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April 24 - May 04, 2025

Elite Brands Culture Discovery Tours - The Forgotten Paths Travel Project

COOKING WITH WILD EDIBLES & glass of pisco 
UNDER THE Chilean ANDEs SKY 

the forgotten paths travel project

 

This is an invitation to participate and rediscover the joy of exploration and the thrill of stepping into the unknown.

 

Walking forgotten paths in this adventure is like reading a secret chapter of the Earth's story, one that few have had the privilege to experience. Unlike popular Chilean travel destinations, where the presence of crowds can diminish the sense of wilderness or authentic experience, this travel project offers a sanctuary for those seeking solitude and a deeper communion with the natural world.

 

At the source of headwaters of Trancura and Cochiguaz Rivers, the sounds of nature prevail over human chatter, and one can truly listen to the whispers of the wind over the foothills of the Andes Mountains or the symphony of an Araucania Monkey Puzzles forest at dawn. This adventure serves as a powerful tool for personal growth and offers a rare opportunity to step away from the chaos of everyday life and reconnect with oneself on a deeper level.

 

​Human culture is connected to local geologic landscapes. Deep connections are clear from cultural stories, art, songs, poems, traditions, and ceremonies that feature or celebrate landscapes. Significant geologic heritage sites add cultural value when they provide a scenic setting for celebrations, family and friends reunions, vacations, spiritual reflection, and other shared experiences.

 

Itineraries in this adventure transform geological landscapes into cultural landscapes, so that rocks and landscapes can take on new meanings for people when viewed from a cultural perspective. The stories in the rocks and their cultural associations will provide opportunities for those who booked this adventure to reconnect with the local heritage and experience a renewed sense of wonder. Such an approach can help those who might have little interest in geological details to be linked with cultural roots and enhance a sense of place and connections with the natural world. 

Beyond taking beautiful pictures of the landscapes and night sky, exploring and walking through sacred forests and valleys, this travel adventure will put you also at the heart of where a meal is made  - in the kitchen. Beyond the realms of the kitchen, Elite Brands Culture Discovery Tours and our business partners in this adventure, incorporated cultural excursions, visits to historical landmarks, day and night explorations. These extra activities will help you to understand and appreciate not just the landscape but the essence of everything you will be learning about. 

EMRACING new experiences

The area called Patagonia is an enormous 400,000 square miles spanning across two countries. It is divided into Northern and Southern Patagonia, separated by the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. ​ 

 

In Northern  Patagonia you will discover the culture and culinary secrets of Araucania, with the landscape known for its natural beauty.  This is the region and traditional home of the Mapuche - Pehuenches - “People of the Piñon”. ​

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​The name, Araucanía, comes from the emblematic and endangered Monkey Puzzle tree, or Araucaria, that every year in autumn, sheds its pine nuts (piñones).

 

Since beginning under the comforting shadows of this tree, the Mapuche - Pehuenches people felt at home and today, the Pehuén forest holds not only the resources their community depends on, but also the traditional knowledge that is inherently tied to their ancestral land, cultural practices and values. ​

 

Mapuche families living in forested and mountainous Andean landscapes of Trancura-Pocolpen area have long depended on local resources and for many Mapuche people, the use of wild edibles is a source of cultural identity and is reflecting a deep connection to the land. Mapuche have food-related rules in their cultural practices and the food is a marker of their cultural identity.

The Atacama Desert may be the driest non-polar place on Earth but on its southern fringe is a stretch of vineyard-lined hills under sky full of stars - the Chile’s mystical “Valley of the Diaguitas”. Thanks to its high altitudes, low population density and near non-existent cloud cover, this valley is a star gazing heaven.

March, April and May are the best times in Atacama Desert to watch the sky at night.

 

When staying at the Valley, you will be able to gaze at the stars, planets, and constellations in the night sky. This leg of the Adventure will help you to understand our place Earth within it, and experiencing the sheer wonder of the night sky with no crowds.​ This Adventure offers a unique experience that combines science, nature, and spirituality.

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Gazing at the stars can be therapeutic, providing a sense of calm and peace. It encourages mindfulness and allows us to disconnect from our busy lives and connect with the universe.

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day 1 - mari mari Araucania

Whether you’re taking extra time travel to Southern Patagonia or explore the capital city of Santiago, you need to book your flight and arrive in Temuco where we will be waiting for you at the airport and transfer you to the lodge in Curarrehue. 

