If majestic landscapes in far flung corners of the world are your thing, than Torres del Paine should be on your bucket list. Beautiful doesn’t even begin to describe it. Definitely somewhere we would like to come back to later in life. We would love to do either the W or O trek.
We were based in Puerto Natales, which is a good hour and half away from the park entrance. So it was a a bit of a drive, to get in and out, but we made it work and we had a nice little Cherry Tiggo on rental which was 4x4 and fun to drive. We spent two full days in the park. We could have done more but the time just got away from us, there was so much to do outside the park as well.
On day one we did the south eastern side of the park, and explored the area around the Grey Glacier. On our way to the trail head we picked up a Korean backpacker named Daisy. An incredible woman, who is travelling the world solo while taking a one year sabbatical from her university in Seoul.
There is a beautiful pebble beach between the edge of the lake and an island that serves as a viewpoint for the glacier itself. When we started we were lucky enough to catch it without any wind, which is how Jo got this amazing picture with the mountains reflection.
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We did the short hike to the view point, and proceed to head off for lunch. We ate our late lunch on the banks of the Paine river with the mountains in the distance.
On day two, we drove in from the Western Amarga entrance and went straight to the parking lot near the Los Torres Hotel. We were not going to attempt the entire Los Torres hike, which is 8+ hours without kids, ambition is all good and well but discretion is the better part of valor. We decided to just go as far as we felt comfortable and enjoy the natural surroundings. Journey over destination.
Following this we slowly made our way down through the park, stopping every five minutes to marvel at the view. At Salto Grande, the valley made by the cascading water creates perfect wind funnel with gusts exceeding 80 km/hr quite common. The waterfall gets its name from the sheer volume of water pumping through it, over 100,000 liters per second.
We made a stop at Lake Pehoe, and took some pictures on the bridge that goes out to an island in the lake where the hotel is located. By this stage the southern ocean winds were battering the mountain peaks and you could see the spray flying off the water as it gusted down the valleys.
We got home late that evening, although with sunset after 10pm you wouldn’t know it. Tired but full, there is something about wild places, you can feel it in your bones. The fill your heart, quieten the mind and energise the soul.
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Lots of Love,
Grow Travel Family.
Wow wow wow you guys. It looks amazing and I can feel the immenseness and spaciousness of it all. You guys are beaming. Thanks for the update.
PS - it’s on my bucket list now 🥰
Lots of love to you all, Pasci
The scenery is breathtaking, such lovely photos!