pingo salvaje

We've spent a week in Argentina and our favorite person we have met is Cristian! Our tour was incredible -- we rode for a little more than two hours and even though it was raining Cristian made it the most fun afternoon! Beautiful views of the lakes and mountains and the experience of seeing it all from horseback was amazing. Transfers were seamless directly to and from our hotel, communication with Paula their organizer was fast and easy, and while both of us were beginners we were galloping by the end! We would definitely do this excursion again and highly recommend it to anyone stopping over in puerto natales!

THE HORSE TRIP One trip takes you up to a rock with spectacular views on lake Sofia.Of course this is a trip that's done many times. But still, it feels very unique. Eagles and condors were flying above, a sign of luck. The forest we passed was mysterious.The team of workers and volunteers is very welcoming and passionated in what they are doing. Cristian, the man who guided, was very attentive. We had a nice cup of fresh coffee on the top. I had the luck to go on my own. I met a group of 6 beginners. Also for them, it was great and doable. The other trip is to beautiful lake Sofia with more galloping and trotting. Practically: Before the horse trip you get leather legprotections and a quality protection hat. Take a vest agaist the rain (no plastic poncho as horses get afraid of this) and a windstopper. Gloves might be handy. THE COTTAGEStay at least one night! The cottage is just perfect. Rustic and decorated with style and quality materials, with a stove on wood, 2 clean bathrooms with hot showers, a great mattress and spectacular views from the living room and the 2 bedrooms (dorms of 7or8 people). The horses are gathered around the house before taking off for a trip. That's quiet a welcome in the morning. It's a very good price-quality deal. There's no wifi nor phone connection. It's a perfect retreat place. If there's something urgent the team will help you. I wanted to cancel a hotel reservation - as I decided to stay longer at PingoSalvaje - and Paula took care of the phone call. You can camp in a beautiful camping but be prepared for the weather conditions.Practically: Take all the food and drinks with you. As you are in the middle of nature, there's no supermarket whatsoever around. There's a fridge in the cottage and you can cook on a simple electric stove. Don't envision making complicated meals. There's one pan, cutlery and plates. You can also order an asado (for lunch or dinner).In the cottage there are quality sleeping bags you can use. HOW TO GET THERESend a email with your request and the asked details on the website (name, nationality, length -to know which horse they have to saddle for you- etc).If you have no own car, there's no way to get there by public transport, which makes it also such a special and safe place as there's no one. If you want a pick up from Puerto Natales, mention the time and the location.

We wanted to go for a horse ride, as well as experience life in a real patagonian estancia. We found what were looking for with Pingo Salvaje! They propose hosting in their small refuge right next to the estancia. We stayed there for one night. The refuge is very pretty and cosy. It has two dormitories upstairs, but we had one just for ourselves. We spend the evening with another very friendly couple from New-Zeland. We used the small kitchen there. It doesn't have much equipement, but enough to cook something simple. During our stay there we could chat with the people working at the estancia, and learn about the horses. We went for a 3 hours horse ride to the condor view point. We did see condors from very close! And the view from up there is really stunning! Our guide Christian was really friendly. We are totally beginners with horses, but everyhting went perfectly smooth!We also went for a little hike around the estancia and around Laguna Sofia. This place is very beautiful! We really enjoyed being alone in this huge open space and this quiet nature! The only issue is about getting there. Since we didn't have a car, Pablo came to pick us up at our hotel in Puerto Natales. But this added an extra cost. We organized all this with them by email two days before going there.

This is a really good trip. We decided to do the complete day with Pingo instead of the glacier cruise as we didn't want to be on a boat all day and it was such a good choice. It's professionally run, we organised a day before via email and they picked us up from natales. The horses are very well trained but not robots they will follow instructions but you can still have fun. I have only done 5 hrs riding but I still got to trott, canter & slow gallop during the day. Our guide Pablo was great, friendly fun with a passion for horses and great English. The views are epic and we saw huge condors from the lookout just a few metres away from us. What a great experience and our best horse riding trip of South America

Came to do a half day horse ride and stayed 4 nights. Superb, wild landscape to walk and ride in. The staff were more than helpful, making you feel so welcome. Paula, the manager can't do enough to make you comfortable and Pablo and Chirstian are the best horese riding guides you could wish for. The ride around the lake is divine and the ride up the hill to where the condors next has spectacular views of the lake below and condors overhead. The refugio is homely, warm and well appointed. Words cannot describe this place. It has a magic to it. Can't recommend it enough.

