Uruguay is classic gaucho country and also has some of the world's finest unspoiled beaches. This itinerary on this horse riding holiday explores not only working estancias but also tropical palm groves, protected wetlands, beaches, shipwrecks and marine life such as dolphins, whales and seals. Horseback riding is an integral part of the culture as raising cattle is big business and the gauchos still depend heavily on horses to handle the cow. The Criollo horses are reliable and responsive mounts and the traditional saddles very comfortable. The food is excellent, varying from tender organic local beef to fresh sea food. The riding is excellent and Uruguay still offers an authentic South American experience with large unpopulated stretches ideal for riding.
No supplement if willing to share. Otherwise:
2010 Feb to Apr: £235/€285/$349
2010 Oct to Apr 2011: £259/€315/$399
SAMPLE ITINERARY - ESTANCIAS AND BEACHES
Day 1
Montevideo – Tango & Candombe
Today is set aside to relax and explore the seaside city of Montevideo. Guests are met at the Carrasco
International Airport and driven along the wonderful coastline called “Rambla” to the downtown hotel.
After Check in, city tour to discover Montevideo, a very quite and safe city that combines museums, street markets, nice restaurants and very friendly people.
Free time for lunch (a luxury barbecue at the Mercado Del Puerto is strongly recommended!) and to rest or explore the downtown streets and experience the typical Rio de la Plata music, the Tango or Candombe with the rhythms and coloured costumes. You will stay in a nice centrally located 3 to 4 star hotel.
(Meals are not included today).
Day 2 18th century Fortín de San Miguel
After breakfast we will be driven to the Brazilian border and into Rocha, arguably the most beautiful province in Uruguay with its pristine beaches, emerald shores and network of lagoons. We will visit ‘Chuy’, a very curious
town straddling the border where guests can step into Brazil and hear the locals speak a strange language made of a mix of Spanish and Portuguese. As we arrive at the hotel built in the same stone as the nearby Portuguese fortress we can admire the views out across an enormous stretch of fresh water -one of the largest fresh water reserves of South America, the "Merín Lagoon". We are right on the Brazilian border. After lunch we will met gauchos and horses, to ride around the rolling hills of San Miguel enjoying a wonderful panoramic view of the area from the top of the boulder covered ‘Cerro Picudo’. The view across the flat lowlands and the huge lagoon provides a very different landscape to the following days’ rides. We can smell the sea and on clear days view the coast. This area is home to a wide variety of birds and we will see many different native trees and bushes. We will also have the chance to see the Cimarron cattle – the first cattle, introduced from Spain in the 17th century and depending on what the gauchos are doing, they may need a hand to work these tame animals. We will stay at the “Fortín de San Miguel", guests can enjoy the gardens, swimming pool and the relaxed atmosphere.
Day 3
Barra de Chuy beach – Brazilian border & a ride along a pristine beach.
In the morning we will have a nice 3-4 hours ride along the Brazilian border, sometimes riding in Uruguay and others in Brazil ! After a special picnic lunch at a working estancia, riders may have a pleasant “siesta” discovering that gauchos’ saddles are so comfortable to ride as to sleep! Then we will have a fast-pace ride along the wonderful, isolated ocean beach of ‘Barra Chuy’.
Visitors seldom reach this beach so we can enjoy a long, exhilarating canter with no signs of habitation as we ride across the pure white sands alongside the Atlantic Ocean. We arrive 22km (12 miles) further south at "La Coronilla" and stay at small beachside hotel.
Day 4 Santa Teresa national park, dolphins & shipwrecks.
Today we will ride south, alternating beaches with coastal hills, sand dunes and pine forests into the immense Santa Teresa National Park. The center piece of the park is a fort started in 1762 by the Portuguese to defend the edge of their territories then completed by the Spaniards who took it by assault just a year later. This was just the start of a succession of conquering, loosing and reconquering the fort; it was not until 1825 that the newly forming ‘Uruguay’ finally captured and held the fort. The fort is surrounded by 3000 hectares of forest containing over 2 million trees the majority from other parts of the world and, after a picnic lunch we will enjoy riding along the forest trails, down to the beach. We pass a shipwreck buried in the sand – one of many along this treacherous coast. Indeed, Polonio, where we ride later is named after a Spanish galleon that went down just off the point. Luckily ‘Beagle’ with Charles Darwin aboard did not succumb to this fate and Darwin spent quite some time in Uruguay collecting species and most likely starting to formulate his theories of evolution. Most days there is the wonderful sight of dolphins feeding in the bay.
After a traditional picnic close to the fortress or on the beach, depending on the weather, we can choose between been driven or canter back along the water’s edge to the hotel for barbecued fresh fish, Uruguayan wine and a pleasant overnight listening to the waves.
Day 5
Don Bosco – tropical palm groves & Laguna Negra.
After an early breakfast, we will be driven along a very scenic road near to the famous "Laguna Negra" (the ‘black lagoon’, named after the dark waters). We will meet the horses and ride into the native vegetation on
the Don Bosco hills from where we will be able to enjoy an incredible view of the unique extensive palm groves and Laguna Negra. Despite a number of stories, no one knows how the palm trees got here -some 300 years old; they are not native but they give the landscape a very exotic look. During the trip we will pass many roadside stalls selling the fruit and the less innocent ‘hooch’ brewed from the palm nuts. The cloudy, sticky liquid is so potent that if you leave the cap off the old bottles it is sold in the liquor evaporates in a flash! Descending the hills we ride alongside the lake where we will surely see ibis, herons, egrets, storks and a legion of migrating birds (birds arrive here from as far as Alaska and the Falkland Islands). After a typical lunch on the lagoon shores, we ride on eastwards through the palm groves and back towards the coast where we meet the vehicle and head to a nearby working Estancia El Sauce for overnight.
