Manso Classic

One of the drivers will pick you up from your hotel or lodging where you are staying in. After picking up the rest of the group, we stop to load the whole equipment, rafts and food. Then, we drive on and between chatting and having “mates” to break the ice, the guide will tell us about what we see from the van while we drive along. We start our trip on Route 40, we pass along the lakes: Gutiérrez, Mascardi and Guillelmo. When we reach km. 60 we detour to the Manso River. We still have a downhill drive for about 10km (6 miles) on a non- paved road. Along our way, we will enjoy one of the best sightseeing spots of our National Park where we will stop to take pictures (Bring along your camera!).

From that point you can see Huala – Hue Lagoon, Steffen Lake and Martin Lake. At 500 meters above sea level in the Steffen lake begins Manso Inferior River, our starting point for rafting.
When we arrive, we get the equipment ready. Meanwhile, you get yourself ready too: you put on your sunscreen protection, sandals or sport shoes (you are not allowed to go barefooted). Then, the guide will introduce you to the basics of paddling so you cool down your anxiety before setting off.

The first leg is about a 60-minute rafting. Then, we slow down for a while. There you will have the opportunity to fully enjoy the beauty of Nature that surrounds us, just imagine…the river, the forest, the birds, the raft and you, no other way to get there.

Then, we stop by the river to have lunch. You will be served a starting snack with the best smoked meats (trout, wild pork and deer) from Patagonia ‘Ahumados Granjas Patagónicas’, sandwiches, different kinds of cheeses and jams, home- made salty cakes, patés, juices and fruits.

If you get ready to start we go back to the river for another 60-minute rafting through class II/III rapids. The first one will help you with your digestion, that is why we called it UVASAL (kind of ‘Alcacercer’). Then, the Villegas River flows into the Manso and between rapids we can enjoy beautiful ponds and paradise-like beaches where we stop for a nice swim dive (in summer water is about 18 C° degrees).

Then we reach the so-called place Piedra Pintada at about 17.00. There, our Staff will be waiting for us with “tortas fritas” (cakes fried in cow fat – a local specialty), that we will enjoy accompanied by tea, coffee or other cold beverages. We have bathrooms and rustic changing rooms so you can change your clothes and get comfortable for our drive back. When are all set- up, we start our way back in the van driving for about an hour.