Torres del Paine National Park(Chile)

December 2019    itinerary link

 

For a lot of people, Patagonia means Torres del Paine National Park. Many calendars show pictures like the one above, and people may know it’s taken in Patagonia somewhere even if they don’t know exactly where. Torres del Paine means towers of blue, the three granite peaks you see in the picture right to the white snow covered mountain.

We decided to join a smaller group(up to 20 people) day tour ($55) from Puerto Natales. There were tons of big and small tour companies offering similar trips online, but we picked this one because we try to support local companies if possible, and this outfit seemed to have a fair price and good reviews. I will quote their description of the trip & follow the route & show how they did.

“We will start our full day at Torres del Paine at 07:30 am. picking up travelers at their respective hotels and hostels in Puerto Natales, starting the trip to Torres del Paine at approximately 08:00 hrs. With first stop in Cerro Castillo, where we can use sanitary services or buy in the cafeteria in the cafeteria that is in place.” 

We got picked up around 8 AM, and the mini bus was filled up with about 20 people. The English speaking guide knew what he was talking about.

“We continue our tour to Torres del Paine National Park, making a stop at the Sarmiento Lake Viewpoint. From there you have the first panoramic view of the Paine Range, travelers can take pictures or videos.”

We could not believe we got this kind of view & we were not even in the park yet.

“We continue the trip to the Torres del Paine National Park, until we reach the Laguna Amarga sector, where you can see the imposing granite formations known as the Torres del Paine, from a privileged view of the Amarga Lagoon and then go to the sector called Cascada Paine where we will stop so that our passengers can take photographs of the sector from their viewpoint.”

Everyone took a million photos. It was impossible to take a bad photo in the whole park.

“After entering the National Park by Laguna Amarga Porter and on the way to the administrative headquarters, a stop is made at the Mirador del Nordenskjöld, from where the immensity of the Paine Range, especially the Cuernos del Paine formations, can be seen imposingly, Monte Almirante Nieto, and Paine Grande.”

At the park administration, each person bought an entrance ticket(about $25).

 

“We continue the trip along the shore of Lake Pehoé from where it is possible to see the Salto Grande. Where passengers can take a walk to the viewpoint sector with the Cuernos del Paine behind them, if the weather conditions do not allow it due to high winds, a stop will be made from the Mirador that exists on the road.”

We were lucky to have nice weather, and the 30 minute walk to the viewpoint was very pleasant although the path was just a dirt road.

“The trip continues to the Pehoé Lake viewpoint. Here it is possible to see the Island where Hosteria Pehoé is located, and the imposing Paine mountain range with a spectacular view of the Cuernos del Paine. We will continue the trip to the Pehoé campsite where we will stop for approximately 40 min. for lunch. Passengers can bring all kinds of food from Puerto Natales for the trip.”

Instead of having lunch here, we continued to Gray Lake and had lunch there.

“From here the trip continues along the banks of the Paine River, until we cross it by the bridge over the Weber River, and from there we go to the Gray Lake sector. Along the way it is possible the sighting of flora and fauna in the sector.-

From the parking place, you can take a walk that will lead us to the Gray Lake sector where you can see different icebergs that move from the Gray glacier and reach the shore of the beach. This hike has a duration of 1 hour in total.”

There was a nice cafeteria and washroom facilities at the parking lot. We brought our own lunch, thus, we kept walking looking for a picnic spot.

“After visiting Gray Lake, you will return to the Administrative Headquarters sector of the National Park and from there take the new road towards Puerto Natales. A stop is taken to take pictures at the Lago del Toro viewpoint, where you can see the Gray glacier, the Paine mountain range and the Lake del Toro from a great distance.”

“After visiting the viewpoints, we make a break at the Milodon Cave Natural Monument where it will be possible to visit the audiovisual room and the large cave where the Milodon replica is located.”

It would’ve been interesting enough if we had come here directly just to see this, but, after the glorious day at Torres del Paines, we were spoiled & tired. A 20-25 minute walk to enter the cave felt long. Sorry, Milodon Cave! We humans are fickle.

“From there you arrive at Puerto Natales, at approximately 7:30 p.m. leaving passengers in their respective places of accommodation.”

We got back around 7PM, and they delivered everything as promised. We were fully satisfied: to be honest, we were a bit overwhelmed by the natural beauty and wonder we had experienced that day. What an exceptionally special treat that was!

Now that we’ve done it,  I can say we could have done it on our own by renting a car and driving there taking time as we pleased. But, for a first time visitor, the tour we took was just right. There are lots of other tour options offered by local operators, too. Many people choose to do a multiple day trekking.

Some people start this tour from Punta Arenas, and that will add at least 3 hours each way. To me, that is a bit much driving in a day. We were happy that we chose to start from Puerto Natales.

That gave us a convenient connection to our next destination, too.

Our journey: Puelo -> Puerto Varas -> Puerto Natales -> Torres del Paine National Park –> El Calafate –> Perito Moreno Glacier