 

Evening: Welcome Dinner at the lodge

day 2, and 3 - Cooking with Araucaria Pine Nuts & Wilde Foods

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These Exclusive Hands On Cooking Presentation - Workshops are an exceptional opportunity to meet Anita Epulef Panguilef, an amazing Mapuche-Pehuenche woman that recognizes the urgency to protect ancestral knowledge, native seeds, food sovereignty, and the defense of life. ​​

Anita cooks all year round in her ancestral restaurant located in Curarrehue (from Mapudungun: kura rewe 'stone altar'). This small commune is located in the southern part of Chile, in the Cautín Province in the Araucanía Region. At "Cocina Mapuche de Anita Epulef", she ensures that the autonomy of her business relies on building networks among locals to supply products to her restaurant. Anita and her family also cultivate family land to make sure that land is not abandoned or taken away by forest companies.

 

In her cooking, she continuously searches and looks for ways to maintain her meals for balance through nutrition. There is no "Menu List" in her restaurant and the meals always "spontaneously emerge”. "Cocina Mapuche de Anita Epulef" being the #24 on the list of Best Chilean Restaurants doesn't affect her.  Today, from the kitchen of her restaurant, Anita manages to transmit, through her meals, the culture, the value of seeds, the importance of networking, and the urgent task of sustaining the food sovereignty of the Araucania Mapuche people.

​Inspired by Mapuche-Pehuenche ancestors' land and heritage, Anita is looking for the opportunity to meet and connect with the tour participants through food and look forward to sharing the Mapuche - Pehuenche culinary recipes of Yesterday and Today. During the Hands On Cooking Presentation you will have an opportunity not only to learn recipes but also listen to fascinating stories about the culture and heritage of Araucana's Mapuche - Pehuenche people.​

Exclusive Hands On Cooking Presentation - Workshops focus will be learning original Mapuche traditional dishes native to Trancura-Pocolpen. All dishes will be prepared in ways that reflect Mapuche - Pehuenche food cultures, using ingredients used prior to Pacification of Araucanía. Other food products, meat and fish will be supplied by Mapuche local producers.

The Mapuche - Pehuenche are an ancient people, with roots that trace back into the slumbering shadows of prehistory. They were very likely close relatives of groups inhabiting the Argentinean pampas, as well as the Patagonian Aonikenk people and the Selk’nam of Tierra del Fuego, with whom they shared the traditions of the ancient Andean hunters of the Archaic Period. The ethnonym comes from the Mapudungun language: mapu (land) and che (people), hence ‘people of the land’, a term by which they are often known. They long ago migrated over the great southern Andes west into Chile. In the 16th century, the Spanish began to arrive in this region and change the course of everything.

​​In Mapuche culture it matters when one eats and how one eats—there is a protocol to follow. Eating is a social event, an important family gathering, and a meaningful cultural practice. Eating together indicates trust and loyalty; it is a binding tie between family members, and reflects social norms and expectations of how a Mapuche person is supposed to behave and act socially. 


Typical Mapuche food and beverages are often enjoyed as part of the activities and rituals together with the family or with a larger social group, and sometimes things are reminisced about too. In other words, the process of creating talk, the very action of speaking of food, of eating habits, and of the south in dialogue with other people also constructs Mapuche identity and a feeling of togetherness and belonging. Food and herb names that are of Mapuche origin would be said in Mapudungun. By using Mapudungun, the Mapuche can indicate their belonging to and knowledge of the Mapuche culture. In addition, words in Mapudungun can be cultural markers: details, such as certain food or place names.

day 2, and 3 - substitute experiences

Question: Together with my husband we are looking into booking this Adventure but my husband is not interested in Exclusive Hands On Cooking Presentation - Workshops. Is it possible to be offered a substitute experience for my husband?

Yes, we will arrange alternative experiences if some people choose not to participate in cooking activities. These specific experiences may be subject to additional fees.

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Fishing

The Trancura River is known for its trout and salmon, is an excellent river for the fly and Catch-and-release fishing.

All fishing gear, fly and spinning, life jackets and refreshments including water or soda will be provided.

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Horseback Riding

The Criollo horses are very strong and surefooted, and you will feel safe and comfortable riding up and down steep hills, across bridges and through small water crossings without hesitation. 

day 4 - cultivating the history and the secrets off art & honey from trankurra

Immerse yourself in the natural wealth of Lof Trankura, and meet Juana Faúndez, the Guardian of the territory ancestral and caregiver of seeds. On her land, you will discover a lush and diverse Andean orchard! A unique experience awaits you this day where you will be connected with nature and admire the impressive variety of vegetables, medicinal and aromatic plants, tubers, flowers, and fruit trees. This lush orchard is a true treasure that you can explore and discover guided by Juanita who will share her vast knowledge and passion for caring for the earth and their crops.

