Southern Patagonia tour, in depth

Planet

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 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 started calculating the carbon footprint of our trips and we offer our clients options of carbon offset. As an example of this policy, we contribute monthly with the Argentine Wildlife Foundation (a member of WFF) for reforestation programs in Argentina.
- 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 changed them for digital brochures for our clients.

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.

You値l go to unconventional places where you値l get an authentic encounter with the local peoples. You値l visit two regions that are far from the classic tourist circuit: in the Atlantic Coast Bahia Bustamante and in the North of Santa Cruz province Los Antiguos.

This tour includes small-group activities so that you can have a better experience.

This tour begins at Bahia Bustamante, a natural private reserve located on the Atlantic coast that is recognized for its relevant biological biodiversity. This family-run ecolodge has the main objective, that is to protect this piece of paradise & share this incredible nature with guests from all over the world, aiming to promote environmental conservation & raise awareness on the protection of this fragile ecosystem.

The adventure continues in Los Antiguos, where you値l visit natural monuments such as the Capillas de M疵mol and you値l get to discover the Cuevas de las Manos, an incredibly valuable archeological site of cave art, surrounded by an unforgettable colorful landscape.

People

On this trip we hire local certified guides who know their environments best. We include visits to local communities and estancias. These are off the road places, where the tourists do not frequently go and so our support is crucial to them. We support them not only by hiring their services, but also by creating cultural exchange, having lunch for example, or buying them provisions.

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.

We collaborate with the local development of that region through tourism revenues. In addition, we raise awareness about the importance of cultural and natural heritage as different sites are visited, including some protected by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites (Cueva de las Manos + PN Los Glaciares)