Torres del Paine. Trekking in Chile's Premier National Park (Cicerone Press, 2010)

Peaks above Glacier Grey, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile (Nikon D300, AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF VR)

192 pages; August 2010; 1st edition; ISBN 9781852845933

Introduction

'These vast piles of snow, which never melt, and seem destined to last as long as the world holds together, present a noble and even sublime spectacle... they may be likened to great frozen Niagaras; and perhaps these cataracts of blue ice are to the full as beautiful as the moving ones of water.'
Charles Darwin, Voyage of the Beagle (London, 1839)

Torres del Paine national park lies towards the southern tip of South America—surrounded on one side by labyrinthine, lonely fjords and on another by seemingly endless, rolling steppe, and sitting on the edge of the largest sheet of ice in the southern hemisphere outside Antarctica.

There is a feeling of immensity in the landscapes of this, Chile’s premier national park—vast sheets of fractured blue ice, turquoise- and emerald-coloured lakes, primeval-looking forest, vertical granite spires, and seemingly limitless, cloud-streaked skies. It is one of those rare destinations with which you think you are familiar even before arriving—after all, one or more of its iconic views decorate almost any piece of paper or webpage associated with Patagonia—yet which have somehow managed to lose none of their magic. It is, quite simply, a staggeringly beautiful place.

Trekking in Torres del Paine national park—a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1978—is a hugely rewarding experience. The Paine Circuit is without any doubt one of the world’s truly great treks, an opportunity to travel through awe inspiring mountain scenery, in an area with a fascinating history and rich in wildlife. Trails are for the most part clear and well marked, there is a comprehensive network of huts and campsites, and transport both to and within the national park is all refreshingly simple.

The park does attract a huge number of visitors each year, yet despite this it is still possible to find solitude. On my first visit to Torres del Paine I sat among boulders by a stream in the Valle Francés, mesmerized, as shafts of early morning sunlight struck the enormous east face of Paine Grande, all dark rock slung with glaciers, and glistening crags festooned with clouds. It mattered nothing that there was a campsite with a few dozen tents hidden in the forest behind me; in those few moments I was completely and utterly alone. On another visit I clung to an exposed section of trail in screaming winds, only to turn and see a condor rising effortlessly out of the valley, utterly still except for the feathers on its wing tips, and so close I almost felt I could reach out and touch it.


Evening light on the Cuernos del Paine, from Lago Toro, Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia (Nikon D300, AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF VR)

Contents

Introduction
Geography and geology
Climate
Wildlife and plants
History and culture
Early exploration and mountaineering
Language
Food and drink
Getting to Chile
Transport within Chile
Agencies and tour operators
Visas and arrival
Accommodation
Money and costs
Keeping in touch
Safety
About this guide
Trekking in Torres del Paine national park
Refugios, campsites and hotels
Transport to and around the park
Other activities in the park
Maps
Equipment
Low-impact trekking
What to do in an emergency

Torres del Paine national park, Chile

Walk 1: Torres del Paine circuit (the ‘O’)
Stage 1. CONAF Administración – Refugio Paine Grande
Stage 2. Refugio Paine Grande – Campamento Italiano
Stage 3. Campamento Italiano – Valle Francés (return)
Stage 4. Campamento Italiano – Refugio Las Torres
Stage 5. Refugio Las Torres – Campamento Torres
Stage 6. Campamento Torres – Mirador Las Torres (return)
Stage 7. Campamento Torres – Campamento Japonés (return)
Stage 8. Campamento Torres – Refugio Las Torres
Stage 9. Refugio Las Torres – Campamento Serón
Stage 10. Campamento Serón – Refugio Dickson
Stage 11. Refugio Dickson – Campamento Los Perros
Stage 12. Campamento Los Perros – Campamento Paso
Stage 13. Campamento Paso – Refugio Grey
Stage 14. Refugio Grey – Refugio Paine Grande

Walk 2: Torres del Paine half-circuit (the ‘W’)
Stage 1. Refugio Las Torres – Mirador Las Torres (return)
Stage 2. Refugio Las Torres – Campamento Italiano
Stage 3. Campamento Italiano – Valle Francés (return)
Stage 4. Campamento Italiano – Refugio Grey
Stage 5. Refugio Grey – Refugio Paine Grande

Walk 3: Salto Grande and Mirador Los Cuernos
Walk 4: Puente Weber
Walk 5: Mirador Lago Toro and Laguna Verde
Walk 6: Mirador Cóndor

Walk 7: Río Pingo and Mirador Zapata
Stage 1. Guardería Lago Grey – Campamento Zapata
Stage 2. Campamento Zapata – Mirador Zapata (return)
Stage 3. Campamento Zapata – Guardería Lago Grey

Other walks within the national park
Laguna Amarga – Portería Sarmiento
Laguna Azul and trail to Lago Dickson

Excursions from Puerto Natales
Excursion 1. Cueva del Milodón
Excursion 2. Balcameda and Serrano glaciers (Bernard O’Higgins national park)
Excursion 3. Sierra Baguales

Los Glaciares national park, Argentina

Excursion from El Calafate
Excursion 4. Perito Moreno glacier

Walk 8: Cerro Fitzroy (El Chaltén) and Cerro Torre
Stage 1. El Chaltén – Campamento Agostini
Stage 2. Campamento Agostini – Campamento Poincenot
Stage 3. Campamento Poincenot – Laguna de los Tres (return)
Stage 4. Campamento Poincenot – Laguna Piedas Blancas (return)
Stage 5. Campamento Poincenot – El Chaltén

APPENDIX A: Gateway towns and cities
Puerto Natales
Santiago
Punta Arenas
APPENDIX B: Accommodation within Torres del Paine national park
APPENDIX C: Language notes and glossary
APPENDIX D: Contacts and online resources
APPENDIX E: Further reading


Lago Pehoe and Cuernos del Paine, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile (Nikon D300, Nikkor 12-24mm f/4G ED-IF DX)

Text and photographs copyright Rudolf Abraham 2010.


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