CHILE: Patagonia
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Photographs Copyright 2005 by Tom Dempsey. Buy
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CHILE Page 1: Nahuelbuta
Monkey Puzzle Forest , Lake
District
,
Chiloe Island
Index to CHILE Page 2 (this page): Patagonia: Torres
del Paine National Park & park map , "W Route" Trek advice , French Valley , Serrano
Glacier , Patagonia trip map
See related pages: Argentine Patagonia ,
Ushuaia,
Tierra del Fuego, Argentina ~ Antarctica ~ Patagonia itinerary
Right:
A stream flows beneath the towers of Torres del
Paine National Park at sunrise.
Torres del Paine National
Park
Above: Los Cuernos and Lake Nordenskjold (in distance), Torres del
Paine National Park. (Panorama stitched from 2 images;
click
to enlarge.) The park may be named from payne,
a native Tehuelche word for blue, aptly describing the park's many
turquoise
lakes, colored by suspended glacial sediments.
Right: Hikers approach Los Cuernos (the Horns), in Torres del
Paine National Park, Chile.
When to visit Patagonia (southern Chile and Argentina)
- The best time to visit Patagonia may be from March to April,
when tourists disappear, yet most services remain open, the wild windy
weather calms somewhat, and the beech tree forests glow with nice fall
colors. At the beginning of March, children go back to school, parents
go home, and crowds
disappear.
- Late February through March has less wind & rain than earlier
in the summer in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile.
- High tourist season in Patagonia runs from December to the end of February, during
which you should book accommodation and other services in advance.
- Avoid overcrowded January to mid-February in Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina.
- Patagonia is very windy all
year. November can be an okay month to visit, but the
winds that scour Patagonia are at their most unremitting. September to
January are also blasted with high winds (gravity-fed katabatic winds
or
williwaws) which frequently rush off the Patagonian icecap at 60 mph
all day, sometimes up to 100
mph.
Even in late February/early March, which have the lightest winds of the
summer, we experienced steady 50 mph winds about every third day!
- The ozone hole over Earth's southern atmosphere is worst
September to January (especially September to mid-October), so be sure
to apply sunscreen even on cloudy days.
Above and below: Wild guanacos (related to camels) graze beneath Los
Cuernos
of Paine ("The Horns", 8,530 feet / 2,600 meters), which are comprised
of a pinkish-white granodiorite intrusion formed 12 million years ago,
topped with an older dark crumbly sedimentary rock, and exposed by
glaciation
and freeze-thaw erosion.
Right: Map of Torres
del Paine National Park: Our hikes are shown in dotted red lines
in
the map below, including 5 days on the "W
Route",
and 2 days at Hostaria Balmaceda and the Serrano Glacier. The pink
arrows with dotted blue lines are ferry routes. The purple lines are
the park roads which connect to Puerto Natales off the map. (See
Patagonia trip maps further
below.)
Summary
My wife and I left Seattle's
winter
and joined my father and 2 friends for a spectacular summer trip
trekking
in Chilean Patagonia (shown on this page) and Argentina,
plus cruising Antarctica (see below for our trip maps for February 3 - March 11, 2005). The
astounding
scenery and great trekking in Patagonia rivals any I have experienced
elsewhere
in the world!
Due to a fire burning down
the entrance station at Torres del Paine National Park, Chile,
we shortened our
"W Route" from 8 to 5 days. While waiting for the park to reopen, we
spent two days taking the tour boat/ferry up the Sound
of Last Hope ("Seno
de Ultima Esperanza") to see the striking Serrano Glacier (further
below).
When Torres del Paine National Park reopened after
the forest fire diminished, we hiked an abbreviated 5-day "W Route",
with additions recommended
as follows:
The "W Route", Torres del Paine National Park
- The excellent mountain huts, or "Refugios", in Torres del
Paine National Park, Chile, make the hiking very
comfortable at the end of each day, with hot meals, hot showers, &
mattresses in dormitory bunks (US$42-52 per
person per night in 2005), and you
just need to carry a sleeping bag. Book these huts through the
following excellent local agent: www.pathagone.com
Pathagone S.A. (or Path@gone), Puerto Natales, Chile, TEL: (56) 61
413291.
- As an alternative to staying in the nice
"Refugios", you can carry
a backpack,
tent, stove & food, which is cheaper than staying in huts, but I
personally don't
recommend backpacking due to frequent 50mph winds, unless you are young
or have excellent outdoor endurance.
- I highly
recommend staying the first night or two in the park at Hostería
Pehoé, which has a fantastic view of the Torres del Paine
peaks (standard double room US$175; standard triple room US$215 as of
2005). Unfortunately, we were not able to stay at Hostería Pehoé because our plan was cut short for 3 days by the forest
fire. While you stay there you can explore several nearby day hikes
with great views & wildlife (guanacos).
