Patagonian BaseCamp Lodge

Lodging Details
The beautiful, hand-built Main Lodge at Patagonian BaseCamp is well situated on the banks of the Rio Palena. With six double rooms, each complete with en-suite facilities, the Lodge offers very comfortable accommodations for a maximum of 12 guests per week (eight anglers). If you prefer, subject to availability, you may have your own private room at no extra cost. The main living room and lounge area – complete with a stunning, hand-crafted fireplace – make up the heart of the Lodge. With impressive surrounding vistas, the views from the lounge and guest rooms are spectacular. The location of the BaseCamp Lodge was chosen specifically to showcase the area’s immense beauty. Towering green walls of trees line the emerald green waters of the river, and the snow-capped peaks are beautifully framed from each window at the Lodge. You will awake each morning amazed at the sheer beauty that surrounds your “home away from home.”

In 2008, Patagonian BaseCamp was able to purchase an incredible piece of waterfront property on the upper stretches of the Rio Figueroa, close to Lago Verde. At the edge of the dense forest on the banks of the raging river just below “El Diablo,” they have built the “Temple Camp” – a unique and comfortable camp with spacious igloo-shaped tents and the  gathering area. The views are spectacular. The Temple Camp program and overnights at these locations are only available as an add-on to the standard BaseCamp program.

Food and Beverages
Your hostess, Carolina, cooks up delicious and amazing meals each morning and night. The best of Argentine and Chilean wines are served with lunch and dinner, and the open bar is always fully stocked. Lunches are enjoyed on the river each day. Each afternoon, guests will return to the Lodge for appetizers, drinks, and gourmet meals.

Typical Length of Stay
Standard packages at the Patagonian BaseCamp Lodge are available in lengths of either seven (7), ten (10), or fourteen (14) nights. Please contact Yellow Dog for details.

Non-Angling Activities and Options
Along with world-class fly fishing, BaseCamp Lodge offers a great variety of activities. These programs include horseback riding on the property and in the surrounding area, birdwatching, hiking, mountain biking, and visiting any number of natural thermal hot springs in the area.

Internet / Communications
The Lodge does offer Wi-Fi for guests. Some U.S. cell phones may work throughout Chile (in Santiago, Puerto Montt, and Puerto Varas) depending on your service plan. Phones will not work at the Lodge.

How To Get There
Overnight flights from the United States to-and-from Santiago’s Arturo Merino Benitez Airport (SCL) are available on American Airlines, Delta, or Lan Chile. From there you fly by Lan Chile 737 jet to the Puerto Montt Airport (PMC), approximately two hours south of Santiago. Usually, guests will overnight in either Puerto Montt of nearby Puerto Varas (recommended and included in your package) and fly out to the Aerodromo Nuevo Chaiten the following morning. Upon arrival in Chaiten, guests will be met by a representative from BaseCamp and transported to the Lodge.

Arrival and Departure Details / Times
After processing through customs and immigration in Santiago (SCL), guests can easily catch a late-morning or early afternoon flight to Puerto Montt. Upon arrival in Puerto Montt (PMC), most guests choose to overnight in the nearby town of Puerto Varas at one of several hotels. Yellow Dog will be happy to assist you with this. The following morning, you will take a taxi to a small airstrip in Puerto Montt to board a charter flight to Aerodromo Nuevo Chaiten. Upon arrival in Chaiten, guests will be met by a representative from BaseCamp and transported to the Lodge.

Documents Required
You will need a valid passport to enter the country of Chile. Citizens of the United States, Canada, and the UK do not need a visa unless they plan on staying for more than three months.

Travel Arrangements
Yellow Dog provides airline reservations ad ticketing assistance through etcTravel Group, and a full-service airline logistics agent that can help book airline tickets, hotels, rental cars, and more. You can click here to request a quote or contact Yellow Dog for more information at 406-585-8667. etcTravel Group offers dedicated support services for all Yellow Dog clients. Service fees may apply when booking or researching tickets, and etcTravel will discuss this with you before sending quotes. 

Travel Tools
– Airline Ticketing
– Moon Phases
– Rent This Rod
– Trip Insurance and Emergency Evacuation
– Global Rescue Membership

General Information
Being blessed with innumerable rivers, creeks, lakes, and lagoons, the fishing options at BaseCamp are almost unlimited. The trout all throughout this area – both browns and rainbows – are not stocked, having found their own natural balance in both numbers and sizes. You will catch lots of strong, wild fish in the 12 to 20-inch range. Generally, fish over 20 inches are caught daily and fish over 23 inches are caught weekly. The Lodge record for both brown and rainbow trout is 32 inches.

From the boulder-strewn whitewater of the upper Rio Figueroa to the classic, placid pools of the Palena and the reed-lined shores of numerous lakes and lagunas, the fishing at Basecamp offers something for everyone. The crown jewel of the program is undoubtedly the “Temple Camp.” This overnight trip provides guests of Patagonian BaseCamp a unique opportunity to spend two days on the upper Rio Figueroa, a section that until recently was considered inaccessible for fishing, and one day on the beautiful Rio Pico. Guests will also have the option of a shorter overnight experience at the new Rio Palena Camp. The overnight camps make a fantastic addition to any trip! From the main BaseCamp Lodge, the main river systems that are fished are the Palena, Rosselot, Figueroa, and Yelcho. Numerous tributaries will also give you the chance to fish on smaller creeks. From Temple Camp, you can fish the upper stretches of the Rio Figueroa and the waters around Lago Verde. Every river and lake has its own characteristics and secrets.

