Patagonia. Wow! In 2014 I was lucky enough to go to El Chalten, on the Argentinian side of Patagonia. My buddy Damon and I hiked for multiple days, blessed with views of the mighty Fitz Roy, represented on the Patagonia (brand) logo. Making conversation with our fellow hikers, more than a few people said, “you have to go to Torres del Paine in Chile, it’s even better”. It’s a classic traveler trope to throw mild shade at the place you are currently enjoying while recommending a harder to reach place that you don’t have time to go to as even better. While it comes off as a bit smug, its a great way to learn about new spots that might not even be on your radar — it’s how I ended up in Kampot, Cambodia, which I loved. I made a vow to return to Patagonia one day, but on this vaunted Chilean side.
It took 9 years, but on April 1st, Tiffany, her best friend Sam, and I touched down in Puerto Natales, the port city that serves as the gateway to Torres del Paine national park.
On the advice of our friend Joel, we booked a guided tour with Swoop, for their 5 day tour of the W trek. The W trek is ~50 miles and can be completed in 4 to 5 days, while the larger O circuit is 68 miles and takes 7 to 9 days.
We spent our 5 days exploring the 3 lines of the W above. The weather in Patagonia can change in an instant and they say that you can experience all four seasons in a day, so we were expecting things to be volatile during a shoulder season like Autumn. Lucky for us we hit the weather jackpot as we had little more than a few hours of rain the entire time we hiked. A big bonus of hiking in Autumn (Mar/Apr) is not only is it significantly less crowded than Summer (Jan/Feb), but the trees were blushing with beautiful shades of red, orange, and yellow. The trails were already fairly full, so I can’t even imagine what it is like in summertime. Foliage-pilled after living on the East coast, the colors were an added bonus.
We stayed at EcoCamp the majority of our time, but also camped in tents deeper into the park one night, at Paine Grande campsite, only accessible by boat. EcoCamp is a magical place. You stay in domes that sit under the dramatic backdrop of the Torres del Paine. The domes look small and simple from the outside, but inside host warm lighting and big comfy beds with more than enough blankets to protect from the cold nights. There’s a beautiful communal space to sit and read by a fireplace along with a full bar that opens up into a large dining room. In the evening they served gourmet meals like lamb chops, ceviche or hearty lentil soups, while pouring Chile’s flagship wine, the carménère (more on that in future posts).
Our guides were absolutely amazing. They were always going above and beyond, sharing facts about the area, trying to spot pumas and condors, and just generally being great. We shared a lot of laughs especially when our guide Fabian requested updated slang words to try with his clients. He especially appreciated “run me over with your car” and “you ate and left no crumbs.” Not sure how relevant this will be for a Chilean hiking trek, but it was fun to discuss nonetheless.
In the mornings, EcoCamp put out the most elaborate lunch making spread I’ve ever seen so we could pack sandwiches and wraps to support the heavy mileage we were taking on each day. Each morning on a round table, sat an insane variety of roasted and pickled veggies, cold cuts, cheeses, hummus, grains, mustards and more. It became a sport to see what type of crazy sando I could put together for the day. The hiking itself was stunning and terrain varied dramatically. One day we took a boat through intensely blue waters to begin our hike, getting expansive views of the park during the 1 hr ride.
We’d walk through grassy hills into quiet forests blanketed in Fall colors, and scramble up jagged rocks. Our second hike ended with an hour boat ride that took us up close to bright blue glaciers jutting out of the water.
The flagship hike of Torres del Paine is the hike to the base of the towers aka torres. It is about 13 miles round trip (8-10 hrs total) and kicks off with a steep uphill climb of about 90 minutes. Along with those tasty sandos, we were able to stay easily hydrated. A unique feature of Patagonia is that you can easily refill your water bottle of any of the glacier fed streams you encounter along the way.
After the climb, you drop into a tranquil forest, taking in peaceful valleys and condors overhead. For the last hour, the terrain reaches its apex of intensity, as you make the final push to the base of the towers. We were incredibly lucky to take this hike under clear blue skies with a beautiful view of the towers to greet us on arrival. Honestly, after encountering so so much rain during the Philippine’s “dry” season, we felt lucky to have the weather roulette wheel spin in our favor. We even overheard hikers in the airport on our way out of Puerto Natales mention that they couldn’t see the towers at all (just one day after the we had been welcomed by clear blue skies) so we felt especially grateful.
As I hiked through Patagonia, there was a funny push and pull between wanting to photograph everything because it is so stunning -or- keep my phone in my pocket and stay present to just breathe in nature in the here and now. I landed somewhere in between. I appreciated being back in Patagonia after all these years. I cannot wait to return and explore more (there’s a lot to see!), hopefully returning sooner than the previous 9 year hiatus. I don’t think Torres del Paine is necessarily better than El Chalten, they are both truly magical in their own way. There is much more to see beyond these two locations, Parque Perito Moreno and Parque Patagonia Azul have both come up recently, and yes they both sound amazing. If you are thinking about going to Patagonia (Chile or Argentina), please hit me up as I’d love to share more than what fit above. Til next time!
Thanks for sharing your journey and the beautiful photos. I'm glad the weather was so cooperative on this trip!
I need a pic of that sando-station spread!