Patagonia glaciers and hiking holiday

Planet

At Mater, we always search for alternative activities to those usually chosen by large groups of tourists so that you can have more intimate and authentic experiences, without missing out on the most emblematic places in Argentina.

On this trip, while in Calafate we offer excursions in small groups, trying to avoid the most touristy parts of the National Park. The tour guide explains to the travelers the importance of glaciers and the consequences of bad tourism practices.

We avoid the use of plastic for the meals on this tour.

All travelers pay the entrance fees to the National Park, collaborating with investigation and conservation programs.

The program includes a contribution to Torres del Paine Legacy Fund which helps to protect the Torres del Paine National Park. The objectives of this project are to recover the ecosystem and minimize visitor impacts, improve and update the infrastructure for tourism.

Our environmental impact in our offices is low, so we focus more on the value chain. Anyway, in the office, we do waste separation and always try to reduce and reuse whenever possible.

Selection of our suppliers:

In order to ensure sustainability and consistency with our work philosophy, we always look for sustainable tourism providers that meet any of the following requirements:
- Be distinguished by quality and / or sustainability programs/seals
- Be recognized locally for their good environmental and social practices.
- We prioritize local ventures and, if possible, attended by their owners.
- In the case of accommodation, we work with hotels certified for their environmental management whenever we can.
- We also encourage our allies to improve and continue implementing environmentally responsible practices, especially those related to water, energy, and waste.
- In the more traditional destinations, we seek to offer a different travel experience, with small group excursions, certified local guides and with alternative proposals that complement the most tourist sites.

Responsible practices with the environment
- Walking and public transport tours
- Visit natural areas where we work on environmental awareness and the importance of biodiversity.
- We contribute monthly with the Argentine Wildlife Foundation (a member of WFF)
- We deliver a recycled leather envelope to our customers to carry their documentation. The Vacavaliente company is a certified B company that buys the remains of leather from tanneries (preventing them from being waste) and transforms them into design products through reuse techniques.
- As part of our paperless policy, we stopped printing long road books and change it for digital brochures for our clients.

People

This tour allows you to get in touch with local culture, visiting places "off the beaten track" thanks to the possibility of traveling in a private vehicle, with a local driver-guide who knows all the corners of the region.

The already mentioned Torres del Paine Legacy Fund contribution has social objectives as this program also supports community development and improves recreation opportunities and tourist offer.

We also recommend our travelers to visit social projects, for example, some of our clients have visited Camino Abierto, a soup-kitchen located in a rural area that also offers training to the children: organic farming, local food preparation, harvest, farm, etc.

Some of the accommodation is in family houses (private rooms), which allows a more meaningful cultural exchange, while we support the local development.