Image below right: A 50-mile-per-hour wind blasts Carol
beneath Los Cuernos (the
Horns)
on our walk to Salto Grande (a nice waterfall) while waiting for the ferry "Hielos Patagonicos" from Refugio Pudeto.
- Trek Day 1:
Take the
ferry "Hielos Patagonicos" from Refugio Pudeto (on the park road) to Refugio Lago Pehoé and hike 6.6 miles, 2000 feet
gain to Refugio Grey (open but being renovated in 2005), to
stay Night 1.
- Trek Days 2 & 3: Stay nights 2 & 3 in very nice new Refugio Lago
Pehoé (dormitory bunks sleep 6 people in each comfortably
carpeted room, with great mountain views), from where we day-hiked to
the spectacular French Valley (Valle
Francés) 18 miles, 3830 feet
gain, one of our favorite hikes in the world
(and my longest hike to date).
- As a much more efficient alternative,
I suggest hiking the French Valley on your way to Refugio Los Cuernos, where I suggest staying two
nights, allowing an extra rest/weather day, which gives you two shots
at hiking the spectacular French Valley.
- Trek Day 4: Hike from Refugio Lago
Pehoé to Refugio
Los Cuernos, 8 miles, 1435 feet up, 1200 feet down. Refugio Los Cuernos is a good dormitory style hut (8 to 10 people per room) with
excellent view of rock towers, especially at sunrise.
- Trek Day 5: We hiked out 10 miles, about 700 feet total
gain. (One of us actually completed the W Route by getting up early and
adding the long side trip to the
Torres Lookout that day, which adds another 5 hours hiking, maybe an 18
mile day total.) To better complete the W Route, I highly recommend the
following more reasonable trekking plan:
- Trek Day 5: Hike from Refugio Los Cuernos to Refugio Chileno to stay for Nights 5 &
6.
- Trek Day 6: From Refugio Chileno, hike 3.5 hrs round
trip up the Valle Ascensio to Torres del Paine Lookout,
which many call the "most spectacular hike in the park" (located about
40 minutes beyond Campamento Torres). Stay Night 6 in Refugio Chileno.
- Trek Day 7: Hike from Refugio Chileno 1.5 hours to Hostaria
Las Torres end point (or 3 hours if you cannot make the bus and must walk to
Laguna Amarga entrance station). End of the W Route.
- Alternatively, you can start
from Hostaria
Las Torres and hike the "W Route" westwards, but the prevailing high winds will be blasting coldly into your face, impeding your progress and sapping your energy.
Left: Forest fire devastation in Torres del
Paine National Park,
photographed on March 1, 2005.
A week earlier, on February 22, our drive to the
park was interrupted by a cellphone call which caused our driver
return to Puerto Natales. At that moment, the park entrance station was
burning down due to a forest fire, caused
by a backpacker who had overturned his stove!
Since the park was closed, I arranged an alternative
plan for us to visit Serrano
Glacier (further below), which was very worthwhile. I had a hunch
that
the park would reopen quickly, despite our mood of doom and gloom, so I
cut cut short our second scheduled night at Hostaria Balmaceda (near
Serrano Glacier),
and ferried back down the fjord to Puerto Natales. Luckily the park had
mostly reopened, and we rescheduled our 8-day "W Route" into a 5-day
similar route with the help of Pathagone
(this
link leaves my site), a great local travel agent who books
all
the refuges (huts) in the park.
Below: A guanaco finds some grass to graze after a big fire in
February-March
2005 in Torres del Paine National Park:
Below: Mountain view just inside the entrance to
Torres del Paine
National Park. (Panorama stitched from 4 images.)
Left: Los Cuernos seen from catamaran on Lake
Pehoe.
Below right: Guarderia (Park Ranger Office) beneath
Los Cuernos (the
Horns),
Torres del Paine National Park.
Left: High winds rake afternoon
clouds over Paine Grande (10,006
feet elevation).
Below: Sunrise on Paine Grande (10,006 feet elevation).
Sunrise on Los Cuernos (panorama stitched from 4 images).
Upland geese, or Caiquen (Chloephaga picta). The male is white
headed, the female russet. Torres del Paine NP.
Left: Lenga trees, one turning yellow in late summer.
Below right: A lenga tree, one turning yellow in late summer,
near
a rushing stream, Torres del Paine NP.
Above: Grey Glacier flows from Hielo Sur, the Southern
Patagonian
Icefield, which is the largest icecap outside of polar regions.
Left: Steady 50-miles-per-hour winds blasted us on our hike to Grey
Glacier.
Below: Backpackers pause in 50 mph winds to admire the view
of Grey Glacier.
Left and below: Ice chunks in Grey Lake from Grey Glacier, Torres
del Paine National Park.
