Dates of trips
- 29/01/2025-18/02/2025
Description
As one of the few european tour organizers, we offer you an expedition to the highest peak in South America, Aconcagua, via the route called 360 º. We will ascend through the rarely visited, wild and picturesque Vacas Valley. And after the summit attack, we will trek down from the other side of the mountain: along the classic route through the Horcones Valley. Thus, we have the opportunity not only to stand on the peak of Aconcagua, but also during the same expedition to trek around its massif. By hiking through rarely visited areas of the mountain, we will avoid the crowds and have a chance to admire the Andean wildlife.
The Stone Guardian is said to guard the Secret of the Mountains. The Stone Guardian is the meaning of the Quechua Indian word “Aconcagua”. It is a mythical mountain, the dream of many. The highest peak of the Andes and both Americas, as well as the Western and Southern Hemispheres. Aconcagua is one of the most demanding peaks of the Seven Summits. A combination of a serious mountaineering challenge with a large dose of South American exoticism.
Aconcagua is a goal for people who already have mountaineering experience: they have already been at altitudes of 4,000 – 5,000 meters above the sea level or higher and tolerated it relatively well, and they are also familiar with using crampons and ice ax as well. Fitness is also necessary to move efficiently and quickly with a backpack at high altitudes and in demanding terrain. However, you don’t have to be a climber or mountaineer. The slopes of Aconcagua are not very steep, so you don’t have to climb glaciers full of hidden crevasses. Aconcagua is a mountain that in good weather can be climbed by an averagely fit high-mountain tourist assisted by a guide.
Expeditions to Aconcagua take place during the European winter. In Argentina it is then the middle of summer. In addition to high-mountain activities on Aconcagua, we can enjoy the splendor of Andean nature, so fascinatingly different from ours.
Group
Time
Mountains
Activity
Teams
Price
Country
Level
Trip program
Day 1 – flight to Santiago de Chile or Buenos Aires* **
(* all participants should arrive and depart from the same of the two airports mentioned above, the arrangement is made together with the organizer based on air ticket prices and the convenience of connections from the country from which the majority of the group will fly)
(**for those who prefer cheaper flights with several transfers or who want to rest before the mountain adventure, we recommend starting the trip a day earlier).
Day 2 – arrival at the destination airport. Then transfer by comfortable scheduled bus to Mendoza. Accommodation in a *** hotel with breakfast (double rooms).
Day 3 – rest after the journey, receiving climbing permits, then transfer by bus to Los Penitentes at the foot of the Aconcagua massif (approx. 2.5 hours of driving). Preparation for the hike, packing loads on mules. Dinner and overnight stay in a comfortable hostel in Los Penitentes (double rooms).
Day 4 – bus transfer (approx. 10 minutes) from Los Penitentes to Punta de Vacas (approx. 2,800 m above sea level), where hike via Vacas Valley towards the Plaza Argentina base, from which we will set off to the summit, begins. Trekking to the Pampa de Leñas camp (2950 m above sea level, route approx. 5 hours, 13 km). Overnight stay in camping tents. Breakfast and dinner in the camp.
Day 5 – Hike to Casa de Piedra camp (3240 m above sea level, approx. 6 hours hike). Accommodation in camping tents. Breakfast and dinner in the camp.
Day 6 – after a camping-standard breakfast, start trekking to the Plaza Argentina base (4,200 m above sea level, route approx. 9 hours). Lunch and rest. Dinner at the base. Overnight stay in comfortable base camp tents.
Day 7 – acclimatization and rest day in Plaza Argentina. Group registration, medical examinations before starting the mountaineering activity. Breakfast, lunch and dinner at the base camp. Overnight stay in comfortable base camp tents.
Day 8 – ascent to camp I (approx. 5000m above sea level) to leave a deposit there. Descent to Plaza Argentina. Breakfast, lunch and dinner at the base camp. Overnight stay in comfortable base tents.
Day 9 – one more ascent to camp I. Overnight in tents. Breakfast and dinner at camping standard.
Day 10 – ascent to camp II (approx. 5,500 m above sea level) and leaving the deposit there. Descent to camp I. Overnight in tents. Breakfast and dinner at camping standard.
Day 11 – another ascent to camp II. Accommodation in tents. Breakfast and dinner at camping standard.
Day 12 – ascent to Camp III Cólera (approx. 6000m above sea level) and leaving a deposit there for the summit push. Descent to camp II. Overnight stay in camp II in tents. Breakfast and dinner at camping standard.
