Cradle of Gold

Ever fantasized about visiting Machu Picchu but are nervous about getting sucked into a gringo conveyor belt with no exit until the misty-terraced gift shop? If so you’ll be relieved to hear that there’s more than just one Inca Trail, and that Machu Picchu isn’t the only mind-blowing lost city of the Incas. There is…

Hidden Gem

A cursory glance over a map of southern Chile reveals an eon of tectonic violence where the Pacific meets the Andes. Over 5,000 islands and as many peaks, valleys and fjords condense in a beguiling labyrinth that beckons as much as it forbids. Oddly, its’ a place where mountains can be explored by sail, but…

Hiking into Chile’s secret valley

This post comes to you from a fabled valley hidden deep in Chile’s Northern Patagonia. After a five-hour slog through dense temperate rainforest, contending with eight-foot mud trenches and precarious river crossings, my friend Romain and I arrived at an awe-inspiring Garden of Eden: Cochamó Valley. No car has ever penetrated this valley, no road…