, the only ultra-luxury option with just 14 villas and private guides. Visit both the Argentine and Brazilian sides of the falls—the most powerful waterfall system on Earth. Zodiac beneath the Devil’s Throat. Jungle walks at dawn.

Days 19–21: Easter Island — Return to Santiago, connect to Rapa Nui. Three nights at Explora Rapa Nui. The journey’s final act is its most profound: the silent Moai, the volcanic craters, the unbroken horizon of the Pacific. A fitting end to a circuit that has traversed desert, ice, jungle, and ocean.