Think of Patagonia and Torres del Paine or the great glaciers of Argentina may come to mind first. But follow the mountains south and west towards the Pacific and the geography changes completely.

Here the southern Andes splinter into thousands of islands, channels, hidden bays and deep fjords. Vast icefields feed glaciers that descend between forested mountains, while many of the most interesting places have little or no road access. It is a landscape made for exploration by small ship.

That is the idea behind AE Expeditions' Glaciers & Fjords of Southern Patagonia. Rather than combining a handful of Patagonian destinations with conventional port calls, this 11-day expedition concentrates on the waterways, glaciers and wildlife of southern Chile. Travelling from Ushuaia to Punta Arenas aboard Douglas Mawson, days are built around Zodiac exploration, hiking, wildlife watching and the flexibility to respond to local conditions.

What makes this Patagonia expedition different?

Why explore Patagonia by expedition ship?

The geography provides the answer. On a map, southern Chile looks almost as though somebody has shattered the western edge of South America. Islands, peninsulas and narrow waterways extend for hundreds of miles, backed by an almost continuous wall of mountains and ice.

Travelling overland can take you to some of Patagonia's celebrated national parks, but it cannot easily take you deep into this maritime landscape. An expedition ship becomes both transport and floating base camp, moving overnight between distant areas and allowing guests to wake somewhere completely different the following morning.

Crucially, you are not restricted to what can be seen from the deck. On this AE Expeditions voyage, Zodiacs provide access to smaller channels, glacier approaches and wildlife sites, while opportunities to go ashore open another perspective through guided walks and hikes.

Glacier Alley: where the Andes meet the sea

One of the first clues that this will be a very different Patagonia experience comes as Douglas Mawson enters the waterways around the Cordillera Darwin. Unlike the broad plains and open landscapes found elsewhere in Patagonia, the mountains here rise abruptly beside narrow fjords.

Glaciers flow down from the icefield between steep peaks, waterfalls descend from hanging valleys and dense Magellanic forest covers the lower slopes wherever rock and ice permit.

This is classic expedition territory. Zodiacs make it possible to move into smaller waterways, cruise through floating ice and gain a much more intimate sense of the scale of the landscape.

Pío XI: the glacier that behaves differently

If there is one natural feature that deserves to become the signature image of this voyage, it is Pío XI Glacier.

Fed by the immense Southern Patagonian Ice Field, Pío XI is the largest glacier in South America. Scale alone makes it worth travelling for, but its behaviour makes it even more intriguing.

While most of the glaciers draining the Southern Patagonian Ice Field have experienced retreat, Pío XI has undergone significant periods of advance, making it a particularly fascinating place to encounter in person.

Reaching it also demonstrates the advantage of travelling through Patagonia by ship. It lies deep within a landscape of islands and fjords, a long way from the conventional road-based Patagonia circuit.

Magellanic penguins at Tucker Islets

Patagonia is primarily a landscape-led expedition, but wildlife provides some memorable punctuation. One of the strongest encounters comes at Tucker Islets in Almirantazgo Sound.

The islands provide breeding habitat for more than 4,000 Magellanic penguins. To protect the colony, guests remain in their Zodiacs rather than landing, cruising close enough to watch penguins moving around the shoreline and rocky slopes.

Imperial cormorants and Chilean skuas can also be present, while the surrounding waters provide opportunities to watch for dolphins.

And this isn't just a cruise: you can hike Patagonia too

One reason we particularly like this itinerary is that the experience doesn't stay entirely on the water. Whenever conditions and terrain allow, the Expedition Team looks for opportunities to get guests ashore.

Around Almirantazgo Sound, guided hikes can take you through extraordinary sub-Antarctic forest, where moss covers tree trunks and glacially sculpted terrain provides viewpoints towards the mountains and Marinelli Glacier.

The combination matters. A morning spent approaching a glacier by Zodiac and an afternoon walking through the forest create two very different impressions of the same landscape.

Who would we recommend this Patagonia expedition to?

First and foremost, this is a voyage for travellers who care about landscape and exploration. The biggest moments are likely to involve glaciers, mountains, narrow waterways, wild forest and the feeling of travelling somewhere genuinely remote.

It should particularly appeal to active travellers who want to do more than watch from the ship. Zodiac excursions and hiking are key parts of the experience, although every activity depends on weather and local conditions.

It is also worth considering for travellers attracted to Antarctica but looking for something different. Southern Patagonia shares some of the ingredients that make polar expedition cruising so compelling: ice, wildlife, Zodiacs, an Expedition Team and flexible exploration. Yet the forests, mountains and extraordinary geography of the Chilean fjords give it a character entirely of its own.