Travel Guides South America Chile
- Torres Del Paine
Located in the famous Patagonia region, Torres del Paine National Park is internationally renowned as being one of the most beautifully unspoiled and remote places on earth. With spectacular glaciers, cascades, mirrored lakes, rivers, sharp peaks, and the famous Patagonia ice field, Torres del Paine draws travelers from all over the world wanting to discover the natural beauty and adventure this park has to offer. Whether it is mountaineering, backpacking, kayaking, or ecology, one can find it here in Torres del Paine.
While it is certainly the Torres del Paine National Park that is the main attraction for this region, the tiny town of Puerto Natales, besides being a mandatory port of entry into Torres, is also something to discover. Founded in 1911 as a residential center and export port for local sheep ranches, it is now the capital of the Ultima Esperanza Sound province.
Wool is no longer the staple of the economy since UNESCO declared Torres del Paines a biosphere reserve in 1978, the move essentially replacing wool with tourism.
The town has a small center and many rows of weathered houses, all of whom enjoy views of glacier-topped mountains and a grassy peninsula from the picturesque location. Glacier Grey is perhaps the most awe-inspiring of the glaciers in the park.
Easily accessible, this monster marks the southern extreme of the Patagonia ice field.
As it constantly melts, feeding the Lago Grey, one is treated to the awesome spectacle of crashing ice and the brilliant blues and greens of the falling icebergs. Depending on the amount of icebergs afloat in the Lago Grey, boat tours are available to see this awesome iceberg up close. The glacier can also be reached by a short hour and a half hike.
Other glaciers one should be sure not to miss are Serrano and Balmaceda. Arrangements for a boat trip can be made starting in Puerto Natales. These trips pass through areas rife with sea lions and bird species such as the cormorant on the way to see these spectacular glaciers up close. Other sites worthy of a visit are Nordenskjold Lake, Pehoe Lake, and the Salto Grande waterfall.
For the adventurer seeking to experience the beauty of Torres on foot, there are trails throughout the park, most of which are safe and easy, made for the intermediate trekker. Torres is well kept for camping, as one can choose to camp out under the stars or in one of the "refugios", small hostel-like cabins that provide full board and have a few dorms. More extreme activities include climbing, kayaking, rafting, and glacier crossing.
Although Torres del Paine is best visited during the summer months (November through March), autumn is also incredibly beautiful, with crisp weather and the changing colors of the leaves. Winter can also be a very peacefully beautiful time to visit, as there are usually few tourists and the weather is actually more stable than in the summer months. During the summer be sure to bring wind and rain gear, as the weather tends to change quickly and unpredictably.
This is part of the Patagonia that is in the territory of the country of Chile.
Puerto Natales is a quaint outpost along the Seno Ultima Esperanza (Last Hope Sound), ensconced in one of Patagonia's most dramatic settings. Like most other Patagonian towns, services and amenities in Puerto Natales are limited to the bare essentials, but the friendly local residents lend a pleasant small-town feel, and the city is the perfect base for visiting Parque Torres del Paine (one of South America's most scenic national parks), as well as excursions further afield to El Calafate, El Chalten, Punta Arenas and Ushuaia. It is also the embarkation and terminus point for the NAVIMAG ferries that travel the magnificent Chilean fjords between Puerto Natales and Puerto Montt.
Like all other Patagonian towns, Puerto Natales is easily negotiated on foot. There is a tourist office located near the town entrance, and there are plenty of agencies in the town center for those who wish to plan their own excursions. The best local restaurants are located around the central plaza and along the seafront. Also, be sure to visit the town's fantastic chocolate shop for the perfect early morning wake up or late afternoon tea. The charming little cafe is located about halfway between the central plaza and the waterfront, and offers a variety of cakes, sweets, cookies, and hot chocolate drinks. If you have some extra time on your hands before heading off to Torres del Paine, visit the municipal museum or stroll around the city center to take in the pleasant small-town ambiance.
The four-hour cruise up the Seno Ultima Esperanza to the Balmaceda and Serrano glaciers is one of the most beautiful and popular excursions from Puerto Natales. Along the way, you will pass an old meat freezer (frigorifico), as well as waterfalls, several estancias, and colonies of sea lions, cormorants and other birds.
