Mallín Grande - Patagonia's Best Kept Secret
Off the beaten path and utterly breathtaking, Mallin Grande embodies everything that is Patagonia
Aysén Region
Chile is broken down into 16 regions; like states. Three of these regions lie in Chilean Patagonia: Lagos, Aysén and Magallanes y la Antarctica Chilena. The most commonly known region is Magallanes, and for good reason. Magallanes is the home of Torres del Paine National Park, Tierra del Fuego, and Cape Horn, which are some of the most iconic places in all of South America. But what about Chilean Patagonia’s other regions? Both Aysén and Lagos have so much to offer, but getting there can be significantly more challenging than traveling to the well known areas to the south, which makes tourists and even seasoned wilderness travelers less likely to make the trip. But trust us; once you’re there its so worth the effort!
The Aysén Region is second most Southern region in Chile. It contains all of the Northern Patagonia Ice Field, some of the Southern Patagonia Ice Field, Laguna San Rafael National Park, Lake General Carerra, and a multitude of beautiful island archipelagos. Most of the land is rugged, mountainous and used primarily for farming, so be prepared to encounter traffic jams of the livestock kind. Unless you have a boat or take a ferry, you can’t travel North through Chile into Aysén (there’s a massive ice field in the way), so you’ll need to go North through Argentina, and cross the border at Chile Chico. For more information on how to do this, and other road trip must-know items, check out our guide to the Ultimate Patagonia Road Trip!
So of all of the places in Aysén, why Mallín Grande? Let me take you back to when I was planning our trip through Patagonia:
We never got time off from work. EVER. And all of a sudden we had two months to do with what we pleased. Thank you unused vacation time! I never thought I’d get another opportunity to travel Patagonia like this, so I was going to do it right, and that meant seeing everything I’d had my eye on for years. One of the things at the top of my list was the Marble Caves of Patagonia. Yep, we were definitely going to do that! We had already decided to rent a car and take a (roughly) two week road trip on Argentina’s Route 40 and the Carretera Austral, which took us right past the Marble Caves. Yes! Now, we just needed a place to stay. Puerto Rio Tranquilo is the closest town to the caves, so naturally that was the first place that I looked. Honestly, I was pretty underwhelmed by both hotels and AirBnb’s. Mostly I was disappointed by how expensive they all were for what you got. Not to mention, there really isn’t that many options. I started to look a little further away from the caves. I mean we had a car right? That’s when I stumbled upon Patagonia Acres and Mallín Grande. About a 2 hour drive away from the caves on the other side of Lago General Carerra, Patagonia Acres is half lodge, half hotel, and half ranch. And it’s all run by a family from Arizona. But I’ll get into that later (spoiler: I’ve got a whole section dedicated to Patagonia Acres in this post - that’s how much we loved it). Compared to all of the other options in the area, Patagonia Acres was absolutely the best quality for the best price, so I booked it.
And that’s how we ended up in Mallín Grande - totally by accident by virtue of there being nowhere better to stay. Obviously by the title of this post, you can tell we were very happy with our decision.
The Marble Caves
I can’t imagine that there are any caves on Earth more beautiful than the Marble Caves in Chilean Patagonia. Carved from the glacial aftereffects of Lake General Carerra, the caves are an absolute work of art. Pair that with the incredible blue water of the lake and the jagged snow capped peaks rising on all sides…words really don’t do justice to the beauty of this place…so here’s a video!
Geologists believe the lake to be somewhere around 4 million years old, and formed originally by tectonic plate movement in the region, but shaped into what we see today by glacial activity during the last ice age. The marble caves are roughly 6,200 years old, and were formed by the constant lapping of the waves against the gigantic marble monoliths that jut out from the crystal blue water.
You have two main options when visiting the caves: book a boat tour, or take a guided kayak tour. If you have been kayaking before, I would highly recommend the kayak tour. Sitting so close to the epic blue waters of the lake and paddling through beautiful natural marble sculptures is an experience I will never forget. We even got lucky and had the caves all to ourselves! However, if you aren’t familiar with kayaks, canoes, or other paddle sports, I recommend you stick to the boat tours. The winds can get pretty hectic on Lake General Carerra and it’s about a 20 minute paddle from where you put-in to where the caves start. Wind + water = waves; not good for those with no watersports experience. But don’t worry! The boat tour is awesome too, and you still get to go inside some of the caves. You’ll also get to see more of the lake and surrounding area since you will start from the town of Puerto Rio Tranquilo.