Day 13 – another ascent from camp II to Cólera. Overnight stay in camp III in tents. Breakfast and dinner at camping standard.
Day 14 – summit push from Cólera to the ummit of Aconcagua (6962m above sea level). Return to camp III. Accommodation in tents. Breakfast and dinner at camping standard.
Day 15 – descent to the base camp at Plaza de Mulas on the other side of the Aconcagua massif. Lunch and rest. Dinner at the base camp. Overnight stay in comfortable base camp tents.
Day 16 – breakfast at the base camp, then a hike from Plaza de Mulas base camp to Horcones, where our Aconcagua adventure will end. Bus transfer to Los Penitentes (approx. 20 min.). Dinner and overnight stay in a comfortable hostel in Los Penitentes (double rooms).
Day 17 – after breakfast at the shelter, transfer by bus to Mendoza. Sightseeing the town together, free time in the evening. Accommodation in a *** hotel with breakfast (double rooms).
Days 18 – 19 – additional days for mountain activities, reserve days in case of bad weather or slower acclimatization. If mountain activities end earlier, these days can be used for optional trips.
Day 20 – Bus transfer from Mendoza to Santiago de Chile or Buenos Aires (depending on where participants will fly home from). Evening city tour. Overnight stay in apartment **/ ***.
Day 21 – transfer to the airport. Flights home.
The trip price includes
- service of 1 BluEmu mountain leader for a maximum of 4 people during a mountain activity (in the case of a group of more than 4 people, two leaders are provided)
- 4 overnights in comfortable base camp tents with meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner, vegetarian and meat versions available) at the Plaza Argentina base camp,
- 1 overnight in comfortable base camp tents with meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner, vegetarian and meat versions available) at the Plaza de Mulas base
- 1 overnight in camping tents provided by BluEmu with meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner, vegetarian and meat versions available) during the group’s joint ascent to the Pampa de Leñas camp
- 1 overnight in camping tents provided by BluEmu with meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner, vegetarian and meat versions available) during the group’s joint ascent to the Casa de Piedra camp
- 2 overnights with meals (breakfast and dinner, vegetarian and meat versions available) in a shelter in Penitentes
- 2 overnights with breakfast in a *** hotel in Mendoza (double rooms)
- 1 overnight in an apartment in Santiago de Chile or Buenos Aires
- a maximum of 9 overnights in camps above the base on Aconcagua in camping tents provided by BluEmu, with meals (breakfast and dinner, vegetarian and meat versions available) in camping standard (meals prepared together with the guides) on Aconcagua.
- transfers of the entire group included in the schedule by private bus from the bus station in Mendoza to the hotel and from the hotel to the bus station on the return journey, from Mendoza to Los Penitentes, from Los Penitentes to Punta Vacas, from Horcones to Los Penitentes and from Los Penitentes to Mendoza.
- transportation a maximum of 20 kg of luggage per person by mules during the trek from Punta Vacas to the Plaza Argentina base camp and then from the Plaza Argentina base camp to the Plaza de Mulas base camp as well as from the Plaza de Mulas base camp to Horcones;
- insurance for the entire duration of the trip (while staying in the mountains, the policy covers high-risk sports);
- a unique commemorative T-shirt and buff;
- obligatory contribution to the Polish Tourist Guarantee Fund
- obligatory contribution to the Polish Tourist Aid Fund;
- the possibility of using advice when purchasing a plane ticket or tickets for other means of transport to the group meeting place and back
- the possibility of taking advantage of advice when purchasing the equipment listed on the list;
- possibility of taking advantage of advice on fitness and technical preparations for the trip.
The trip price does not include
- a return plane ticket to Buenos Aires or Santiago de Chile;
- permits to stay in Aconcagua National Park and climb Aconcagua;
- additional meals, accommodation and transfers not included in expedition price;
- costs of entry tickets to places visited in cities;
- costs of possible transport of additional kilograms (over the limit of 20 kg/person) by mule during the trek;
- costs of the services of a high-altitude porter above the base camp;
- costs of optional trips during additional days if the mountain activity is finished earlier
- costs of the participant’s individual return as well as the transport of her/his luggage and her/his individual transfers in the event that she/he travels part of the route individually and not with the entire group (e.g. separation from the group, including separation for health reasons or individual reaching the expedition at the moment it is in progress)
- costs of individual transfers from or to the airport in case of arrival or departure at a different time than the majority of the group