At the end of this month (30 April 2019) following the biggest ever private land donation of one million acres, Tompkins Conservation will hand over 'the keys' to CONAF, the national forest service of Chile, for Pumalín Douglas Tompkins National Park and Patagonia National Park. Commenting, Tom Power, co-founder of UK-based specialist tour operator Pura Aventura, says, “The handover of these two giant tracts of precious land is good for everyone. To take vulnerable, ecologically critical land, restore it and give it, in perpetuity, to the people of Chile makes it safe forever more. In terms of scale and impact, there have been few greater charitable acts in history.”

All the tourism services including lodges, cabins and information centres are currently closed to make the transition of ownership as smooth as possible. Pura Aventura, who work closely with Tompkins Conservation, advise travellers to book sooner rather than later for October, when this part of Chile becomes accessible, weather-wise, once more.

Joining the two Nationals Parks of Pumalín and Patagonia is the Carretera Austral, one of the world's most beautiful and adventurous roads which weaves through glaciers, lakes, forests, mountain and villages. No other tour operator knows this little-visited region quite like Pura Aventura who have been arranging holidays here for 20 years. New responsible tourism initiatives and improved infrastructure will gradually open up more of Patagonia to explore. Welcoming family-run lodges provide wonderful hospitality, with excellent local guides to introduce guests to the ecosystems and substantial 4x4s will help those on a self-drive adventure.

For Kris Tompkins, who heads up Tompkins Conservation, the handover marks the culmination of a conservation dream shared with her late husband Doug. The latter bequeathed the two areas of land to the Chilean nation - one of the greatest land-conservation legacies in the world – in a process that was completed following his fatal canoe accident in 2015. 

Price:  Pura Aventura (pura-aventura.com, +44 (0)1273 676712) offers a 14-day Carretera Explorer trip taking in the Pumalín Douglas Tompkins National Park, Patagonia National Park and the Carretera Austral, which links together the Valdivian rainforests, snow-covered mountains, rolling grasslands and the vast icefields further south, from £3,911pp based on 2 sharing including B&B accommodation, some meals, 4x4 car hire, some guiding, private transfers, and internal travel. International flights are extra.

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