If you decide to go with the kayaks, the best company out there is Sueños del Sur. Robinson is the main guide with SdS, and he was so awesome and incredibly knowledgeable. Fun fact: he was actually a Chliean champion white water kayaker prior to leading tours to the Marble Caves, so you KNOW you’re in good hands. He also volunteered to use our GoPro to be our personal photographer/videographer to make sure that there were plenty of pictures with both of us in them. How sweet was that?! I actually have no idea how we ended up with Robinson or Sueños del Sur. We went to a tour company on the main road across from the lake in Puerto Rio Tranquilo, paid the guys 50,000 CLP (about $62 USD) per person, and came back the next day for our time slot. That’s when Robinson showed up and we hopped in his truck off to the caves! I’m sure you could book with him directly through Facebook. Pro tip: most Chileans have WhatsApp, so if you can’t get ahold of a company in Patagonia directly, you’ll probably have better luck with WhatsApp.
Surrounding Areas
While Mallín Grande is pretty isolated (which is awesome!), there are tons of other great things to see just a few hours drive away. Here are our top picks for other attractions in the surrounding area:
The Confluence:
About an hour’s drive away from Mallín Grande, the rivers Baker and Nef are churned together when the crystal blue waters of the Baker cascade down about 30 ft (10 m) in to the silty brown waters of the Nef. What makes this sight so cool? You can visually see the the rivers coming together, and their contrast creates an actual line between the waters as they run downstream. The Baker river waterfall is pretty cool too. Finally, the trail to the confluence starts right off the Carretera Austral, so it’s an easy stop for those on their own Ultimate Patagonia Road Trip!
Patagonia National Park:
One of the lesser known, and much newer national parks in Patagonia is Patagonia National Park. Located in Cochrane, Chile, it is a little over two hours drive from Mallín Grande. While we did not give ourselves enough time to make it down to this awesome landmark, a visit is definitely on the cards for our next trip to Patagonia! The Lagunas Altas loop trail is a beautiful 23k day hike (the website says it takes most hikers 6-10 hours to complete) in a much more remote corner of Patagonia than Torres del Paine. Another loop trail in Patagonia National Park is the Aviles Valley Trail. 16k total, this trail is much less strenuous than the Lagunas Altas loop, but also completely stunning. When we go back to check out this park, we will probably spend two or three days exploring the beautiful scenery.
Obviously, I can’t take credit for any of these photos, as I’ve not been to Patagonia National Park. And while this goes against my strict policy of only using photos we have taken on our travels, this place was just too pretty to not show you guys!
Laguna San Rafael National Park:
About 4 hours by car from Mallín Grande, Laguna San Rafael National Park encompasses the Northern Patagonian Ice Field, and is home to the highest peak in Chilean Patagonia - Monte San Valentín (also known as Mt. San Clemente), which is also the highest peak anywhere South of 37° S outside of Antarctica. Other amazing attractions in the park are Lake San Rafael and the San Rafael Glacier. While you won’t find any major hiking trails or circuits here (which makes sense seeing as how the park is made up mostly of a massive ice field…), you will still find amazing scenery and boat tours offering up close and personal views of the San Rafael Glacier.
Still want more??
For those of you keen to see everything the amazing Aysén Region has to offer, check out our guide to The Ultimate Patagonia Road Trip where we go into detail about the amazing places you can visit along the Carretera Austral - Chile’s most scenic highway!
Patagonia Acres Lodge
In someplace as vast and remote as Aysén, finding lodging can be kind of difficult. Outside Puerto Rio Tranquilo or Mallin Grande, most of your lodging options are going to be overpriced hotels (that really aren’t that great), or expensive AirBnb’s (ok, these are pretty awesome, so if you’re really set on a private option and can afford the hefty price tags, maybe consider it). After months of research on the best places to stay around Lake General Carerra, I settled on Patagonia Acres. It was reasonably priced, had great views, and while it wasn’t as close to the Marble Caves as I had hoped for, it was really our best option all things considered. Let me tell you…I could not have been happier with our decision! We even decided to stay an extra night! Let me tell you why:
The Location:
Patagonia Acres lodge is settled on 87 hectares of raw Patagonian beauty perched on rocky cliffs overlooking Lake General Carrera. On the lodge’s property alone you can explore beautiful back country (trails or no trails), visit an amazing beach with perfectly polished marble stones, launch a paddleboard or paddle boat from their private dock, or even play golf on their private golf course! Once you’re done with your day’s adventures, chill out with a book or play a game of ping pong in the lodge’s lounge area that has a huge patio positioned perfectly to enjoy the Aysén sunset. Still not enough to keep you busy? Puerto Rio Tranquilo and the Marble Caves are a short two hour drive away. You can also easily access all the other great locations listed above like Patagonia National Park, The River Confluence and Laguna San Rafael National park in a 2-4 hour car ride.
