Old fashioned chickens in the Andes known as Mapuche fowl with glorious colours and some with frilly feathers
Category Archives: Chilean Country Life
Victor – Horseback arriero guide
One of our arriero guides, Victor who is eldest son of our head guide, Rigo
Angelo – Chilean rodeo rider
Our guide Angelo who is Rigo’s second son and an excellent horseman
Chilean mountain horseman – our guide Leo
Leo, our arriero guide, a real Chilean mountain horseman who knows El Toyo and its mountains like no one else
Octavio – Cajon del Maipo arriero
Octavio, a Cajon del Maipo arriero who takes rides in the high cordillera of the Andes
Old-fashioned tickling for trout
Activities on horse rides in the mountains sometimes include other country pursuits
Rigo, our head guide
Alejandro Severino, known as Rigo, is our head arriero and guide. Experienced, responsible y simpatico.
Chilean horses at our parcela or small-holding
Most rides start out from our ‘parcela’ where the horses are kept, on the edge of the Fundo El Toyo, a 20,000 hectarea mountain estate near Santiago
Night ride, full moon horseback trips
Full moon horseback trips: night ride, a special birthday in the mountains.
Making hay in Chile
Forking the hay into the baler ready for winter feed for the horses It seems to be a basic characteristic of human nature, along with hunter-gathering and nest-making, to long for a little piece of land to cultivate. Here in Chile where the mountains rise up on either side and small flat patches of rich …
Horseback winter rides
Horse riding in the Andes can be even more beautiful in winter
Photograph a Condor
Photograph a condor from horseback in the Andes near Santiago…
A classic Chilean country rodeo
Country rodeos in Chile – a popular event
how to win a Chilean rodeo
How to win a Chilean country rodeo
Inca mummy, boy child frozen in Chile
The inca mummy found on El Plomo mountain
Cajon Lo Valdes, the air crash valley
Valley known as ‘El Avion’ after the air crash in 1965
Mountaineers’ baggage by mule
Mule being loaded with mountaineers’ baggage to take up to base camp. The mountains around where we ride are some of the best climbing mountains in the world and attract many climbers, or Andinistas & montanistas as they are called. Some come also to practise before a major climb like Everest. Mountaineers need some way …
What to bring for horseback rides
What to bring for horseback rides Here is a list of what to bring for horseback riding holidays, split up into day rides, daytime for a camping ride, night-time for a camping ride. This will obviously vary a little according to time of year. January and February are usually hot and not very cold at …
language & learning spanish
Chileans speak Spanish with a strong accent but the language is basically the same with some different uses of words, as in English and American. Anyone who has the opportunity to learn a learning Spanish before visiting will benefit greatly from the effort and work put in. Many Chileans speak a little English, but it …
Crossing Rivers on horses
Crossing rivers on horses in the Andes is part of the adventure
Arriero in the mountains
Arriero in the mountains. A Chilean cowboy is called an arriero because he herds cattle (to herd is ‘arrear’ and herding is ‘arreo’ in Spanish)
Valle engorda on horseback
A ride through Valle Engorda on horseback, the Fattening Valley, takes us through rivers and areas full of flowers with a view of Volcan San Jose. In Valle Engorda on horseback we have to cross the river twice. In wet years there are beautiful, special flowers in a patch near one of the crossings. There is …
Mutisia flower – Red
Mutisia, a type of clavel de campo, Asteraceae family. The flowers in the cordillera are totally unexpected and unusual. They are often quite fleshy and exotic looking and flower abundantly in the dust of the semi-desert terrain. The mutisia flower is especially beautiful and often grows up through the branches of a shrub, making itself …
Horseback mountain guides in the Andes
Rigo and Octavio, cousins and arrieros or horseback mountain guides
Lasso horse
To be able to lasso a horse is a great skill. When we take children on rides they often want to learn how and our arriero guides help them
Edelweiss chileno white flower
This Edelweiss chileno grows all around the place where we camp in hte High Andes, El Clarillo. There are also many other strange and beautiful varieties in that area
Arriero – Chilean cowboys in the andes
Arriero Rigo riding in the Andes mountains near Santiago, Chile. Arrieros in Chile come low in the employment hierarchy. They are paid and treated more or less the same as agricultural labourers in Britain. This has always surprised me as they have very specialist skills. I suppose in the days when horses were in normal …
Hanging glacier valley
Hanging glacier. Riding on horseback to El Morado Glacier, known as La Laguna, Cajon del Maipo.
Rodeo champion
Rodeo champion, father and son winners Our arriero guides, Rigo and Angelo, are fanatical riders in the local rodeos. Here they appear as huasos in their special kit and beautiful pair of rodeo champion horses. These two horses, known to us as El Coipo and El Flaco, are both ‘inscrito’ ( a sort of thoroughbred) …
Glacier horse ride
Horse ride up the higher part of the Cajon del Maipo on horseback to the El Morado hanging glacier
El Morado glacier
El Morado glacier – a surprise in the middle of hot temperatures found in Chile Riding up to the El Morado glacier on a day ride or after camping nearby can be chilly and we wear warm clothes. The temperatures are higher further down in the sheltered valley where we camp on overnight rides. This is …
Alstromeria: Pink & yellow flowers
Alstromeria, flor del aguila, found in the Andes near Santiago Chile Various different types of Alstromeria are found in the Andes near Santiago Chile. This is one of the most beautiful from the Cajon del Maipo and can be seen on certain day riding expeditions. It is an example of the luxuriant types of flower found …
Parcela Rose: Cajon del Maipo
Parcela Rose at El Toyo, Cajon de Maipo, near Santiago , Chile.
Food and diets on a horse ride
In winter we usually provide a barbecue for one day rides, in summer a picnic.
Horse riding in Chile
Rigo and his son Angelo winning the rodeo & leading the victory parade behind the ‘capataz; in El Toyo Chile is an interesting culture and great place to discover and visit. Much of it is best seen on horseback. We can take you for riding trips, long or short, with more or less adventure tailored …