Above: A forest fire created this smoky morning scene beneath Los
Cuernos.
Left and below: Los Cuernos (the Horns) reflect in Lake Skottsberg.
The French
Valley, on the "W Route", Torres del Paine NP
Left: Bridge at Italian Camp in the French Valley.
Below: Crossing the French Valley beneath Paine Grande.
Left and below right: Paine Grande (10,006 feet elevation).
Left: Hiking in French Valley between Italian Camp and British Camp.
Below: Lake Nordenskjold (and Lake Pehoe in the distance), seen
from
the French Valley.
Above: Self portrait in the upper French Valley, looking east to
Los Cuernos (right) and other peaks.
Above: Impressive cirque in upper French Valley, looking east.
(Panorama
stitched from 3 images.)
Below: Same cirque in upper French Valley, looking north. (Panorama
stitched from 2 images.)
Left and below: Self portrait in upper French Valley, looking north.
Los Cuernos ("the
Horns"), on the "W Route", Torres del Paine NP
Above: Los Cuernos (the Horns) reflect in Lake Skottsberg in late
afternoon.
Left: Self portrait 8,000 feet beneath a lenga tree and Los Cuernos
(the Horns), Torres del Paine National Park.
Below: Refugio Los Cuernos, beneath Los Cuernos (The Horns)
Left: Sunrise, moonset, and stream near Refugio Los Cuernos.
Below: A few minutes earlier in the same sunrise near
Refugio
Los Cuernos.
Below right: Cuerno Principal ("Main Horn", 8,530 feet / 2,600
meters).
Left: Lake Nordenskjold, Torres del Paine National Park.
Below: Late afternoon light over Los Cuernos.
Left: Tree silhouetted against the foot of Cuerno Principal, with
glaciers perched behind on Paine Grande.
Below: Tree silhouette and Cuerno Principal (8,530 feet /
2,600
meters)
Serrano
Glacier, on
the
"Sound of Last Hope", near Puerto Natales
Left: Spectacular Serrano Glacier, located on the fjord "Seno de
Ultima Esperanza" (Sound of Last Hope), a day trip via catamaran ferry
from Puerto Natales.
Below: Serrano Glacier seracs.
Left: Serrano Glacier, located on the fjord "Seno de Ultima
Esperanza"
(Sound of Last Hope)
Puerto Natales is the best place to
get supplies
& arrange additional tours near Torres del Paine National Park,
Chile. Here are some good excursions from Puerto Natales:
1. Serrano Glacier cruise: An
excellent day trip from Puerto Natales is the Serrano
Glacier cruise, located on the fjord “Seno de Ultima
Esperanza” (Sound of Last Hope). The
ship “21 de Mayo” http://www.turismo21demayo.cl
offers this inexpensive daily cruise from the Puerto Natales dock. You
can book this day cruise one day in advance at the dock (recommended),
if the weather forecast is good. Or you can book with a travel agent
further in advance if you like, but that’s probably not the best idea,
since the frequent high winds can sometimes make the boat turn back or
cancel the trip. You can also board spontaneously on the morning of
departure, since it may not fill up.
If you choose to overnight near
Serrano Glacier at the basic Hostaria Balmaceda
(like we did), meals are provided (no hot shower or bath; just a sink),
but a better use of your time & money may be to return to Puerto
Natales in the same day. If you stay overnight, some pleasant day hikes
are available from Hostaria Balmaceda, with views of the Glacier across
the fjord and the Torres to the north. If the weather had been less
cloudy, we might have liked staying overnight & hiking from
Hostaria Balmaceda a lot more.
I recommend extending your
Serrano Glacier cruise experience with a tour operator who
adds a trip upstream on zodiac boats, up the tranquil Serrano
River on into Torres del Paine NP,
through some impressive & remote wilderness, as follows:
2. The Zodiac Trip up Serrano River to
Torres del Paine is the most dramatic and
adventurous way to first lay your eyes on the awesome Torres del Paine.
I recommend to ride the Zodiac boat day trip into the Park (though I
haven't done this yet), stay extra nights on the lakes with view of the
towers, then after your W Route trek, drive out of the Park. (Most
people reach the park on the good paved
road, which is spectacular but not as adventurous as riding zodiacs
through wilderness as your first impression.) The tour operator will
arrange for your luggage transfer to
your lodging in the park. Several different Chilean companies operate a
zodiac
tour. (You can also leave the park via zodiac, reversing the route,
but then you are looking away from the Torres into relatively less
spectacular scenery.)
3. I recommend staying at least one or two
extra
nights in Torres del Paine National Park, in addition to your
W Route trekking package. Staying in
the Park is much more scenic than staying in Puerto Natales, and extra
nights will maximize your
chances of seeing wildlife & scenery at their optimum. Stay in a
spectacular location such as
Hostería Pehoé
[standard double room US$175; triple room US$215/room, as of February
2005; buy dinner in the cafeteria].