The Animals:
It’s hard to pull off keeping farm animals at a luxury resort, but Patagonia Acres does it beautifully! They have an entire flock of sheep, a pack (I think it’s called a pack…) of Alpacas, cats, chickens, and a lovely Great Pyrenees name Mireena. Some of the sheep are quite tame and will happily trot right up to you for a scratch behind the ears. One of my favorite things about staying at Patagonia Acres was waking up every morning and saying hello to all the animals on my way to breakfast.
The Accommodation:
Patagonia Acres offers its guests multiple options of private chalet’s. The basic option (the one we stayed in) can accommodate a family of 4 - there was a queen bed and a bunk bed in the room. We also had our own full bathroom and small wood burning fireplace for heating the chalet at night. Chalet upgrade options include chalets with multiple rooms, a dining room, sitting room, and kitchenette. Each chalet has it’s own porch with a bench overlooking Lake General Carerra. Common areas include a world class dining room with a private chef, lovely sitting/game room, beautiful large balcony, and an indoor/outdoor wood-heated hot tub!
The Service:
As if you still need convincing to stay at Patagonia Acres, let me tell you about possibly the best thing about the entire place; the service. An American family from Arizona runs the lodge, and they really do treat you like family. Upon arrival, we were greeted by Justin, the property manager/waiter/tour guide/you name it! Justin literally does EVERYTHING! Even though we arrived much later than planned, Justin and chef Valentina waited up for us to show us to our chalet, and cook us an amazing dinner accompanied by delicious cocktails. Justin, Valentina and Chris (Justin’s father) welcome you as if you were a part of their family. On our last night at the lodge, we invited Justin and Valentina to have dinner with us as opposed to making dinner for us (we were the only guests at the lodge at the time). It was such a fun night! We left feeling not like we had stayed at a lodge, but feeling like we had met new friends and gained a place to come visit time and time again. You can certainly bet that we will be back.
Getting There
As you may have guessed, getting to someplace “off the beaten track” is usually not easy, and Mallin Grande is no exception. That’s the one drawback; unless you have a car, getting here can be almost impossible. Sure, you can take a bus to Puerto Rio Tranquilo or hitchhike your way there, but be prepared for these options to be long and arduous. We met one backpacker while we were hiking the “O” trek through Torres del Paine who said he looked into taking a bus to Puerto Rio Tranquilo to check out the Marble Caves, but quickly gave up on the idea when he realized he would have to take a total of 9 buses from Puerto Natales and walk 7 miles across the border at Chile Chico becasue…well…buses just don’t go there. Of course, if you are really going for that full on backpacking experience, its totally doable! If not, here are some other options for you to consider:
Fly, then drive:
The main airport serving the Aysen region is in Balmaceda, which is about 55 km Southeast of Coyhaique, and a little over a 4 hour drive to Mallin Grande. There is also a small airfield located in Chile Chico with less frequent flights. This airport is about a 2.5 hour drive from Mallin Grande.
Drive:
If you’re already embarking on an epic road trip on Argentina’s famous Route 40, then driving the whole way probably makes the most sense for you. There are some awesome attractions along Route 40 that are absolutely worth seeing and will help break up your drive. However if you’re like us (ahem…slightly crazy), you can drive all the way from El Calafate or El Chalten. Fair warning: this drive took us a total of 12 hours. The roads are NOT great, and you’ll have to keep a close eye on your fuel tank, as fueling stations are few and far between. For some great road trip tips and a map of fuel stations in Argentina’s Santa Cruz Province, click here.
If you’re driving the incredible Carretera Austral from North to South, Mallin Grande is within easy reach of Queulat National Park and Coyohaique; both of which have some great attractions as well.
