After your hotel pick up, you set out on the one-hour drive to the largest privately-owned alpaca farm in Chile, Quintessence Alpacas, the “Soft Secret of Chile!” With more than 25 years of experience, Quintessence is to date the only vertically-integrated alpaca company in the world.
This family business is dedicated to the fine breeding, exporting, and manufacturing of the best alpaca and alpaca fiber, as well as to the rescue and preserve all of the beautiful natural colors that alpacas have to offer.
Alpacas are members of the South American Camelid family along with the Vicuna, the Guanaco and the Llama. Their trajectory from Asia has been traced to crossing the Bearing Strait, Canada, USA, Mexico, Peru and arriving to Chilean Patagonia and Argentina more than 10,000 years ago.
Alpacas are 100% ecological and gentle to the environment. They are small, intelligent, and friendly. They consume small quantities of water and food. Their hooves are soft with cushions which allow them to walk on any terrain without causing damage to the grounds. Alpacas never over graze. They are adaptable to different environments and terrains.
Alpaca is a natural fiber, free of oils like lanoline. Immediately after being shorn it can be washed with natural soaps and processed without the use of any chemicals. With its more than 32 natural tones, the alpaca fiber offers the best alternative against chemical dyes.
The visit will include a video presentation providing an overview of the farm and the alpaca. You will have an opportunity to feed the alpacas and touch their fine fibers. You will also visit the facility’s garment factory and fibers mill. The tour will end in the boutique where you can browse the many fabulous creations made with the finest alpaca fibers in the world!
Next stop, we visit In Situ Family Vineyards for a winery tour and wine tasting. In Situ Family Vineyards is a family-owned and operated producer of high-quality wines and table grapes. The vineyard exports to more than 20 countries. Their grapes are planted along the banks of the Aconcagua River and on the surrounding hillsides. This geography creates a micro-climate ideally suited for wine and table grape production, with a soil quality that rivals the best wine-growing regions in South America.
After the winery tour and wine tasting there will be time for lunch (not included), if you choose, at a rustic countryside restaurant called “Juan y Medio”, an old monastery where the Catholic monks used to make wine.
On the return to Santiago, on a clear day, you will see views of Mount Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in the Western Hemisphere, at 22,841 feet above sea level.
Please note:
(1) The order of sites visited may vary.
(2) Although this is a private tour with your own vehicle and guide, there may be other visitors at the alpaca farm and winery joining you on the visit, which is beyond our control.