The Tip of Chilean Patagonia: Formidable, Spectacular Torres del Paine

Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica, Chile became a favorite within minutes of arriving. A park with everything hikers like me dream about. Narrow but stunning valleys that separate hypnotic geological features, glaciers, and lakes of impossible shades of blue. In fact, Paine means “blue” in the native Tehuelche (Aonikenk) language.and is pronounced PIE-neh.

Torres del Paine National Park, located in the extreme south of Chilean Patagonia, is world-renowned for its spectacular views, formidable mountain ranges. And unpredictable weather, but despite this it is one of the largest and most visited parks in Chile.

Over millions of years, Patagonia’s inching glaciers are credited for a jagged landscape extending from the Southern Patagonian Ice Field that borders the park to the northwest. This glacial erosion process is evident in its deep valleys, in the turquoise glacial lakes, in the glaciers hanging over sharp peaks…their powerful presence visible in vistas of snow-capped mountains, and in the diverse ecosystem that thrives within the Park.

Approximately 550,000 acres of pristine, untamed natural beauty sits in one of the most remote places in the world.

The granite towers for which the Park is named stand out on a horizon scattered with mountaintops. Grazing in the flat plains below, some of the world’s largest populations of guanacos and pumas run freely.

Guanacos (different from llamas and alpacas but of the same family) were present but not the elusive puma. Condors and over 400 other species of birds soar overhead and sing from the trees.

The best way to get to Torres del Paine is by plane. You can take a 3-hour and 17- minute flight from Santiago to the Julio Gallardo Airport in Puerto Natales in the Magallanes region.

Or fly to Presidente Carlos Ibañez del Campo Airport in Punta Arenas, and then travel by vehicle until you reach Natales. You can buy your Torres del Paine entrance ticket at various places – in credit or debit card at the bus station in Puerto Natales or in cash at the Park itself. Entrance fees (one day Adult passes are $33) are included in all-inclusive Packages and trekking circuits.

Best $33 you’ll ever spend!