Torres del Paine National Park is a pristine 240,000-hectare UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, nestled in the Ultima Esperanza province of Patagonia, Chile. The paine (pronounced "piney") are glacier-carved granite towers, which reach heights of up to 3,050 meters.
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| Torres del Paine National Park sign. Patagonia, Chile. |
| Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll |
Explora Hotel Salto Chico was our base for discovering the breathtaking beauty and photogenic wildlife of Torres del Paine. From our room, we had a spectacular view of Macizo del Paine and turquoise blue Lake Pehoe.
Hotel Salto Chico
Accommodations in the 50-room Patagonia Explora hotel are all-inclusive. (Explora also has hotels in Easter Island and the Atacama Desert region of Chile.)
Hotel Salto Chico lodging includes van transfer from Punta Arenas, at the southern tip of Chile (a five- to six-hour 400-kilometer drive), delicious meals, good Chilean wines, Internet access and use of the indoor pool, sauna and outdoor Jacuzzi. Guests can choose from more than two dozen half- and full-day guided excursions into Parque Nacional Torres del Paine.
Patagonia treks
The Torres del Paine weather and altitude, combined with our interests, fitness levels and recommendations from Explora guides helped us select from the five excursions offered each day. Explora Hotel Salto Chico distributes a summary of each hike and horseback ride, listing the duration (one hour to 11 hours) and difficulty (easy, medium and difficult).
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| Explora Salto Chico Hotel faces Torres del Paine and Pehoe Lake. Patagonia, Chile. |
| Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll |
Beginning with an easy three-hour hike, we photographed Andean condors, rheas (flightless birds that resemble ostriches), guanacos (llama-like animals) and the Paine River Cascade. Another day, we hiked to beautiful Laguna Azul (Blue Lake) and went horseback-riding to a quincho (barbecue site), for mouthwatering BBQ lamb and chicken.
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| Hiking to Grey Glacier. Torres del Paine National Park. Patagonia, Chile. |
| Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll |
Grey Glacier
Our most memorable hike was an 11-hour trek to Grey Glacier, in the western region of Torres del Paine National Park. It was a journey we'll never forget.
Grey Glacier extends south into Grey Lake from the Southern Patagonian Ice Field — the third largest continental icefield in the world (after icefields in Antarctica and Greenland).
Giovanna Raineri, a knowledgeable Hotel Salto Chico guide, accompanied us, as well as Amanda and Simon Cairns, two Explora hotel guests from England. We carried only our cameras, binoculars and light packs with extra sweaters, sunscreen, sunglasses and rain jackets. We needed all of them.
We traipsed through pristine forests and meandered up and over hills sprinkled with wild fuchsia and white foxgloves. Snowy, saw-toothed peaks of the Cordillera del Paine mountain range towered above us.
Giovanna bent over and picked two tiny fruits from a low bush. "Chaura," she said. They looked like miniature Macintosh apples, but their size and taste resembled blueberries.
Climbing Paine Grande
Giovanna pointed up to the highest granite monolith, Cerro Paine Grande. "A group of Argentineans attempted to climb it, several years ago. After much effort, one of the young climbers reached the top. He raised his arms in exaltation, only to be swept away by a gust of wind."
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| Hiking to Grey Glacier and Grey Lake. Torres del Paine National Park. Patagonia, Chile. |
| Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll |
For protection from the notorious Torres del Paine National Park winds, we wore rubberized-nylon jackets and pants. They swished-swished as we walked, in rhythm with the windproof clothing of our companions. As we started our hike, instead of heavy winds, an intense sun created a greenhouse climate under our protective gear, forcing us to peel it off and stuff it into our packsacks.
Icebergs
We crossed a babbling stream, bridged with wooden planks, and ascended to a stony lookout above Grey Lake. Menthol-colored icebergs wallowed in the ashen waters. Some were as large as three-story condominiums. Others were as small as doghouses.
