Torres del Paine - The Chilean side of Patagonia

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The fly-out option from Antarctica took us into Punta Arenas... and so how could we not take a few days in Torres del Paine national park on the way home?! We had a couple of days in Punta Arenas, enjoying (!) doing our laundry and being back on land. We also went to the biggest tourist attraction in the town - the cemetary. I guess it was interesting to see the size of the mausoleums etc but I found it quite creepy to go visiting a random cemetary while on holiday. Plus it was pouring with rain, which did not enhance my enjoyment of the tombstone viewing.

Part of the trip was booked with last minute discounts (the Antarctic expedition), and the rest was at peak season premiums. This was particularly the case for Torres del Paine and we found that we had limited accommodation options. So we splurged to stay in some yurts overlooking Lake Toro - just outside the national park. The yurts were based on the Mongolian traditional version, but with the smoke hole in the middle covered in perspex so you could see the stars at night.

On our first day venturing into the park we went for a short walk around Lake Grey to see the Grey Glacier. Views were stunning, although we probably didn't appreciate them as much as we would have had we seen them pre-Antarctica. We had lunch near the lake shore and had another short walk up to a few viewpoints near the park's central administration.

The second day, we had opted for the more challenging 18km return walk to the base of the Towers of Paine (it is generally pronounced 'Pi-nee, except when you are doing this walk, in which case 'Pain' seems to work well). It was basically 9 km uphill, with the last stretch up to the view point of the Towers involving scrambling over rocks up a steep slope, and then doing it in reverse to go back down! The view at the base of the Towers was neat. The glacier used to extend into the little lake at the base but has receded (like most of the world's glaciers).

The next day we took the 'fauna trail' and saw a huge number of guanacos (relative of llamas), a grey fox and we also got up quite close to some condors! No sign of any pumas, other than a few guanaco corpses. The highlight for me (other than seeing the massive condors), was when two guanacos were having a tiff and spitting at each other across the path in front of Mum.

And then it was time for the long trip home.

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Photos

Perfect spot for lunch!
The base of the Towers of Paine

Lago Toro
The view from our deck outside our yurt

Mum at Grey Lake
A 'beach' with icebergs

Calm morning in Torres del Paine
The weather changes constantly

The guanaco soap opera
As one guanaco storms off, the other spits at it

Towers from the Fauna Trail
See the remnants of last year's fire, which devastated a lot of trees in the park

Comments

[Dancing Dave]

TORRES DEL PAINE
The Most Beautiful Place in the World...it is in our book...impossible to take a bad picture...only the wind or rain can diminish the thrill. Glad to see the weather was kind to you...your pics are great.