Rio Palena
The Rio Palena is the Lodge’s “home river” and an integral part of the fishing program at the BaseCamp. The upper section of the river fishes well with a variety of different dry flies and is home to a tremendous number of rainbows and browns. As you proceed downriver, the Palena changes character, with classic riffles and runs slowly giving way to log-strewn banks famous for hiding large, trophy trout.

Rio Figueroa
“The Fig” is arguably the highlight of the program. From its beginning in Lago Verde to its end in Lago Rosselot, the word that best describes the Rio Figueroa is stunning. Basecamp fishes two distinctly different sections of the Figueroa, the very upper reaches near the confluence of the Rio Pico, and the last several miles into the lake.

Lago Rosselot
The largest lake in the program, this magnificent body of water is home to all three species of trout, and the sight fishing is unparalleled. The large rainbows that live here cruise just below the surface of the lake, ready to devour anything that hits the water.

Rio Rosselot
A large diversity of water types on the Rosselot provides anglers with ever-changing conditions and techniques. Popping and skating dry flies, dead drifting dry/dropper combos, and streamer fishing the banks and shelves can all be fantastic.

Rio Claro Solar
This small, hidden tributary, accessible only by boat, ranks very highly among guides and guests alike. Flowing through farmland and dense forests, far from any road, the Claro Solar provides solitude uncommon even in Patagonia. This medium-sized river is easily and effectively fished, protected from the wind and full of “fishy water.”

Boats and Equipment
Equipment includes catarafts, jet boats, rubber rafts, Zodiacs with jet engines, and good 4×4 vehicles with trailers. The Lodge does have a limited supply of demo and loaner rods and reels, although it is recommended that anglers bring all of their own gear and equipment, including waders. PLEASE DO NOT BRING WADING BOOTS TO BASECAMP LODGE! BaseCamp supplies free-to-use boots to protect their area waters from imported aquatic diseases.

Package Rates
Remember that Yellow Dog’s services are completely free! When you book a trip with Yellow Dog, you never pay more than when you book directly with the lodge or outfitter. Trips of any length can be arranged, so please call Yellow Dog for details and custom package pricing.

2024/2025 Rates:
7 Nights / 6 Days (Sunday-Sunday) = $8,495.00 (includes 1 night overnight Palena river float)

10 Nights / 9 Days (Tuesday-Friday) = $12,995.00 (includes 2 or 3 nights at the Temple Camp and 1 or 2 nights at Escondido Camp or overnight Palena river float)

11 Nights / 10 Days (Friday-Tuesday) = $13,995.00 (includes 2 or 3 nights at the Temple Camp and 1 or 2 nights at Escondido Camp or overnight Palena river float)

14 Nights / 13 Days (Sunday-Sunday) = $16,995.00 – including 2 or 3 nights at the Temple Camp and 1 or 2 nights at Escondido Camp and/or overnight Palena river float)

What’s Included:

• Accommodations and meals at the lodge
• Beverages including beer, wine, and alcohol at the lodge
• Fully guided fishing
• Charter flight to/from Chaiten and La Junta
• Fishing license
• Flies
• Laundry service at the lodge
• Wading boots

What’s Not Included:

• International and domestic airfare
• Hotel night in Puerto Montt or Puerto Varas
• Ground transfers in Puerto Montt / Puerto Varas between hotel and airports
• Fishing equipment (waders, rods, reels, lines)
• Gratuities for guides and lodge staff

Patagonia BaseCamp Lodge (Los Lagos Region, Chile) 
TERMS AND CONDITIONS – CANCELLATIONS
A non-refundable deposit of 50% per person is due at the time of booking for all lodging and fishing packages, and final payment if due 90 days prior to arrival. For cancellations, all deposits and payments are non-refundable. In no event will the lodge or Yellow Dog be responsible for any cancellation of services or operations due to inclement weather, any event of force majeure, airline delays, flight cancellations, or any other reason beyond the control of the lodge. The lodge will not refund payments in the event of poor weather, or if arrival flights are cancelled or airline connections are missed. Additionally, the lodge and Yellow Dog are not responsible for covering costs associated with alternative travel arrangements including flights, hotels, meals or any other expenses incurred. For all of these reasons, and because of the no refund and no credit policy, Yellow Dog strongly recommends that anglers and guests purchase travel insurance and full coverage for your trip. If a cancelled package is resold by either the lodge or by Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures, then a full refund will be issued minus a $100.00 per person fee charged by Yellow Dog. Receipt of deposit and/or final payment is acknowledgment that registrant has read and accepts the deposit, cancellation, refund and responsibility clauses for these packages. Once again, Yellow Dog strongly recommends that anglers and guests purchase travel insurance all Chile packages.

Payment Terms for All Yellow Dog Trip Bookings  
Unless otherwise noted on your invoice, for all trips less than 90 days out, full payment is required after receipt of the confirmation email to secure guides and reservations. For trips outside of 90 days, a 50% deposit is required upon receipt of confirmation email to confirm your reservations.   

Yellow Dog accepts on-line payments via a secure payment portal – a quick and easy way to complete your trip reservation. Please reach out to accounting@yellowdogflyfishing.com to gain access. 

Yellow Dog Flyfishing Standard Forms of Payment 

• Debit card (fee-free) and credit card (3% convenience fee) - to pay via card please utilize the customer payment portal. If you need assistance, reach out to 406-585-8667 ext. #3 
• Wires - please include name and/or invoice number for reference on your wire. Please reach out to accounting@yellowdogflyfishing.com for wiring instructions. (client is responsible for wiring fees) 
• Physical check - please include your invoice number in the memo. Mail checks to 213 S. Willson Ave. Bozeman, MT, 59715

If you have any questions about alternate payment methods, please contact Yellow Dog at (406) 585-8667 ext. #3. We are available Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM MT.