 

In her kitchen, next to the stove, time stops. Here you will be invited for a lunch and toasting wheat, tortillas with embers, roasting potatoes, saving seeds, drinking mate and learning about Juana Faúndez close relationship with the Mapuche culture.​​

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You will step into another culture with a fascinating visit to Marisol Coñuequir Panguilef, a local Mapuche woman who became an entrepreneur thanks to honey.

She won a scholarship to train in the United States and today she makes by hand organically friendly natural soap and cosmetics products using the knowledge of local medicinal plants.  She is the beekeeping pioneer in the area and maintains her hives in this beautiful but climatically unfavorable setting of the Andes in Araucania. 

Marisol is from a very traditional family, her father Lonco, was the administrative head of this community and she is a beautiful example of how someone can stick to her cultural heritage and be successful in a society based on Araucania Mapuche People's values.

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Claudia is a self learning artist inspired by naïf art. She creates an honest, simple, unaffected and  unsophisticated art that is capable of revealing the essential, without further artifice.

 

Her paintings are bridge between the spiritual and earthly worlds and are encouraged to turn viewer inward, with radical and compassionate honesty, analyzing own habits and multiple relationships.

Every of her created painting is accompanied by short poems with purpose that each work and its words offer a pause, a space in which the viewer pauses, looks at himself and delves into the transformative journey of the human experience, listening to the voices of nature as a reflection of his own identity as in times marked by polarity, pain and grief, we need to be nourished by beauty, harmony and hope.

day 5  - Walking through sacred forest

​​Straddling the Andes and the border between Argentina and Chile, an ancient ‘Lost World’-looking forest persists. It occurs in fragments, dominated by the extraordinary Pehuén tree called in the Mapuche Mapudungun language. 

 

For more than 200 million years the Pehuén tree has withstood the ages passing, seen the birth and death of stars, witnessed the incredible march and loss of the dinosaurs, watched the evolution of mammals and the tectonic drift of the continents. These ancient trees have faced glacial ice and raging fires, floods and droughts, volcanic eruptions and sunspots, but the threat of extinction has never been so real as now, when the Pehuén (monkey puzzle tree) may lose all of its pieces along with the Mapuche - Pehuenches heritage and culture.

As you walk through the forest, get ready to be mesmerized by the kaleidoscope of colors and the profound sensation of serenity that will fill you. This walk will be a celebration of human spirituality. As we immerse ourselves and get spiritually connected with these trees, we will learn that the sacred does not just reside there but also inside the depths of our own hearts.

 

Evening: Farewell Dinner to Araucania.
 

5 nights 

This wellness lodge is located in a rural area 15 minutes drive on gravel road from the town Curarrehue. It has trails within the enclosure, river and a beautiful viewpoint in a small lagoon and some of the most spectacular views of Araucania forests. The lodge is rustic, comfortable, well-equipped with heated rooms. The rooms are very clean and comfortable with a private bathroom. A fast Wi-Fi Starlink Internet access available 24 hours. Beds with good pillows and sheets. The lodge owners are attentive, friendly, helpful and with great motivation they work hard to make sure to give you a great experience during your stay at their lodge. Some rooms are located on the top floor which does require the ability to climb multiple flights of stairs. The kitchen in the lodge serves great food.

Wellness Experiences at the Lodge

Your spirits will be lifted when staying at the lodge and you’ll be treated to a world of wellness and you will have plenty of time for walking, meditation, and rejuvenating trips to nearby natural thermal hot springs. These springs are located on the lodge neighbor private property and access to natural springs  will be offered exclusively for the group.
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With more than 20 years of experience, Blanca has dedicated her life to the search for therapies that promote physical and spiritual well-being. Although her professional life began as a kindergarten teacher, she soon decided to complement her studies with Waldorf pedagogy in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

From this, she worked at Rudolf Steiner back in Santiago and was part of the Arica Institute, where she learned the Chuaká massage, Vortex Points (acupressure), Psychocalisthenics; in addition to a vast spiritual knowledge through the Enneagrams. To complement her studies, she also performs other therapies such as hot stone massages, Thai Massage, Saint Germain Flowers, Reflexology on hands and feet, Reiki and Natural Medicine from Lezaeta.