A dynamite-like explosion reverberated through the air as an apartment-size block cracked off one of the icebergs, creating a mini-tidal wave. Pushed by the wind to the rocky edge of the lake, it parked itself with the metal-compressing din of a gigantic garbage compactor.
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| Andean condor. Torres del Paine National Park. Chile. |
| Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll |
Bird watching
Simon stretched out on a smooth outcrop to rest and scan the soaring peaks with his binoculars. Within minutes, five tiny black dots circled in the sky above. One of the birds swooped closer and closer until we could see its white head and wing markings. It was an Andean condor (Vultur gryphus), with a startling two-meter wingspan.
None of the 2,800 llama-like guanacos (Lama guanicoe) in Torres del Paine National Park inhabit this region. Yet, Simon's prone body invited the predatory vulture to investigate a potential meal.
Mesmerized by the condor, we didn't notice the sky darkening and the lake turning to the color of slate. Fat raindrops pelted us, as we hastily retrieved our waterproof jackets from our packs.
Glacier view
Moving quickly to a higher elevation, we looked up and saw a waterfall cascading several hundred meters from the granite cliffs above. A sunbeam broke through the clouds, creating a rainbow that arched over our path and ended at an aquamarine iceberg in the lake. Within minutes, balmy breezes dried our clothing.
We scrambled up a hill, striated with deep grooves from the retreating glacier. Finding footholds on ledges carved into a rock, shaped like a beached whale, but four times the size, we slowly inched our way to the Grey Glacier lookout.
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| Picnic beside Grey Glacier and Grey Lake. Torres del Paine National Park. Patagonia, Chile. |
| Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll |
The jagged ice wall, formed by the receding edge of Grey Glacier resembled a fairy tale palace. With its Gothic towers, buttresses and giant gaping doors, the colossal blue ice castle struck us with awe. It rose high above us, even though we were on a cliff several dozen meters above Grey Lake, which lapped its foundations.
As we soaked in the view of Grey Glacier, Giovanna unpacked our lunch. We gorged ourselves, with appetites sharpened by the exercise.
Torres del Paine weather
Halfway through the meal, the wind picked up, stinging us with pellets of ice, blown off the glacier. The temperature dropped 20 degrees in an instant. We hurriedly packed up the remnants of our picnic, and piled on all the sweaters that we had removed. It seemed as if the glacier was telling us that we had violated its sanctity long enough, and it was time to depart.
With numb fingers, and flapping windbreakers, we scurried back down the slippery rock, in half the time it took to scale it. Ten minutes later, we were striding along a grassy plain in the sunshine. The mood of Torres del Paine changes faster than a dancer between sets.
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| Hiker views Grey Glacier and Grey Lake. Torres del Paine National Park. Patagonia, Chile. |
| Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll |
Giovanna told us that we could hike for another hour around the pebble-strewn beach to a point where we could touch the glacier. The prospect of adding another two hours to our four-hour trek back dissuaded us, so we unanimously agreed to head back to Hotel Salto Chico.
The return trip went quickly, except for the last kilometer, when aching feet and muscles made every lead-weighted step feel like a forced march. We revived our flagging pace by savoring thoughts of a delicious meal in Explora Hotel Salto Chico, followed by a hot water soak in the Jacuzzi.
After a satisfying dinner, we fell into a deep sleep. We needed to rest. The next day's hike would bring us closer to the granite spires that dominate Torres del Paine National Park.
Only a trek to the heavens could surpass the journey to the ice palace.
TRAVEL INFORMATION
Explora Hotel Salto Chico: http://www.explora.com/patagonia_theplace.php
Lan Airlines flies from Santiago, Chile, to Punta Arenas: www.lan.com
Turismo Chile: www.visit-chile.org
More things to see and do in Chile:
El Tatio Geysers in Chile Atacama Desert
Patagonia Express Cruise
Punta Arenas Chile
Giant Milodon Cave in Puerto Natales Chile
Searching for Chiles in Chile