Patagonia Trekking Adventure

Day 1

We meet this morning in the town of Punta Arenas, near the tip of the South American continent, and shuttle three hours north by private coach to the cute town of Puerto Natales for lunch. After lunch, we continue on to Torres del Paine National Park, a two-hour journey traveling through the Patagonian pampas and looking for wild guanacos (native species that are similar to llamas). The park encompasses mountains, glaciers, lakes, and rivers with the stunning Cordillera (mountain range) del Paine as the centerpiece of the park. Torres del Paine has some of the best trekking routes in the world, and your first sight of its lovely mountains may just take your breath away!

Day 2

By the end of the trip, we will have completed the “W” circuit of the park, named for the shape of the trail. Our maiden hike is on the easternmost portion of the W, walking along Las Torres Trail high above Río Ascencio, through a Lenga tree forest, over glacial moraine, and finally to the base of the jaw-dropping Torres, for which the park is named. While the first part of the hike has some steeper sections, the last hour includes a challenging one-hour boulder-scramble up to the beautiful glacial lake from which the Torres seem to rise out of. You will want your camera ready for this moment! These three striking granite massifs are the remains of a great cirque sheared away by the forces of glacial ice and reward our efforts and make our lakeside lunch taste delicious. This is our toughest hiking day, but the view of towers and the glacial lake below them is astounding – something you will remember your entire lifetime! We return down the valley along the same path. Distance: 8 hours / 20 kilometers. We gain 820 meters in altitude (and then lose it on the way back down). A shorter route is available: one can turn around at Alberge del Chilenos, an 8-kilometer round trip hike that gains – and then loses – 450 meters in altitude.

Day 3

We begin the central portion of our trek as we hike from our hotel along the Los Cuernos Trail, one of our easiest hikes of the week, with a net loss of altitude. The landscape opens up a bit here and winds can be fierce without the protection of the trees. Our guides share the wonders of the Park’s fauna and flora and we have magnificent views of the milky blue glacial lakes below us and the towering mountains above us in the central part of the park. We will have times to skip stones along the shores of Lake Nordenskjold (named for a Swedish geologist with major contributions to world glacial geology) and study the hanging glaciers of Mount Almirante Nieto before reaching the base of Los Cuernos (“the horns”), another unique geologic feature of the park. We’ll be able to see these stunning peaks up close and personal right from our dining room tonight. Distance: 5 hours / 11 kilometers.

Day 4

We start the day with a two-hour, 5.5-kilometer hike over mostly flat terrain to Campo Italiano on the wild Rio Frances. From there, you can choose to hike straight to Lake Pehoe on gently rolling terrain (another 7.6 kilometers and 2.5 hours). However, we highly recommend a side trip up the steep French Valley, arguably the most beautiful in the park and one of the most unique in the world. It is surrounded by hanging glaciers (where you can see the ice breaking off at various intervals across the valley, and then hear the sound seconds later). It is a natural amphitheater of granite walls and spires! There are amazing views and the further you trek into the valley the better they become! (This side trip is an extra 3.5 hours with significant altitude gain and loss). Whichever route you take, you will notice the extraordinary turquoise color of Lake Pehoe when you arrive at our refugio. We will celebrate our day together over a Pisco Sour in the lodge’s bar, with views of Paine Grande and the back side of Los Cuernos in the beautiful evening light. Distance: This is an easy short route hike (4.5 hours / 13.1 kilometers) and difficult long route (8 hours / 24 kilometers).

Day 5

We hike the westernmost part of the W along the shores of Lake Pehoe and Lake Grey, all the way to Glacier Grey, one of the most spectacular glaciers of the Patagonian Ice Field. This is perhaps the nicest hike of the trip, with excellent views and changing scenery. The glacier produces fierce winds, so hold onto your hats today! Our objective is to reach the glacier lookout point, where we have close-up views of Glacier Grey and its giant floating icebergs. You have the afternoon to yourself to enjoy a little down time, or do more exploring on your own. Distance: A mostly flat but net downhill hike (4 hours / 11 kilometers)

Day 6

After breakfast, we prepare for an ice hike on Glacier Grey, an incredible experience. With a safety talk and equipment introduction behind us, we will board Zodiac boats bound for the west side of the glacier, 15 minutes away. After an hour of hiking and a bit of boulder scrambling, we reach the ice, gear up, have another safety briefing and begin a few hours of guided exploration on the glacier. With crampons on our feet and ice axes in hand, we will be able to observe cracks, rivers, lagoons and tunnels with their dozens of variations of the color blue before returning to base camp and Grey Lodge by Zodiac boat. This unique experience is simply incredible!

Day 7

This morning, you can choose to sleep in and relax at the Lodge or hike further along the trail (including crossing a fun suspension bridge over a gorge) to an alternate lookout point above the glacier before returning to the lodge. At lunchtime, we will join others in a larger boat that allows us to navigate safely along the face of the towering glacier from the water below. You can’t even imagine the colors of the ice! From there, we transfer back to Puerto Natales for a wonderful farewell dinner and a luxurious night in a hotel!

Day 8

After a leisurely morning perhaps enjoying the spa services at our hotel or wandering about town, we will transfer you back to Punta Arenas for your return flight home.

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