She has worked privately in Mexico, Miami, Hawaii and in Chile she has worked at Astromelia SPA in Zapallar with Juana Izquierdo, together with Dr. Álvaro Rosas, an acupuncturist, and at Tierra Patagonia Hotel & Spa.

She has also practiced Bikram Yoga in Chile and Metepec, Mexico, a practice she continues to do regularly.

day 6 - Travel to Reach for the stars

Transfer to Temuco Airport and travel to mystical “Valley of the Diaguitas”. This region is located in the Southern part of Atacama Desert and no one seems to visit. Once the overwhelmed Atacama Desert tourist hotspots will reach the boiling point, the new generation of tourists will look into newly created areas "must see before they die" and this valley is on that list.

stargazing

There is no need to drive, hike far or high to reach for the sky as every night you will be either walking or taking a short short drive from your cabin and visiting a nearby observatories in search of globular clusters and planetary nebulae. All these location is halfway to the heavens and the stars will feel incredibly close to you and the Earth small.  You will certainly feel a connection between you, the earth and the sky during these stargazing nights... this is the place where you want to be every night and see the universe appear tangible and  the moon edible.

day 7 - Discover the art of the Diaguitas

Diaguita were an advanced society and had a deep connection with the land and the natural elements of their environment, such as the mountains and rivers, which are sacred to them. This is reflected in their art, particularly in the pottery and weavings that bear symbols and representations of animal and human figures.  Their distinctive ceramics feature two-colored geometric designs applied on a base of a third color. The Diaguita’s highly complex designs are thought to be representations of shamanic visions; many of their vessels bear feline motifs or people with feline  features. Apart from ceramics, the Diaguita also produced some of the geometric designs and mask forms found on petroglyph carvings

As a society they developed between 1000 and 1470, when they were invaded by the Inca. In 1540, the Spanish arrived and divided the land into a grid of large landholdings, on which they built haciendas and estancias. Diaguitas were allowed by the Spanish settlers to start ranching, farming, and mining on their land. In return they were forced to pay a portion of their produce to the Spaniards. Once Chile became an independent country, the Republic of Chile asserted a new form of control over Diaguita territory and passed in 1823 and 1830 new laws and eliminated Chile’s indigenous communities altogether. At that time, all land from Copiapó at the foot of the Atacama Desert all the way to Araucania was transferred to the government. In 1993, the Chilean government passed an important  Law that legitimized the Indigenous rights to manifest, practice, develop and teach their spiritual and religious traditions, customs and ceremonies. Diaguita ethnicity was not recognized and not included in the new law. After years of struggling for official recognition, in 2006 the Diaguita were granted legal status as a distinct ethnic group by the Chilean government. Twenty people with Barrick Gold legal assistance sought out legal status that were recognized by the government. Today there are 600 people who applied and received Diaguita status. As of 2017, there were approximately 88,000 Diaguita people in Chile. ​Today, the land claims and rights to access natural resources are at the heart of communities' concerns. Conflicts with mining, forestry and agricultural companies are constant, particularly due to the extraction of resources in areas considered sacred and historically important. Their language, Kakan, has become extinct. 

day 8 - No Pisco, No Disco

When a Chilean hears that you are visiting the Elqui Valley, they all agree on the same answer: You cannot stop trying pisco! There is some controversy surrounding Pisco. Its place or origin is hotly contested by both Peru and Chile, with both countries claiming the honor.


This Chilean, a colorless or amber-colored spirit in Elqui Valley is typically made from Moscatel and Torontel grapes. It is produced by distilling fermented grape juice. Spanish settlers developed pisco in the 16th century as an alternative to orujo, a pomace brandy imported from Spain at that time.

Visiting pisco distillery in Pisco Elqui area will help you to learn about pisco and see the processes involved in the distillation of wine into this clear liquor. The village historical streets swirl from junction to junction, all aligned with large cacti and colorful murals on both residential and business adobe houses dotting the landscape. The Museo Gabriela Mistral, dedicated to the Nobel Prize-winning poet who was born in the region, offers insights into the area's cultural heritage. The very peaceful and perfectly square plaza is so beautiful due to the old, restored and now preserved church, an impressive and brightly coloured wooden structure and certainly one of the most eye-grabbing monuments in the entire village.

