Lodge at Valle Chacabuco, Carretera Austral

Conservation Patagonia, the non-profit organisation set up by Kris Tompkins, already controls around 200,000 acres of grassland and forest in the Chacabuco Valley, where the lodge is situated. This acreage abuts two existing reserves, Jeinimeni and Tamango, and the plan is to join them to the Tompkins' land, creating a park of 650,000 acres, about one and a half times the size of Torres del Paine National Park, the best-known and most visited park in Patagonia.

The acclaimed eco-lodge is the only fixed accommodation within the existing acreage (though numerous campgrounds are available). It's a beautiful place, with black-and-white flagstones in the entrance hall, hand-crafted and largely antique furniture, original photography hanging on every wall, and a grand living/dining room with an open wood fireplace, several comfy couches and wonderful views towards Mount Tamanguito, the peak behind the main park headquarters.

At the time of writing, payment was on a donation-only basis, but with attentions clearly focussed more on conservation than on tourism revenue, booking reservations were notoriously hard to confirm. Ask your WEXAS specialist for the latest information on pricing and availability.

We like: The prefect isolation of this beautifuly designed eco-lodge

Best for: Getting away from it all in the vast wilderness of the Chacabuco Valley