Striding beyond the existing trails, in March of 2018, an intrepid Secret Compass team of 12 will be forging a new route through Chile's volcanic borderlands. Combining sections of the Greater Patagonian Trail and the Condor Circuit, the team will pioneer new paths in an attempt to connect four volcanic summits in the Planchon Peteroa which straddle the Chile – Argentina border.
“For years Chile has remained firmly on the radars of outdoor enthusiasts but with the vast majority of visitors focussed on Patagonia, it's fantastic to offer this exciting new itinerary in this dramatic but largely overlooked region,” explains Tom Bodkin, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Secret Compass.
While the development of new trekking routes such as the Greater Patagonian Trail have opened up access to additional regions of previously unchartered South American wilderness, Secret Compass will be merely using these as stepping stones in establishing this fresh route.
“Chile has won 'Best Adventure Travel Destination' at the Word Travel Awards not once, but twice, in 2015 and 2016,” said Bryony Balen, Operations Manager at Secret Compass. “We've been looking at leading a Secret Compass team to the region for almost two years, but it's taken time to plan a pioneering route away from the mainstream trekking regions.”
Newly developed for 2018, this 140km trekking journey will discover the snow-capped volcanoes stood between the topaz blue glaciers, wild rivers and lakes stretched out over this vast and rugged wilderness formulating the jagged spine of South America. With eruptions in the region as recently as 2011 and plenty of evidence of volcanic activity from smoking vents to hot springs, the result is the ultimate backdrop to a day's trekking.
