Mendoza & Wine Country
TREK TO PLAZA FRANCIA
Aconcagua, MENDOZA
8 days / 7 nights, intense trekking***
This trek gives you the possibility of covering the Mt. Aconcagua area , visiting both base camps along the Normal Route : Confluencia Camp and Plaza de Mulas Camp. It also allows you to reach the Plaza Francia Camp , at the foot of the South Face of the Mt Aconcagua.
Travel Styles |
Intense trekking |
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Season: |
January & February |
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Minimum of passengers |
2 passengers |
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Difficulty: |
Medium difficulty |
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Trip starts at: |
Aeropuerto Mendoza |
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Trip ends at: |
Aeropuerto Mendoza |
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DAY / ITINERARY |
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03 |
Confluencia - Plaza Francia |
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05 |
Confluencia - Plaza de Mulas |
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06 |
Plaza de Mulas - Confluencia |
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• Medium to intense trekking
• Plaza Francia camp, the base for MOUNT ACONCAGUA ascent 6959 meters above sea level
• Mendoza
Day 1
Mendoza City
We welcome you at the airport of Mendoza City and transfer you to your hotel. You will have the rest of the day to explore the city.
Lodging: Hotel double or single room
Meals we provide: none
Day 2
Mendoza - Confluencia
Early morning, we will travel along the International Route N º7, through the Central Andes, to arrive at Los Horcones. We will get our permits at the park ranger office, and then we will take the trail that leads us to Los Horcones Lagoon. Once we will reach the suspension bridge over Los Horcones River, begins what we call "Quebrada Del Durazno", where you will have lunch. After lunch, we will walk for about 2 or 3 hours up to arrive at the Confluencia Camp. Our personnel will be waiting for us with a comforting afternoon snack. Then we will have a little walk around the place until we have dinner.
Walking time: 4hs. – Gained altitude 450m
Lodging: Semi Full Camp
Meals we provide: breakfast, box lunch and dinner.
Day 3
Confluencia - Plaza Francia - Confluencia
After the breakfast, we leave to Plaza Francia. The trail leads us along the Horcones River and later on along the Glacier that feeds the river.
Spectacular landscapes introduce us the great amphitheatre of the South Wall: 3000 vertical meters of rock, snow and hanging glaciers.
We will have lunch at a natural viewpoint, and after the break, we will return to Confluencia.
Ours assistants will prepare an afternoon snack and we will have time to enjoy the area until dinner.
Walking time: 8hs. – Gained altitude 900m
Lodging: Semi Full Camp
Meals we provide: breakfast, box lunch and dinner.
Day 4
Confluencia
We will have this day as a resting day to continue with the acclimatizing process, because we will be gaining altitude as we progress to Plaza de Mulas, at the base of the North wall of Mount Aconcagua.
Lodging: Semi Full Camp
Meals we provide: breakfast, box lunch and dinner.
Day 5
Confluencia - Plaza de Mulas
Today we will trek to Plaza de Mulas, this is a long day, depending on the Group, we will walk between 8 and 9 hours approximately.
We will have lunch during the crossing. By the time we arrive at Plaza de Mulas (more than 4000 meters above sea level) we will be welcomed by the manager of the campsite who will offer us the afternoon snack to help us recover some of the lost energy.
Once we are recovered, we will set up the tents and relax until dinner.
Gained altitude 800 meters
Lodging: Semi Full Camp
Meals we provide: breakfast, box lunch and dinner.
Day 6
Plaza de Mulas - Confluencia
After breakfast we will walk across the proximities of the campsite, the Horcones Glacier and the Plaza de Mulas Hotel-Refuge.
Afterwards, we will return to Confluencia, where we spend our last night at the Park.
Lodging: Semi Full Camp
Meals we provide: breakfast, box lunch and dinner
Day 7
Confluencia - Mendoza
Early morning we will pack up and have breakfast. Afterwards we will go back to Mendoza , walking down the valley towards Los Horcones.
Walking time: 3 hrs.
Lodging: Semi Full Camp
Meals we provide: breakfast, box lunch and dinner.
Day 8
Mendoza - Airport
After the breakfast, you will be transferred to the airport where this trip finishes.
Meals we provide: breakfast
Included
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Transportation services to/from the hotel and airport
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Bilingual guides (Spanish English) during all the excursions
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Transfer Mendoza airport – Hotel/Hotel – Mendoza airport.