4. Other trips:
Puerto Natales is the southern
terminus for ferry from Puerto Montt via Chilean fjords. The regular
ferry
from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales is on the
Puerto
Eden cargo ship/ferry,
which I hear is an enjoyable way of making your way south for 4 days
through the fjords and canals of Patagonia. “The ship is large and
comfortable, with adequate deck space, large lounge, adequate food,
videos of old movies, & a party on the last night.” I hear that the
scenery is pretty, but the area has no penguins, no icebergs, and
little snow to make the peaks prettier in the summer. I have
travelled
ferries and driven the coastal highway from Puerto Montt as far south
as Chaiten and Chiloe Island, which is an area with interesting fjords,
salmon farms, villages on stilts in the seawater (Palifitos), and
impressive snow covered volcanic cones. See
http://www.photoseek.com/chile.html#Chiloe-Island
- but that area is not as stunningly spectacular as the Torres del
Paine area, where glaciers descend to sea level.
Left: Serrano Glacier, located on the fjord "Seno de Ultima
Esperanza"
(Sound of Last Hope).
Below right: My father looks down to Hostaria Balmaceda and
Serrano
Glacier.
Left:
a ray of sun breaks through the clouds. Our group of 5.
Left: A rarely seen (and rarely photographed) grey morph of
the Chilean hawk, or Peuquito (Accipiter chilensis) perched
on a limb of Nothofagus, in the forest near Hostaria Balmaceda,
on the
"Seno de Ultima Esperanza" (Sound of Last Hope). [I thank Sharon
Chester for identifying this hawk image. Sharon has written a visitor’s
guide to Chile which will be published in 2007 by Princeton University
Press.]
Elsewhere in the area
of Torres del Paine National Park, we were delighted to spot guanacos,
a red fox, rheas (or ñandú), flamingoes, black-necked
swans,
austral parakeets, and a condor.
Below right: The copihue (Lapageria rosea) is Chile's national
flower.
I found this one near Hostaria Balmaceda, on the "Seno de Ultima
Esperanza" (Sound of Last Hope).
Left: Chilco (Fuchsia magellanica), a beuatiful wild plant found
in Chilean Patagonia.
Below right: My father eats a Calafate berry (a type of barberry,
Berberis linearifolia), a wild edible plant found in
Patagonia.
Above: Punta Arenas, Chile.
Patagonia Trip Maps
How to plan your trip: Read our detailed
Patagonia trip itinerary, 5 weeks
including Antarctica. We traveled from February 3 to March 11,
2005: from Seattle to Buenos
Aires, Patagonia
(Argentina & Chile),
and Antarctica.
In the following three maps, flights
are light-green, and ground transport is purple:
Left: As shown on this map, we flew from Seattle 7000 miles
(through
Dallas/Fort
Worth, Texas) to Buenos Aires,
taking 15
hours
in the air. Argentina is +5 hours jet lag from Pacific Standard Time
(on
the West Coast, USA).
Below right: This map summarizes our trip:
First, 1. Buenos Aires; then
2. Ushuaia; 3. Vernadsky Base
(run by Ukraine),
Antarctica;
4. Torres del Paine NP, CHILE; and finally
5. Mount Fitz Roy, ARGENTINA.
Below: We flew 1500 miles from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia,
Argentina, on Tierra del Fuego Island, where we cruised 12 days
round
trip through the Beagle Channel and across the rough 400-mile Drake
Straight
to explore the frozen Antarctic
Peninsula.
We then flew a short hop from Ushuaia to working-class Punta Arenas,
Chile,
and took vans and buses in Patagonia to visit the nice tourist town of
Puerto Natales and the astounding scenery of Torres
del Paine National Park in Chile. Then we bused into Argentina to
see
the bustling tourist town of El Calafate, spectacular Moreno
Glacier,
fun frontier village of El
Chalten,
and awesome Mount Fitz Roy. To return, we flew from El Calafate to
Buenos
Aires, then to Seattle.
Copyright 2005 by Tom
Dempsey. Photographs or text may not be copied without permission.
I shot all images on this page with a Canon
Powershot Pro1 compact digital camera.
CHILE Page 1: Nahuelbuta
Monkey Puzzle Forest , Lake
District
,
Chiloe Island
Index to CHILE Page 2 (this page): Patagonia: Torres
del Paine National Park & park map , "W Route" Trek advice , French Valley , Serrano
Glacier , Patagonia trip map
See related pages: Argentine Patagonia ,
Ushuaia,
Tierra del Fuego, Argentina ~ Antarctica ~ Patagonia itinerary
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