It’s the middle of Summer but you could be forgiven for thinking it midwinter as chilly Antarctic winds wick away at the warmth under thermal layers. Punta Arenas is the Southern-most city in the world; a scant 500kms from Artigas Base, Antarctica. From here it’s four hours over land to the outskirts of Patagonia’s Torres Del Paine national park, last stop for this whirlwind tour of South America’s West Coast.
Having already exceeded my yearly quota of nights in tents (all four of them), the alternative is to check into a lodge close to the action. Tierra Patagonia is an eco-hotel parked on the edge of Lago Sarmiento, technically the largest lake in the national park (the actual biggest lake in the region is only partly encompassed by the border of the national park…semantics).
Semi-submerged into the environment, the hotel is detailed and built primarily from the local lenga tree.
Whilst each room has breathtaking views of the Paine Massif, mine has the bath located next to the window, a design feature unique to a handful of rooms.
Unlike the hiking trails, the surrounding area is quiet; you can trek around the lake and probably not run into another person all day.
Included in the price of admission are as many activities as you care to fit into your day, ranging from easy driving and walking tours to full day hikes and everything in between.
Having mostly recovered from the four-day Inca Trail hike and also feeling a little overly pampered in our luxe new home, the fambam decides the hardest full day hike to the base of the Torres is penance enough for our indulgent ways.
But first we check into the half-day “Hunters” tour, a two-hour hike around an area where Puma hunt the local Guanaco which ends at a small cave where a handful of old primitive paintings can be found.
One of the region’s main highlights is the Torres Del Paine, three towers located in the heart of the Paine Massif, a small mountain range that is separate from the Andes.
The hike is a seven-hour, 18km round trip that forms part of the four-day “W” trail if you’re doing the hiking and camping thing. It starts on the dry tundra, going up the side of a hill before descending into lush forests and rivers.
From there an ascent transitions into highlands before finishing in a rocky traverse to the base of the Torres Del Paine (The Blue Towers) and the glacial lake that sits at the foot of the towers. The trip up is worth it though, and lunch by the towering obelisks is a memorable experience.
Because we’re only here for a scant few days, I’ve decided to spend a day ferrying over to the Grey Glacier ice shelf, because I haven’t seen a glacial ice-shelf up close before. The trip over there provides plenty of views of the Western side of the Paine Massif and Cuerno range along with a view into the French Valley, which would have been the other day-hike I would have liked to do if there was time.
The transfer to Lake Grey winds its way up and down through the park and takes about half a day. Then it’s a 30-minute hike to the ferry and another hour to the ice shelf.
Grey Glaicer has been receding at an average of 10-meters per season due to climate change, and there are a number of icebergs calved out into Lake Grey (fun fact: the process in which a glacier drops icebergs into its body of water is known as calving).
Grey Glacier has three ice shelves, each with unique size and formation.
The colour of the ice is extremely blue and draws comments from seasoned glacier hunters on board our catamaran.
Four nights fly by and we’re all left wishing we could spend more time in this incredible part of the world, there are so many more adventures that can be had here and I feel that I’ve only scratched the surface of the place. Patagonia, I will definitely be back one day!
Kammo.Reloaded 