Day 1 - Montevideo
Riding: No riding.
Today is set aside to relax and explore the coastal city of Montevideo. You will overnight in the residential neighbourhood of Carrasco, from where you can enjoy an afternoon tour including lunch at the port market and a mate tasting.
Overnight at the Hotel Cottage.
Day 2 - Montevideo - Rocha
Riding: 2 - 3 hours
After breakfast you are transferred by road to the most beautiful province of Uruguay - Rocha - famed for it's pristine beaches, emerald shores and network of lagoons. You will arrive at your hotel Parque Oceanico where you'll enjoy a traditional Sunday asado (BBQ).
After lunch you transfer to a local estancia where you'll meet your horses and enjoy a wonderful ride along the estancia fields. Return just in time for dinner.
Day 3 - Barra del Chuy
Riding: 4 - 6 hours
After breakfast you are driven to your horses and set off riding towards the coast. After lunch and a siesta, using your horses saddle as a pillow, the afternoon offers a fast paced ride along the deserted beach of Barra Chuy. There are seldom visitors to this beach and the pure white sands invite long, exhilarating canters. After 12 miles / 22 km you reach the town of La Coronilla and spend the night in a small beachside hotel. Toast your first long ride with cocktails before dinner at your hotel.
Day 4 - Santa Teresa national park
Riding: 4 - 6 hours
Today's ride heads south, alternating beaches, sand dune, pine forests and coastal hills until reaching the immense Santa Teresa national park. If you are lucky you may spot dolphins playing in the surf along the route.
The centre piece of the park is a fort which was built by the Portugese in 1762 to defend their territories. The fort was captured by the Spanish a year later who completed the building. Over the next years the fort was captured, lost and re-captured many times until it was finally won by the newly formed Uruguay in 1825. The fort is surrounded by 3000 hectares of forest containing a mixture of native and imported trees.
After a picnic lunch you ride along the forest trails and down onto the beach where you will pass one of many shipwrecks that are buried along this stretch of coastline. In fact, Cabo Polonia (which you visit later), is named after a Spanish galleon which sank off the point. Fortunately Darwin's Beagle did not succumb to the seas and he was able to spend many years collecting species in Uruguay and formulating his theories of evolution. Continue riding along the beach until reaching the charming town of Punta del Diablo where you spend the night in a typical, local countryside home.
Day 5 - Punta del Diablo - Don Bosco
Riding: 4 - 6 hours
After breakfast you transfer 6 minutes to meet your horses. Today you ride across amazing untouched landscapes of palm groves including various ecosystems that offer the opportunity to experience the diverse flora and fauna of the area. After a picnic lunch along the way you arrive to the shorts of Laguna Negra by sunset - just in time to go up the Cerro de la Virgen for an incredible view! This region is home to one of the largest fresh water wildlife reserves in the country.
In the evening, enjoy a traditional asado dinner with the gauchos before retiring to bed. Your accommodation at Don Bosco is simple but the landscape is amazing.
Day 6 - Don Bosco - Valizas
Riding: 4 - 6 hours
After breakfast, your ride continues across palm forest towards the coast, stopping en-route for a picnic lunch. During the afternoon you continue riding along the beach towards the small town of Valizas where you stay in a typical Rancho Valicero - built as a summer home and turned into a small bed and breakfast. Single rooms are very limited here so depending on the size of the group, you may have to share bathrooms. Accommodation in alternative hotels may be available on request. Dinner will be taken at a local restaurant.
Day 7 - Cabo Polonio
Riding: 4 - 6 hours
You start the day with a morning walk to the Valizas stream where you cross on a boat to meet your horses on the other side of the shore. You ride into a UNESCO Biosphere Natural Reserve and through a huge area of shifting sand dunes, which will make you feel as though you are riding through the Sahara desert. Upon reaching the charming fishing village of Cabo Polonio, which can only be reached by horse, foot or 4WD, you stop for lunch at La Perla Seaside restaurant on the beach. Here you will be able to watch seals and sea lions that inhabit the small islands in the bay, and you may be lucky enough to see a migrating whale as it passes by. Those who wish to can take a swim from this beautiful beach.
In the afternoon, continue riding towards the entrance to the village where your van will meet you to transfer you to your accommodation at Estancia Anastasio.
Day 8 - Countryside, Lagoon and Beach
Riding: 3 - 5 hours
Spend the morning riding across the estancia fields helping the gauchos to herd the cattle, vaccinate or do the daily chores. Finish your morning ride with a kayak tour of the Anastasio stream and a typical picnic lunch of local chivitos. During the afternoon you ride to the beach with amazing landscapes of the ocean combined with the lagoon. Weather permitting, tonights dinner is enjoyed under the stars!
Day 9 - Jose Ignacio - Montevideo
Riding: 3 hours
Your final ride takes you to the town of Jose Ignacio where you'll enjoy lunch before heading back to Montevideo. En-route you'll stop for an afternoon visit of Punta Del Este and the surrounding area, where you say a final goodbye to Uruguay with a visit to the incredible Casapueblo. You'll eventually arrive back in Montevideo around 6.30pm. Accommodation is not included this evening.
Note: All programmes and itineraries are weather dependent; in the face of adverse, or unexpected, weather conditions reasonable attempts will be made to provide equivalent riding. All programmes are accurate at the time of writing. However, the team may adapt or modify details, whilst aiming to provide a similar experience.
