Luxury Hotels Atlas / The Maison / Explora
Explora hotels
Remote lodges serve as bases for daily guided journeys, with meals and transfers woven in.
Explora makes the lodge a base for guided journeys through South America’s remote landscapes, with meals, transfers, and daily excursions woven into the stay. The idea grew from Chilean architect Germán del Sol’s travel manifesto and his partnership with Pedro Ibáñez Santa María, taking its first substantial form in Torres del Paine.
9 Explora hotels in 4 countries on the Luxury Hotels Atlas (2 not open yet), each placed on the six LHA Tiers.
- Owned by the investment group LPS
- Worldwide: 9 lodges and conservation reserves across Chile, Argentina, Peru, and Bolivia
- On the atlas: 5 Grand Luxury, 4 High Luxury
History
Germán del Sol’s original idea asked architecture to respond to each landscape, from Patagonia’s granite towers to Atacama and Rapa Nui. Pedro Ibáñez supported the long development of that philosophy. Private conservation reserves in Torres del Paine and Atacama later gave the company another way to care for the places its guests explore.
Timeline
- 1990 — Explora wins a tender from Chile's National Forestry Corporation (CONAF) to operate inside Torres del Paine National Park.
- 1993 — The first lodge, explora Patagonia (Hotel Salto Chico), opens on the shore of Lake Pehoé, the only luxury property located inside the park's boundary, and sparks controversy for its bold modern architecture in protected wilderness.
- 1998 — explora Atacama opens in San Pedro de Atacama, on ancestral land in the Ayllu de Larache, an oasis inhabited for more than two thousand years.
- 2007 — Explora Rapa Nui opens in December on Easter Island, designed by José Cruz Ovalle.
- 2016 — International expansion begins with explora Valle Sagrado in Peru's Sacred Valley, between Cusco and Machu Picchu.
- 2021 — Explora Patagonia National Park opens in the Chacabuco Valley, tied to the company's own conservation-reserve program.
- 2024 — Explora is acquired by the private investment group LPS.
- 2026 — Explora El Calafate and the Torres del Paine Conservation Reserve lodge are scheduled for December.
The houses to know
- Explora Rapa Nui, Easter Island, Chile — José Cruz Ovalle's 30-room lodge, opened in December 2007, the first of its kind on the island.
- Explora Torres del Paine, Torres del Paine, Chile — The original lodge, on Lake Pehoé inside the national park, opened in 1993.
- Explora Atacama, San Pedro de Atacama, Chile — Fifty rooms in the Ayllu de Larache, opened in 1998, with a private observatory.
- explora Valle Sagrado, Urubamba, Peru — The first Explora outside Chile, opened on 1 July 2016, after Inca ruins kept turning up in the foundations.
- Explora El Chaltén, El Chaltén, Argentina — The first Argentine lodge, opened on 15 December 2021 inside the Los Huemules Reserve.
- Explora Patagonia National Park, Chacabuco Valley, Chile — Thirteen rooms opened in 2021 in the valley tied to the Tompkins rewilding project.
- Explora Uyuni, Altiplano, Bolivia — Max Núñez's six-room lodge at 3,681 metres, built to be taken apart.
Newest openings
- No Explora lodges opened during the two years preceding the source review. Uyuni opened around 2023, following El Chaltén in December 2021.
Opening next
- Explora El Calafate, El Calafate, Argentina, is set to open in December 2026: 20 rooms on the 70,000-hectare Chorrillo Malo estancia, designed by José Cruz Ovalle from Mendoza-built modules.
- Explora Torres del Paine Conservation Reserve, Torres del Paine, Chile, is a 10-room lodge scheduled for December 2026 on the private reserve beside the national park, separate from the 1993 Salto Chico house.
Every Explora hotel on the atlas
Chile
- Explora Atacama — San Pedro de Atacama · Grand Luxury
- Explora Rapa Nui — Easter Island · Grand Luxury
- Explora Torres del Paine — Torres del Paine · Grand Luxury
- Explora Patagonia National Park — Chacabuco Valley · High Luxury
- Explora Torres del Paine Conservation Reserve — Torres del Paine · High Luxury · Opening soon
Argentina
- Explora El Chaltén — El Chaltén · Grand Luxury
- Explora El Calafate — El Calafate · High Luxury · Opening soon
Bolivia
- Explora Uyuni — Altiplano · High Luxury
Peru
- explora Valle Sagrado — Urubamba · Grand Luxury
Open The Maison in the atlas for Explora's full dossier, with prices and maps.