Chile's Patagonia was explored, foundered and traversed by horse. So it seems only fitting for a visitor to discover this unruly and dramatic country by horse and ride shoulder-to-shoulder with the true Patagonian cowboy – the Baqueano (bac-e-ano). These men have navigated their way through dense beech forests in knee-deep mud. Mustered cattle through glaciers. Traversed steep, rocky mountain passes and crossed icy fast-flowing rivers for generations. The men have a spiritual connection to the land they traverse and the animals they care for. It makes this ride particularly special to connect with these men while riding through enchanted beech tree forests and wild flower prairies.

This ride leads you through Torres del Paine, Chile's most prized national park. Its 180,000 hectares of diverse scenery and wild landscape on the edge of the southern ice fields and is one of the largest sources of temperate-zone glaciers in the world. The park was created in 1959 and was declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1978. Before that, it was part of a huge sheep estancia.

The type of horses used on this ride are the Criollo breed. I have the utmost respect and admiration for these caballos. They are extremely willing, stocky in shape and tough as old boots. The breed is one of the oldest registered horse breeds of South America and is known for their high threshold of discomfort, great immunity to disease and remarkable rate of recuperation. In short, direct one of these horses towards an impassable river crossing or a steep cliff climb and they will not hesitate, once the trust is earned they will become a loyal friend.