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We combine regular and private transfers in our tours.
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2 nights of accommodation in Hotel Double or Single Base, with private bathroom and breakfast.
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5 Nights of accommodation in Semi Full Campsite.
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7 breakfasts, 5 boxed lunches and 5 dinners (please see the box below)
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Assistance to get the permit to enter the Aconcagua Provincial Park.
Not included
• Domestic and international flights and buses
• National Parks fees
• Life, medical and travel insurance**
• Drinks
• Tips
• Air tickets and airport taxes
• Services not detailed in the program
• Aconcagua Provincial Park entrance fee
• Personal equipment
• Personal porters
• Extra charges due to quitting of the trek during the expedition
• Extra charges due to emergency rescue
• Optional excursions
• Services not detailed in the itinerary
*IMPORTANT
**We strongly recommend that you buy travel insurance. Please contact us for more information or click on our travel insurance link.
Equipment transport service
Our company will provide the transportation of all the general equipment required for the trek: tents, dinning tent or dinning place, and kitchen tents, tables and benches, table service and kitchenware, food, and first aid kits.
Additionally, the company will carry the passengers' luggage up to a maximum of 8 kg per person (approx. 18 lbs ), including your own sleeping bag and mattress.
Notes
• We hold the right to change the itinerary or to cancel any of the activities when any natural cause (or any other cause of any type) justifies it in order to look after the group safety.
• We qualify this tour as " intense". This means that you need to be fit to enjoy it. No previous technical knowledge is required. The group will walk an average of six to seven hours a day, and on some specific days may be even nine. The pace is moderate and allows for all the necessary stops for water, snacks and rests. The trek includes walking both uphill and downhill, which at times can be steep and prolonged.
Accommodations
Trek to Plaza Francia is offered with the following type of accommodations:
NIGHTS |
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02 |
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06 |
07 |
Hostel room with private bathroom |
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Semi Full Camp - double base |
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Semi Full Camps are pitched up before the Group arrival. They offer comfortable accommodation. The camp features a spacious dinning tent, tables, benches or chairs and a full set of table service and kitchenware.
Meals
DAYS |
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02 |
03 |
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05 |
06 |
07 |
08 |
Breakfast |
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x |
x |
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x |
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x |
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Box Lunch |
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x |
x |
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x |
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Dinner |
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x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
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List of suggested personal equipment |
• Backpack, 50 liters or so (approx. 2 cu feet)
• Sleeping bag down or synthetic for -10º C (15 deg F)
• Sleeping mattress
• Trekking shoes or boots
• Thermal underwear
• Trekking pants
• Fleece
• Breathable parka and over pants
• Parka and over pants
• Gaiters
• Gloves
• Thermal socks
• The necessary spare clothing
• Wool hat
• Sun hat
• Sun glasses
• Sunscreen of at least 30 SPF (UV is very strong during the southern spring, from September thru December)
• Personal items
• Lamp
• Trekking poles (recommended, if you are used to them)
• Personal documents such as passport to cross the border between Argentina and Chile
• Personal medications
These tours have more demanding activities and the accommodations and we spend more nights camping in order to explore more distant areas of the country.
Some nights are spent in Hostels or Hosterias, simple lodgings, while others are spent in our full camps or in mountain refugees.
The trekking activities are led by mountain guides or local inhabitants of the area (according to the destination).
In some of the group departures there are incoming services and guides during the activities and in some other group departures there is a tour leader dedicated full time to the group.
The level of difficulty is intermediate. Passengers need to be in adequate physical condition. It is not required to possess prior technical experience.
We carry all the necessary equipment for the trek and your personal luggage up to a maximum of 8 kg per passenger. This is due to National Park regulations. In some very specific sections of the trek we ask passengers to carry their own sleeping bag and personal items that you will use during 2 days and 1 night.
We walk an average of 6 or 7 hours a day, 9 hours in specific days, at a moderate pace and with all the necessary stops for rest, snacks or photos. The trek includes some steady up hills and down hills that can be steeper by sections.
Previous experience walking outdoors and camping is advisable as we use a lot of our Full Camps.
We have plenty of itineraries for hiking & adventure in Mendoza, Patagonia and other destinations in Argentina / Chile. Contact us for more information if you think that this one is not fitting your interest or fitness level. Private expeditions are also available upon request and at extra charge.