We have been travelling for 6 weeks around South America and this is by far the best thing we have done so far.A couple of points to be aware of.The website link on trip advisor doesn't seem to work but you can find the website at the same web address just using .com instead of .cl.We arranged this at really short notice but it wasn't easy to get in touch by phone as we think the numbers are mobile numbers and they are not often in range, keep persevering or email them.We sent an email the day before the trip and got a response in the evening with the trip sorted for the next day. We were after a full day trip but the morning session was booked so they arranged one for us with a 2pm pick up from Puerto Natales so assumed we were doing a half day trip but ended up doing a full day with a drop off at 9pm. Definitely worth it.The transfer cost 20,000 CLP (for the two of us) which is £20 there and back which is good value. The trip was 60,000 CLP each which was great value.If it's raining stick with it as you never know. When we got there it was throwing it down and looked like it was going to rain all day. The rain stopped in 30 mins and we finished in bright blue sunshine.Okay now the trip.Our guide Cristian was absolutely fantastic, really helpful, really knowledgeable, spoke great English which helped and was generally just a great guy. We can't thank him enough for making it a memorable trip.The ranch is in a really beautiful valley that most people wouldn't know existed as they generally fly past it heading to Torres del Paine. You can stay down at the ranch and do a multitude if other activities and if we had known this, it was something we would have done (you would probably want to have a car if you were going to do this)The trip was amazing, the views were some of the best we have seen even compared to going into the park which is probably due to the fact that you are just there on your own and also the sunlight that we had at the time.You head out of the valley up on to a ridge with great views along the way. On the ridge we had condors flying just above our heads. They are huge.... On the trip we saw parakeets (bizarre) and eagles. We stopped for lunch, bread, meat cheese, coffee,tea and there were snacks I.e. Cereal bars and fruit and nut mix.The horses were great, we did some trotting (optional) and there was potential for gallopingIn summary this is a great trip and is worth doing.

such a great place, away from the city, different from hotels and lodges, you feel like you are at a friends house, the staff is really friendly, the location is faboulous and away from all the crowd visiting patagonia, which is a plus! great food !! and best horse back riding ever!

Highly recommend the company to do the rides with ! The horses are well trained... Even the young ones , the equipment used are the best I've seen in riding trips by far! The saddles are comfy even tho it takes time to get used to if u a used to ride "English" style. I also stayed at the Refugios for 1 night which was great, the Refugio is comfy, clean and quiet. Paola (who does runs the place) is absolutely a gem , she will make sure u a well looked after during the day. The guides Jose and Toomas were fantastic, very friendy and helpfull. The best ride around the area was Puesto (this trail offered a bit of trotting / cantering) , it is a longish day but well worth it. The area itself is as good as Torres Del Paine , and perhaps even better by offering few different types of rides. I would recommend 2 days riding whilst staying either at the Refugio or the house itself (depending on u budget).

The girl who picked us up from the hostel was very helpful and friendly. The terrain in which we rode was sublime and the horse brilliant. I felt safe and it was an enjoyable experience.

I booked these guys in the afternoon the day before we went riding and Paola was really quick to reply to my email and totally flexible. Pedro (the guide) is a legend who would be worth the price on his own. Great English, really friendly and has a head that is like an encyclopaedia of knowledge of local flora and fauna. The horses were so wonderful, I have quite a bit of experience and they paired me with a really eager powerful horse. It was my wife's first time on a horse and she was given the calmest, gentle beast you could wish for. These are proper horses ridden with Western reins and a really comfortable endurance racing saddle. They are NOT ploddy nags that only follow the horse in front. The Estancia is in the most beautiful countryside in a valley about 20 min outside town and also have space for camping and for people to stay in the lodge. The people are wonderful, the country is stunning and the horses are excellent. I cannot recommended these guys highly enough!

Tomas is wonderful and cares for his horses so much. Excellent.

Puerto Natales does have a good no. of Horese ranches where one can go horse riding, camping, living the ranch life etc. But what makes this stand out is its a Family concern with very polite and caring staff, the area Laguna Sofia is not as crowded as other areas and the Ranch is expansive, spreading across the most scenic of paths and hills and slopes, giving you an exhilarating and thrilling ride and plenty of photo opportunities. The horses are well-fed, sturdy animals and if you are a nervous rider (like me), their Guide will actually hold your reins in her hands for the whole of the hour-long ride. You don't get better than that, do you.They also have a little mill cottage near a gurgling stream where you can stay a night or two. It does get desolate in the dark but Chile is a safe country and one almost never feels scared :).

We were looking for a half-day outing near Puerto Natales and Pingo Salvaje was recommended to us. It's a little out of town, maybe a 25 minute drive, but they can arrange transportation and it's well worth the drive. We rode in the hills above Laguna Sophia, which is an absolutely stunning canyon that feels super-remote. Lots of condors overhead, and some caves around with a lot of natural history. The horses we rode were super-forgiving and yet very capable in the rocky and hill terrain. In addition to pointing out a lot about the area, our guides paid a lot of the right attention to a nervous rider in our group. We wished we'd taken the full day ride; it was over way too soon! They also can provide lunch for groups in their beautifully restored farmhouse. We didn't stay for lunch, but it looked like a great venue with a view of a little waterfall just out the back window. They also do three day rides that head towards Torres del Paine and stay in pre-established cabins and camps, and next time we are going to do just that!

Es una estancia dedicada al turismo rural. Está en un sector la Laguna Sofia, excelente si usted gusta de la pesca.Un buen desvío si va en camino a las Torres del Paine y cuenta con un par de días para disfrutar de las actividades que ofrecen en este lugar. Puede acampar, arrendar cabañas o quedarse en la casa principal.Yo lo recomiendo.

O lugar fica no meio da Patagônia, isolado de tudo, com vistas de 360º para o parque, vale a pena para quem busca tranquilidade.