Zip lining in the Chapelco Mountain Range

As soon as summer temperatures are favorable, this Patagonian venue offers more attractions than its landscape. A zip lining tour on the Chapelco slope is an activity gaining more and more enthusiasts of all ages.

To get there, Joaquín Bracht invited us to go to Miramás on his vehicle, where we would “soar” for the first time among the lenga treetops. Joaquín told us that his family has owned a piece of land for many years to be exploited for lumbering business. Later on, he decided to develop here varied tourist activities, mainly, zip lining and hiking. This venue offers a closed area where visitors may eat, have a drink and enjoy a spectacular landscape of mountains, lakes and forests looking out of the windows.

This was the right time to put our harnesses, helmets, gloves on and go to the training platforms. On short zip lines built among platforms close to the ground, we managed to gain confidence and learned the technique to slide down through the line.
Afterwards, as we became more relaxed and could handle the technique, we got on a Unimog to drive along the old logging roads towards the starting point of our zip line trip. This circuit was designed by a forest engineer and includes seven zip line spans, varying in lengths and levels of difficulty, through a lenga forest. Without haste, we arrived at Miramás and went past a bar where we prepared ourselves to experience this adventure.

Let’s Play in the Forest

This was the right time to put our harnesses, helmets, gloves on and go to the training platforms. On short zip lines built among platforms close to the ground, we managed to gain confidence and learned the technique to slide down through the line. Afterwards, as we became more relaxed and could handle the technique, we got on a Unimog to drive along the old logging roads towards the starting point of our zip line trip.

Our most expected time had already arrived and Joaquín clipped the carabiners of each of us into the pulley and gave us the last instructions about the braking technique and speed control. Finally, the metallic sound of this steel cable broke the silence of the forest.

During the first zip line span, we were more concentrated on the technical tips than on the landscape around. On the following platform we already felt more confidence and were eager to slide again. The feeling of going higher than the treetops and hardly touch them was spectacular. When we slowed down our excitement, we managed to speed up and feel vertigo during the ride or to stop with our hands placed behind the pulley to quietly enjoy the natural setting around us.

At a relaxed pace, we zipped down five zip line spans among laughter and whoops of joy as the adrenaline flowed. After a 15-minute hiking tour, we arrived at the last two zip line platforms.

We felt that this ride was much more fun and safer than we had expected. 'This activity does not require either a special technique or any kind of physical fitness and it is suitable for 6-year-olds (in tandem zip line) together with the professional guides', said Joaquín.


Unfolding the Entire Nature

The last two zip line spans (300 and 250 meters) took our breath away. On the penultimate platform, we caught a full view of the valley, Lake Lácar and the Lanín Volcano as well. All of us agreed that we had succeeded in handling this activity and we also felt like gliding from tree to tree.

Zip lining is an entertaining way to get in touch with nature and spend good time with friends or family. At sunset, we all met at the bar to leave our equipment. On a deck with comfortable armchairs, we enjoyed a beer with homemade pizza.

During our chat, we all agreed that we had felt safe with Joaquín and his group of professional mountain guides. We had fulfilled our fantasy of gliding like birds.