As a result of the fire that affected the Torres del Paine National Park between December 27, 2011 and January 13, 2012, and which caused the total closure of the park followed by a partial reopening, we wish to inform you that explora Patagonia’s Hotel Salto Chico will reopen on February, 23, 2012.

Miraculously, the flames did not damage the Hotel Salto Chico, our spa or stables, although for ten days we were affected by smoke and ash from some of the nearby fire hotspots.

After receiving authorization to enter the park, a team of explora executives and damage assessment experts have spent the last two weeks evaluating the extent of the fire damage caused both to the park and to the lodge itself. After a thorough evaluation, we have decided that the Hotel Salto Chico will remain closed until February 22 (included), as we are temporarily unable to offer the high standard of service that our travelers expect and for which we are known.

This carefully considered decision is partly due to the damage caused by smoke to some of the furnishings and other materials. Given that the majority of these items are custom-made exclusively for explora by companies all over the world, replacing them will take some time.

The quality of service that explora provides at all its operations (Atacama, Patagonia, Rapa Nui and travesías) cannot be compromised and for this reason we have decided that we will only reopen the lodge when we are certain that we can fulfill and exceed the high expectations of the travelers who visit us.

Due to these circumstances, we will shortly be contacting all of our travelers who have been affected by this force majeur event to assist them with their reservations.

We are very sorry for any inconvenience that this decision may cause to those travelers affected by this partial closure and we thank you for your understanding. To all our other travelers, we look forward to welcoming you soon.

Sincerely,

Jesús Parrilla
CEO / General Manager
explora

We have made this decision so that we can ensure the integrity of the travel experience that we as a company offer. It should also be noted that the southern sector of the park, where our Hotel Salto Chico is situated, remains closed to visitors by government orders until further notice.

Due to these circumstances, which are beyond our control, we request that all travelers who are scheduled to arrive at explora Patagonia during these dates make alternative arrangements which, as we informed previously, are as follows:

• Reschedule your journey to explora Patagonia to a later date. If you wish, you may combine your visit to explora Patagonia with a second explora destination (Atacama, Rapa Nui or explora travesías), for which we are offering a 50% discount.
• Rearrange your trip to explora Atacama, explora Rapa Nui or explora travesías. If you wish, you may combine your trip with a second explora destination (Atacama, Rapa Nui or explora travesías), for which we are offering a 50% discount.

We kindly ask all travelers who are scheduled to arrive after January 22 to keep checking our updates, our website (explora.com) and other social media where we will continue to keep you informed of the latest developments regarding this situation.

If you require any assistance making your new travel plans, please call a member of our reservations team on (56 2) 3952800 or write to us at reserve@explora.com. If you would like to contact one of our dedicated representatives in your area, please write to:

North America
Claudia Thorsoe: cthorsoe@explora.com
Ruth López: rlopez@explora.com
Ana María Varela: amvarela@explora.com
Helena Papadelis: hpapadelis@explora.com

Europe and Australia
Ximena Zamora: xzamora@explora.com
Claudia Thorsoe: cthorsoe@explora.com

Brazil
Jean Pierre Beaujanot: jpbeaujanot@explora.com
Giuliano Venegas: gvenegas@explora.com
José Luis González: jgonzalez@explora.com
Claudia Thorsoe: cthorsoe@explora.com

Chile
Patricia Solis: psolis@explora.com
Patricio Gárnica: pgarnica@explora.com

We would like to thank you for your understanding and support during this challenging time.

Sincerely,
explora team

Unfortunately the southern sector of the park where the Hotel Salto Chico/explora Patagonia is situated remains closed by order of the government. Although explora Patagonia and all our facilities are intact and undamaged, the authorities have decided that this sector of the park remains off limits to visitors until further notice. It remains uncertain when this sector of the park will be reopened and depends exclusively on the decisions made by the Chilean government authorities, who are currently in the area monitoring the situation.

Due to these circumstances which are beyond our control, we request that all travelers who are scheduled to arrive at explora Patagonia on January 10, 2012, make alternative arrangements which, as we informed previously, are as follows:

• Reschedule your journey to explora Patagonia to a later date. If you wish, you may combine your visit to explora Patagonia with a second explora destination (Atacama, Rapa Nui or explora travesías), for which we are offering a 50% discount.
• Rearrange your trip to explora Atacama, explora Rapa Nui or explora travesías. If you wish, you may combine your trip with a second explora destination (Atacama, Rapa Nui or explora travesías), for which we are offering a 50% discount.

We kindly ask all travelers who are scheduled to arrive after January 10 to keep checking our updates, our website (explora.com) and other social media where we will continue to keep you informed of the latest developments regarding this situation.

If you require any assistance making your new travel plans, please call a member of our reservations team on (56 2) 3952800 or write to us at reserve@explora.com. If you would like to contact one of our dedicated representatives in your area, please write to:

North America
Claudia Thorsoe: cthorsoe@explora.com
Ruth López: rlopez@explora.com
Ana María Varela: amvarela@explora.com
Helena Papadelis: hpapadelis@explora.com

Europe and Australia
Ximena Zamora: xzamora@explora.com
Claudia Thorsoe: cthorsoe@explora.com

Brazil
Jean Pierre Beaujanot: jpbeaujanot@explora.com
Giuliano Venegas: gvenegas@explora.com
José Luis González: jgonzalez@explora.com
Claudia Thorsoe: cthorsoe@explora.com

Chile
Patricia Solis: psolis@explora.com
Patricio Gárnica: pgarnica@explora.com

We would like to thank you for your understanding and support during this challenging time.

Sincerely,
explora team

As a result of this situation, Hotel Salto Chico, explora Patagonia, located in the center of the park, is now completely closed. Yesterday afternoon all of our travelers and staff were evacuated in an orderly, calm way, and are now staying in hotels in Puerto Natales and Punta Arenas. We have therefore had to cancel the arrival of travelers who were scheduled to arrive at explora Patagonia on Monday January 2, 2012.

Bookings for later dates (from January 6 onwards) are also canceled until further notice.

At the moment, the situation with the fire is uncertain and neither explora nor the government authorities responsible for the Park can predict how this situation will develop over the coming days.

Faced with this situation which is completely beyond our control and responsibility as a company, we ask you to postpone your journey to explora Patagonia and reschedule it at a later date in one of our two other destinations: explora Atacama or explora Rapa Nui or on one of our travesías or nomadic journeys. For assistance with your new travel plans, please call a member of our reservations team on (56 2) 3952800 or write to us at reserve@explora.com.

We would like to thank you for your understanding and support in this challenging time.

Sincerely,

explora team

Given that the Torres del Paine National Park covers an area of 250,000 hectares (62,000 acres), this fire is only affecting a small area of the park.

Although the fire is several kilometers away from our explora operation, smoke from the fire has reached the area surrounding the Hotel Salto Chico. For this reason we are offering to evacuate travelers wanting to leave the park and we are offering alternative accommodation in either the city of Puerto Natales, 190 kilometers (120 miles) from the park or in Punta Arenas, 400 kilometers (250 miles) from the park. Presently, our operation is open and continues to operate normally.

This is simply a precautionary measure and is not by any means cause for alarm. There is no danger at all. All the travelers at explora are safe and well.

The relevant authorities are working around the clock to control the fire, however due to the strong winds it is not known exactly how the fire will spread. It is possible that the fire could affect the arrival of travelers who are due to arrive at explora Patagonia (Hotel Salto Chico) on January 2, 2012. We ask you to please keep checking our website for the latest information which will be updated every 12 hours.

For further information please call 56 2 3952800 or email aarellano@explora.com.

Sincerely,

explora team