day 9 - in search for that perfect place

This day is for those who will be looking to take on a possible challenge, hiking around a quiet valley bed, in search of that perfect place to sit, meditate, and absorb some of the powerful energy. On its way you will find a large misplaced stone, covered in Diaguita petroglyph carvings. The locals believe that this stone...attracts a cleansing light and energy for your third eye chakra. It is quite interesting, especially since a nearby Jasmine tree (the only one in the vicinity) has grown to form step-like branches so locals can climb to the top. Definitely, hiking along the worn-off paths and having stellar views, refreshing breeze of wind might be just your ticket for this day.

day 10 - Respect the river gods and pay homage to mother earth 

Today we will travel to the source of the Cochiguaz River that is the heart of the Valley of the Diaguitas. Long before the Pre-Hispanic era, it was the main transportation and communication route for Diaguitas and later for Incas. It has a significant component to area cultural and geological history, and significant representation of ecosystem diversity. This river is a vital resource for locals and the variety of wildlife and plants that depend on its water for survival.

The Rivers and Mother Earth are always in charge and this is why The River Gods will keep us safe and humble, as we always show respect. It was 2016 when I visited Chile for the first time in search of the history of the Pais grape. I fell in love with this country immediately. But it was the visit to The Museum of Memory and Human Rights in Santiago that changed my perception of this country forever. Being born and raised 50 miles from Auschwitz and spending the last 36 years living in Alberta, Canada, let me learn the importance of understanding and respecting people.  Moralizing and judging others comes from a lack of understanding of the flaws that all of us share. Once you realize that no one is perfect (including myself), people will sense that you are a more accepting person. 

Regardless of what you reflect when glazing the stars that last night before going back to your bed...think about what went right or wrong in this adventure and figure out what you need to do differently on your next trip. Think about all these honest and humble people who opened their doors to you and invite you to come inside their homes or business place. Allowing Elite Brands Culture Discovery Tours bringing others in their life is a privilege, not a right and I believe that I earned that privilege by offering them my honesty, and starting to be trustworthy.

I am sure you will have one of the best travel times off your life once you decide to book this adventure with US.

day 11 - End of adventure

Transfer to La Serena airport

5 nights 

You will be staying at the "new-age" spiritual retreat that is located in a remote location and off the beaten path. This area in the 1970s has been a destination for soul-searching hippies and Worldwide known as the “Tibet of South America”. If you belong to these people that  places like this aren't your thing, you should trust us why we choose this location for your accommodation. Some people who stay at this retreat location swear by the healing power of the mineral-rich water cascading down the valley walls. It is a beautiful place with private cabins and a swimming pool. The riverside garden is surrounded by mango trees. The spectacular setting will do wonders for your psyche and your body will thank you every day for the mineral soak, and the solitude.  Short walking path from your cabin will enable you to visit every night a private observatory that offers guided viewing of the sky or you can just watch the Universe from your bed.

ADVENTURE details

this multi-day adventure is specifically designed and offers activities suitable for adults regardless of age or physical ability.​

​adventure type : Custom - Made travel

​duration : 11 Days / 10 nights

 

adventure dates : Booking deadline February 01, 2025

Tour #1   March 26 - April 05, 2025

Tour #2   April 22 - May 02, 2025

Group Size :

Group size limited from Minimum 4 to Maximum 6 people (single & solo travelers are welcome -offered private rooms with private  bathrooms)

 

The essentials : 

What's Included: Private Transportation, All Meals, Accommodation, All Tour Activities, Guides, Park Entries, Museum and Observatory Entries

 

What's Not Included: International and Intra-Chile Flights ,Travel Insurance, Wellness Services ($55 USD per 1 1/ 2 hrs.),  Beverages, Tips

​​start:

Tour #1   March 26 - La Serena (LSC), Chile

Tour #2   April 22 -  Temuco (ZCO), Chile

 

end: 

Tour #1 April 11 - Temuco (ZCO)

Tour #2 May 02 -  La Serena (LSC)

​​FLIGHT booking INFORMATION : Your intra-Chile flight from Santiago to Temuco and Santiago to La Serena can be booked through www.latam.com or www.skyairline.cl  as per tour itineraries dates. Two Way average ticket price between Santiago to La Serena and Santiago to Temuco is between $60-$90 USD

​​starting Price: 

$195 USD per person/per day for these travelers who in the past booked tours with Elite Brands Culture Discovery Tours

$245 USD per person/per day/market price

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​how to sign up for this adventure : Booking is first come first serve. Send email with request for pre-booking online chat to  info@culture-discovery.com​​

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