At Terrace Lodge We Take Care Of You!

The wellbeing of our guests is of utmost importance to us. We want every visitor to feel happy, calm and safe, knowing that we offer the same high quality service as always. This is why now, in times of a global health crisis, we have implemented a number of different measures to combat the spreading of the COVID-19. We set up a health protocol to guarantee the safety of our guests and partners and are looking forward to welcome visitors again while following the newly established guidelines during your stay.

Terrace Lodge is complying with all the regulations set up by the World Health Organization and the National Government in relation to the Corona Virus (COVID-19), assuring a high customer service and a 100% safe tourism encounter. With the adopted measures we aim to transmit and communicate our understanding of the situation to our customers. We would like to inform travelers that they can trust us in respecting their health and following the rules set up by authorities in the course of the global pandemic.

Health Protocol

At Terrace Lodge, we are proud to have set up our own health protocol. The protocol is based on the information and guidelines published by the World Health Organization and the Chilean public health authority (Health Ministry, MINSAL). We have introduced all recommended sanitary installations, preventive measures, informative signage, self-protection information, cleaning and disinfection protocols necessary to address the current pandemic situation. For us, the health and wellbeing of our guests and partners is a priority, which is why we want to lead a best-practice example to diminish infection risks for COVID-19 in our facility.

Safe Tourism Certified

Until now, Terrace Lodge is the only accommodation in Putre that has been Safe Tourism certified by the government agency SERNATUR Chile. We are committed to implement and respect safety protocols and guidelines for good sanitary practices in order to protect the health of our staff and visitors.

Because your safety is our commitment, we aim to offer you a responsible and safe stay at Terrace Lodge.

We are waiting for you! #Seeyouagainsoon

The Washington Post

The Washington Post’s journalist mention us. Charles Lane wrote about the area, The Search For A Rare Bird Among The Spectacular Wildlife In Chile’s High Andes, Terrace Lodge.

The Washington Post’s article

The Washington Post Lifestyle Travel, USA | Terrace Lodge & Tours, Putre, Arica y Parinacota, Chile“In Putre, our base of operations was Terrace Lodge, a European-style hotel run by an energetic couple from Italy, Flavio and Patrizia d’Inca.

Terrace Lodge’s five rooms are basic but tidy, equipped with plenty of hot water and big, fluffy comforters to stave off the mountain chill, which can drop to near-freezing at night — even in the August high season, when we visited.

Patrizia serves breakfast, which is included in the room price and typically consists of fresh bread, cheese and one of her homemade oven creations, plus what surely must be the most authentic Italian cappuccino between La Paz and Arica.”

The odd coloring of the rocks, coupled with the overall barrenness of the place, made us feel like visitors to Mars.

Flavio Tourist Guide

“Flavio’s job is to guide you through the national park and its surroundings — and it’s a task he performs both capably and enthusiastically. For a separate fee, ranging from about $100 to $150 per person, he offers a variety of day trips, each limited to no more than four passengers and focused on a particular selection of the region’s natural wonders.

It’s worth it to go with Flavio, because his four-wheel drive carries hot coca tea and an oxygen tank to ward off altitude sickness — and, more importantly, because Flavio is a bona fide expert on regional geography and history. He has an uncanny eye for wildlife, which enables him to spot small, elusive creatures like the huemul — Andean deer — that you might miss otherwise.

Our first jaunt with Flavio took us to the Quebrada de Allane, a deep canyon of red and yellow rock, through which the chilly Lluta River flows on its way from the high Andes to the Pacific. After exploring the canyon rim, we made our way down to the river, where Flavio showed us how to paint our names on some flat rocks using the strange yellow-covered mud that lies along the Lluta’s banks. Though the sun was strong and warm, my son reached into the water and plucked out several chunks of ice, which had apparently been carried down from the higher, colder elevations.

We continued from the Quebrada de Allane to Suriplaza, a broad plateau ringed by red-and-brown mountains nearly 15,000 feet above sea level. The odd coloring of the rocks, coupled with the overall barrenness of the place, made us feel like visitors to Mars. Despite its name — “place of the suris” — we saw no Darwin’s rheas at Suriplaza.

We did find a herd of vicuñas grazing in a bofedal. Once hunted almost to extinction for its precious silken wool, the vicuña has returned to abundance since being placed under government protection by several South American countries in the late 1960s, and Lauca National Park is one of their favorite habitats.

Flavio taught us to distinguish vicuñas from the taller, more robust guanaco, a similarly tawny camelid, which is thought to be the wild progenitor of the domesticated llama — just as the vicuña is the ancestor of the smaller, woolier alpaca…”

The Summit! Finally

Frosted fingers, winds at 130 km/h and a destroyed tent didn’t stop two Italian climbers from reaching the Parinacota summit, at 6,342 m (20,807 ft).  They were initially stopped by the strong wind and decided to wait at the base camp.  A few days later, after a second stay at Terrace Lodge, they managed to climb the beast.  We thank them for the Photograph and, due to their age (60 something ) we think  they deserved to be in our news.

Photo: courtesy of Andrea Millesimi and Eliano Pessa.

Down to Sea Level

Arica Putre Challenge 2010 | Terrace Lodge & Tours, Putre, Arica y Parinacota, ChileTerrace Lodge was one of the sponsors for the first edition of “Desafio Atacama Norte” (North Atacama Challenge).

From Putre (3,540 masl) up to almost 3,800 and then down to the Pacific Ocean in Arica. Tens of athletes took part in this intense competition which will be repeated year after year in the region of Arica y Parinacota. Want to know more?  Follow this Link (in spanish).

If you know somebody who wants to participate in the 2011 edition, please Contact Us.

Save The Andean Cat

A small contribution comes from Terrace Lodge & Tours. Since December 2009 we have decided to give a little help.

How?

  • Giving the tips received from our guests to The Andean Cat Alliance.
  • Asking our guests to refill their bottles of purified water instead of buying bottled mineral water. Doing this way, the profit from the sales goes to the association, we limit the production of plastic bottles (which can not be recycled locally) and the guests save a little money.

Since Dec.2009 we collected CLP 29.200; in February 2010  CLP 21,900;  in March CLP 12,000 (of which 10,000 from a Belgian guest, Mr Verstraeten). Low season in May and June brought only CLP 3.000.  Better in July, CLP 12.000, of which CLP 10.000 from a generous Swiss guest: Cecilia Porchia.  Thanks Cecilia!  In August CLP 4,000.  In August: CLP 4,000.   In September: CLP 15,000 most of which donated by Sylvie and José, a couple from Quebec, Canada.

Gato Andino, Image copyright: Jim Sanderson - Save The Andean Cat | Terrace Lodge & Tours, Putre, Arica y Parinacota, Chile
Image copyright: Jim Sanderson

 

More on www.gatoandino.org