39 Night Cruise sailing from Ushuaia to Forte de France aboard Le Boreal.

Aboard LE BOREAL you will cross two of the world's most famous passages, the stormtossed Cape Horn and the awe-inspiring Panama Canal, to marvel at the snow-capped peaks of the Andes and the luminous ambience of Tierra del Fuego.

Discover the mysteries surrounding Inca cities like Machu Picchu and the Nazca Lines, before cruising into the warm waters round the French West Indies to bask on tranquil white sandy beaches.

Highlights of this cruise:

Cape Horn
Your first contact with this land at the end of the world will be Cape Horn, a promontory that in 2005 was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Known to sailors simply as "the Horn", the summit of this spectacular cliff has a sculpture in the shape of an albatross to honour all those who have perished trying to sail round it. A unique experience awaits you as we cruise through the Beagle Channel exploring the magnificent scenery of the Tierra del Fuego (literally "land of fire") National Park.

Chilean Channels
You will then have the opportunity to spend two glorious days discovering the Chilean Channels at the foot of the Darwin Cordillera mountain range, and to venture right into the heart of this maze of fjords to see the glaciers which tumble into the sea at the end of them. Sea lions, fur seals and dolphins are completely at home in the unspoiled grandiose nature of this region.

Puerto Natales
After the Patagonia channels, Puerto Natales (Chile) appears at the end of the Ultima Esperanza Sound. An ideal point from which to cross the Andes, the town is in the heart of the Torres del Paine National Park and the Andean scenery here is breathtaking.

Tortel
This small Patagonian village with its curious architecture - houses on stilts linked by a maze of piers, walkways and endless stairs which make up the roads - clings to a hillside in total isolation amidst the glaciers, lakes, forests and mountains. This is a unique opportunity to meet the locals who are always very welcoming to Le Boreal passengers.

Puerto Montt
Located on Latitude 40o South this lovely region is a natural garden and boasts an incredible concentration of volcanic cones, like Lanin or the spectacular snow-capped Orsono volcano.

Castro
To the north of the Magellan Strait is a large island called Chiloe (Chile) which is very different from the rest of the country, not just because of the gentler countryside but its mixed cultural heritage. By virtue of being central, Castro (Chile) is the capital of this island which is home to around 150 churches that are famous for their striking architecture. Indeed, 16 of them are registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Valparaiso
The port city of Valparaiso (Chile) meaning "paradise valley", of which the historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage site, is one of the most beautiful and picturesque in the central region of Chile. Dominated by 44 hills forming a natural amphitheatre overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Valparaiso has been immortalised in the writings of Pablo Neruda. With its delightful funicular railways and colourful hillside dwellings, this is undoubtedly one of the most charismatic and historic ports in South America.

Iquique
Located between the sea and the desert, the town of Iquique takes pride in its outstanding historic centre. It is a legacy of the wealthy "White Gold Rush" in the days when the much sought-after sodium nitrate (saltpetre) was mined in the 18th century. Former residences with their finely wrought facades and colourful buildings bear witness to this opulent period.

Arica
Known as the City of Eternal Spring, Arica (Chile) is much admired for its rich golden sandy beaches and historic sites. From here you will have the opportunity to explore the Lauca National Park, a renowned UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

Matarani
The small fishing port of Matarani (Peru) is cut off between desert and mountain and offers a chance to visit the lovely colonial town of Arequipa, founded in 1540 and dominated by no less than three volcanoes. The brilliant white houses of volcanic stone have earned it the nickname "the white town". The Santa Catalina Convent is well worth visiting, home to a community of Carmelites for over 400 years, it is now open to the public.

San Juan Marcona
This is your opportunity to fly over the famous Nazca (Peru) lines: enigmatic and mysterious, are they an astronomical calendar or ritual paths dedicated to the gods? No one knows as this magical place jealously guards its secret. Discovered in the 1930s, the 350 giant
geometric shapes include figures such as a spider, a monkey and a bird carved into the ground by the world's oldest, pre-Inca, civilisation.

Callao
An exciting modern metropolis, Lima (Peru) also offers some of the finest examples of colonial architecture and many museums including the famous Gold Museum. From here you have the opportunity of a lifetime to visit the Inca city of Machu Picchu, Cuzco and the Sacred Valley.

San Blas Islands
The San Blas Islands conceal a little-known secret world: that of the Kunas Amerindians. Between these unspoiled islands fringed by palm trees, people still travel in dugout canoes. The women here make "molas", gorgeous brightly coloured fabrics with geometric motifs.

Cartagena
Cartagena is a former bastion of the Spanish Empire where gold pillaged from the Aztec and Inca empires was stored before being shipped to Spain. A UNESCO World Heritage site, this is a fascinating place to explore as its streets have retained all the charm of the town's heroic period.

Willemstad
Off the Venezuelan coast lie the leeward islands of the Dutch West Indies, with wonderfully evocative names like Curacao with its white sandy beaches lying at the foot of Mount Christofel. The island's capital of Willemstad has retained a very special ambiance while attractive buildings from the colonial period seem to suddenly appear on every corner and square of the old district.