Another popular point of interest is the "Cueva del Milodon". A visit to this immense cave, located about 25 km Northwest of Puerto Natales on the way to Parque Torres del Paine, is included in most of the organized tours to the park. It was here, in the late 1800's, that Captain Hermann Eberhard discovered a well-preserved ground sloth nearly four meters high that had become extinct in the early Pleistocene Age. The site has a small visitor center with exhibits on the natural history of the area and a full-size replica of the animal in the cave.
Parque Torres del Paine:
This magnificent national park was created in 1959, and was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1978. Most visitors will see only a small fraction of this enormous park, which has an area of approximately 242,141 hectares. In addition to the unbelievable geological formations and natural scenery, visitors will have the opportunity to witness many species of flora and fauna that inhabit the park: llamas, guanacos, foxes, pumas, condors, ñandú, geese and a wide variety of other birds.
The park is located about 100 km from Puerto Natales along a scenic route that passes lakes, mountains, villages and farms. The most popular options for visiting the park include passenger van tours, day trips from within the park, and backpacking. Several agencies in Puerto Natales can help arrange passenger-van day trips that cover the park's main sites in a single day. The three majestic "Towers" (Torres) for which the park is named are sighted as the tours near the park entrance alongside Lago Sarmiento. After entering park, the tours then proceed to the scenic Mirador Cuernos overlook near Salto Grande that afford beautiful views of "the Horns" ("Cuernos"), with their spectacular hanging glaciers. You will then pass beautiful Lago Pehoe on route to lunch at Hosteria Lago Grey, with its gorgeous views of the lake and Glacier Grey. After a filling lunch and a visit to the black-sands at the edge of brilliant, electric-blue Lago Grey, the vans return to Puerto Natales.
Those who wish to spend several days in the park for a closer look at the many spectacular formations may elect to stay at one or more of the hosterias, refugios (also called albergues), or campsites scattered throughout the park. Hosterias offer the highest level of comfort, with restaurants, guides, and organized daytime excursions and evening activities, while refugios offer only the most basic necessities: a roof over your head, bunk lodging, a kitchen, showers, toilets, and a drying rack for wet clothes. The principal campsites typically have toilets and showers, and sometimes grill stands for cooking.
The most common trajectory for backpackers follows a W-shaped route that transits between Glacier Grey and the Torres, and typically takes 3-5 days to complete. In addition, more adventurous hikers may attempt to complete the entire circuit around the Cordillera del Paine, the central mountain range that encompasses the Towers and Horns and passes alongside Glacier Grey. The "W" and the complete circuit may be hiked in either direction, but hikers must begin at one of the road-accessible trailheads: Hosteria Las Torres (located at the east edge of the "W", closest to the Torres), Posada Rio Serrano, or Hosteria Lago Grey (at the west edge of the "W"). From Hosteria Las Torres, the trail rises steeply and follows the east edge of Almirante Nieto peak into a gorgeous canyon high above the Rio Ascencio. The steep trail then descends to the river's edge at the Chilean camp, and follows the river for about an hour through a pleasant forest before heading straight up along a stream through boulders and scree for another hour to the base of the Torres. Hikers typically return to the Hosteria or Chilean Camp at the end of the first day, hike to the French Valley on the second day, and continue on to Glacier Grey on the third or fourth day. There is also an adventurous hike from Hosteria Lago Grey to Mirador Zapata, Glacier Zapata and the Southern Patagonian ice field, and from the entrance guard station to Laguna Azul.
Choose your visiting time carefully, since there are dramatic differences in the number of visitors during high and low season. In low season (Chilean winter, from about July to November), it is possible to hike all day and only encounter a handful of other hikers, but visitors will have fewer daylight hours for hiking and are more likely to encounter inclement weather conditions. Weather conditions and daylight hours are considerably more favorable in high season (December to April); however, hundreds or thousands of visitors usually crowd the trail.
A large portion of this text was written by Traveler - Writer Craig Milroy.
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