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Published: February 2nd 2010
The Torres!
Torres del Paine National Park, ChileAfter an unsettling night with a very early start and the fact that I was woken up at 2.00am with two new dorm mates arriving in the dorm, I got up for a 5.30 am start for the day trip to Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. Noelina, my dorm mate, joined me and we waited in the lobby for the bus. After spending a lengthy time at Argentine/Chilean immigration/customs, we met our guide who was going to take us round the park and after a comfort stop at Cerro Castillo, a Chilean border town, we transferred to our mini bus.
We first stopped at Lago Sarmiento then onto Laguna Amarga where we saw stunning views of the three Torres, that the park is famously renowned for! We saw a variety of animals in the park including herds of guancoes, a fox, a ñandu (a small type of ostrich) and we saw condors from a distance. From Laguna Amarga, we stopped at Macizo Azul viewpoint for more photos and onto Lago Pehoe where we hiked to the Salto Grande and also to the Nordenskjold viewpoint where we admired the Cuernos del Paine. Such stunning views of the mountain ranges,
View of the Cuernos!
Torres del Paine, National Park, Chile lakes and nature. We paid a visit to the information centre where we learnt facts about the park which was interesting and informative.
The weather was favourable although, at times, changeable from sun to rain and vice versa. Luckily I was prepared and used all my attire appropriately. At this time of year, it is high season in Patagonia and I was expecting the park to be crowded! However, it seems we had the park to ourselves as the roads were practically empty (We did see a small number of buses and cars on the roads during the day but only a small number of visitors at the Salto Grande and Cuernos del Paine miradors). I think it comes down to the size of the park and the fact there is so much to see and do there. I regretted not seeing Glacier and Lago Grey and this supposed to have been included in the tour...so I was disappointed and maybe it was the time schedule that did not permit for us to do so. However, I enjoyed what I saw in the park and I highly recommended the park for a visit or for doing the famous "W"
Torres del Paine National Park
Torres del Paine National Park, Chile circuit trek.
Afterwards, we started our long long journey back to El Calafate and spent a while, per usual, at the Chilean/Argentine immigrations/customs. The journey back felt so long and I felt that I would never make it back to El Calafate!!! The journey seemed to be forever!! Eventually, very late and around 10.45 pm, Noelina and I were dropped off at our hostel. Despite the long day, I am very glad I was able to make the trip to Torres del Paine National Park.
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AnnaAdventuring
Anna Louise
Wow, I've never heard of a nandu before! Never thought about finding ostriches in south america!