Day 6 El Sauce, an authentic estancia – ‘mate’ tea & the gaucho life.
We wake up on a farm - El Sauce is a working estancia run by its owners where we will enjoy a full day riding around the crops and very varied vegetation on the property. The estancia, built in 1920, is very comfortable –it is not a hotel but the family house that we have been invited to stay as guests of the owners, offering us an incredible experience and a very special insight into the life in the country. For example, guests can sample the ‘mate’ sipped hot out of a dry gourd. The gauchos and their mate are inseparable and a ceremony has developed around drinking mate. In addition to the cattle grasslands this estancia has a large area of marshlands and also rice crops both of which are teeming with bird life (more than 400 species in this area) making another very varied ride and giving us the chance to see the graceful blacknecked swan (largest populations in the world found here), the rare white goose and many ducks and other birds such as the largest bird in South America- the ‘ostrich-like’ “ñandú” (rhea). Otters, coypus and capybaras inhabit the marshlands and streams. At several points on the trip we will see the pink flamingo – a species of flamingo with very bright pink pigment and quite common in Uruguay. Overnight at this authentic working estancia.
Day 7
Cabo Polonio – shifting sands & sea lions.
The day starts with a drive to the ocean coast. We will meet our horses and ride into the desert! We ride through the area which has been declared a natural animal reserve and a Biosphere Natural Reserve by UNESCO. We will ride to Cabo Polonio, a charming fishing village which can only be reached by horse or four wheeled drive. The fascinating part of the area is the huge area of shifting sand dunes, as we ride through it is possible
to imagine that we are right in the middle of the Sahara. After lunch at a typical restaurant on the beach we will see seals and sea lions that populate the small islands and make up one of the largest populations of seals in the world; very occasionally we spot a migrating Right Whale. Riders can swim in one of the most beautiful beaches of the country. After this ride full of surprises and diverse scenery, we will stay at a lovely comfortable working estancia, El Charabón.
Day 8 El Charabón working estancia – Cattle drives and traditional meals.
We continue our Uruguayan ride experience at Estancia El Charabón (Charabón means small rhea). Next to the Atlantic coast and surrounded by the hills of Rocha, 225 Km away from Montevideo and only 80 Km away
from Punta del Este, El Charabon offers comfort and peace in fantastic surroundings. El Charabón is a 1200 ha working estancia specialized in calving and lambing.. Guests will be able to participate in rural tasks, to
learn about cattle breeding (the ranch works with Hereford and Polled Hereford cattle and also has a wool cabin Hampshire Down). We will enjoy new horses and a long ride to the nearby beach to have a picnic lunch. Ride
back to the estancia and relax in the open swimming pool before having a wonderful sunset afternoon tea. Uruguayan wine, lamb barbecue and the homemade specialties are a special complement for beautiful cantering days at this charming estancia.
Day 9 Estancia Ride
At day nine, in addition to very nice ride on the excellent horses bred at the estancia, we will have the chance to help the gauchos and their working dogs on cattle and sheep drives. The landscape is absolutely different from the days before. El Charabón combines open prairies with a large Eucalyptus forestry. After the morning ride at the estancia, we will have the goodbye lunch and be driven to Montevideo airport or extensions.
Please note: This itinerary is given for your guidance only and it may be altered in accordance with the prevailing conditions by the organising team.
NOTES - ESTANCIAS AND BEACHES
This ride will still be confirmed if there are less than 4 riders booked prior to departure but the itinerary may be modified.
Heavier riders can be accommodated by having an extra horse along to enable more frequent changes. There is a supplement of £169 for this in 2010.
The weight limit for this ride is 14 st/198 lb/90 kg, please enquire if you are an experienced rider exceeding this weight.
FURTHER DETAILS
As we are specialists in our field we have extensive knowledge of all our products from details of accommodation and meals to number/size/type of horses to pace of riding ... and much more.
Should you wish to receive further details of this ride please click here.
WHAT IS INCLUDED
All transfers, accommodation (private bathrooms), meals and mineral water (except Day 1), English speaking guide, horses and grooms services, city tour of Montevideo.
WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED
International flights, soft and alcoholic drinks, items of a personal nature and gratuities.
Estancia Los Potreros-Argentina Estancia Los Potreros is an exclusive 6,000-acre working cattle farm that has remained in the same Anglo-Argentine family for four generations. Polo is part of the tradition here, and this extends to Gauchos and Guests.
Montana, Bridger Ranch - USA
This is a hospitable family run ranch of 3200 acres. Your hosts' grandparents were the original homesteaders and carved the ranch out of the wilderness. Cattle work is also done for all the neighbours, so there is 22 square miles of territory to cover. The horses are well schooled with paces to suit all.
Horizon Ranch - South Africa A must do horse riding holiday! This 10,000 hectare ranch lies deep within Waterberg Mountains. Triple B Ranch has been home to the Baber family for over a century and continues to operate as a working cattle and game ranch.
What you see on our web site is exactly how much your invoice will come to and this will not change once booked. Unlike some other companies the prices on our web site are fully inclusive of often hidden extras such as: VAT, Sales Tax, state taxes, city taxes, service charges, non-optional tips, fuel surcharges which can add 20% or more to the advertised cost. Prices are available in £ sterling, Euros and US$. Once invoiced, prices are guaranteed against adverse currency fluctuations. Contact us for package prices which include flights from the UK and see each ride for exact details of all items in individual itineraries.
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