Cowboy Experience

Our 8-day cowboy experience offers one of the most authentic forms of horse trekking you can imagine: in old Chilean tradition we are changing our semi-wild herd of horses between its winter pasture in Rari and its summer pasture high up in the Andes. We just offer this ride three times in the year! You will experience the lifestyle of a real Arriero – accompanying the herd through all hardships of the day until having a well-deserved rest besides an open fire at night. You will get the chance to meet and share a Mate with a lot of other Arrieros that travel with their herds of cows, sheep and goat and learn all about their traditions and lifestyle. Towards the end of the trip there is some time to wash the sweat away while swimming with your horse or relaxing in natural hot springs.

Got you curious? Contact us for concrete trip dates and more information!

See the Cowboy-Experience from December 2018, when we brought our horses up to the Andes with a small group of people from different parts of the world. A real adventure!

• Approximate starting dates (please contact us to inquire about this years specific dates):
  ~15th December – mustering, branding and driving up to summer pastures –> in total 9 days!
  ~20th January – mustering herd in the mountains, changing summer pastures
  ~25th April – mustering horses on summer pasture and driving down to winter pasture
• Trip length: 8 days
• Riding days: 6 days
• Riding hours: about 6 hours per day
• Meeting point: Linares (bus terminal)
  Please advise us if you need assistance in organizing a bus ride from Santiago or another city
• Number of participants: between 1 and 6 persons
• Experience: very authentic experience as a Chilean Arriero (Cowboy) driving a semi-wild herd of horses into or from their mountains summer pastures, witnessing local culture and traditions, bathing in natural hot springs
• Seasonal activities: fishing, swimming with horses
• Sightseeing: volcanoes, swamps, lakes, rivers, traditional Puestos and Arrieros
• Level: intermediate riders, there are cantering opportunities for experienced riders
• Horses: Criollo horses
• Saddle: Western saddle, Chilean saddle
• Minimum age: 14 years with parent
• Climate: dry mountain climate, hot days & cold nights

As this trip is a real lifestyle experience the exact itinerary fluctuates in dependence of the season. Please write us a message with the dates you are interested in. We will come back to you with the according itinerary. We are excited to hear from you!