For people who love the outdoors, Patagonia is a bucket-list destination. This region, which straddles Chile & Argentina, has it all: mountains, glaciers, and wildlife. All within a remote, raw, and beautiful landscape located farther south of the equator than South Africa and Australia. Patagonia is often described as one of the last truly wild places on Earth, and after 10 days of backpacking and traveling through the region, we wholeheartedly agree.
A group of seventeen of us (almost all in our 60’s), most of whom have taken three previous hiking trips together (the Tour de Mount Blanc in France, the Dolomites in Italy, and the Haute Route in Switzerland), headed south mid-February for a 10-day trip to Patagonia, followed by 3 days in Buenos Aires. This write-up details the Patagonia portion of the trip, and focuses on hiking as that was the primary reason for the trip. You can find our Buenos Aires write-up here.
Planning/Logistics:
How do you plan a trip for 17 people? We hired self-guided adventure experts Pygmy Elephant to help. They booked hotels/refugios, arranged transportation, and suggested hiking routes. Our hikes were self-guided, with Gaia maps provided by Pygmy to help as needed. Pygmy did a great job and we highly recommend using them.
Packing:
Packing was a big discussion leading up to the trip! We have many thoughts about it, and everyone felt they packed exactly what was needed for a trip to this region! You can read a full description of our packing list here.
Overall Itinerary:
Chile:
We started in Chile and spent 5 nights in Torres del Paine National Park. We hiked the famous W-Trek, a 4-day 50-mile hike in the shape of a W, whose highlights include the Paine Massif, the icebergs on Lago Grey, glaciers in Vallee del Frances, and the turquoise water of Lago Nordenskjöld. We stayed in a combination of hotels and refugios.
Argentina:
After crossing the border into Argentina, we spent two nights in Calafate to hike the Petito Moreno glacier and three nights in El Chaltan, home of Los Glaciares National Park where we were doing another two days of hiking. For those of you counting, these hikes added about 30 more miles to our mileage tally for a grand total of around 80. We stayed in hotels in both locations.
Note: One nice thing about Patagonia is that we didn’t have to worry about altitude sickness as most of the hikes start just above sea level. This worry was replaced by the worry of wind speed (we got lucky with little to no rain, although we were very prepared for it). This area is known for its violent gales because narrow Patagonia is exposed between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, with very few land masses to slow down the wind. Each hotel/refugio in Chile had a screen in the lobby with hourly wind predictions generated by windguru.cz. Studying the wind speed, wind gusts, and wind direction was an important and exciting activity for the group. Some days, the wind gusts were up to 80km/hr – gales that blow roof tiles off buildings! The wind was a ‘feature’ and caused some inventive hat-staying-on-head-techniques and was for the most part manageable, except for Day 6.
Day by Day Itinerary:
Day 1 (travel):
Fly from US to Puerto Natales, Chile via Santiago. A few people stopped in Santiago for a day or two to explore. Most of us just connected in Santiago and proceeded to Puerto Natales.
Day 2 (travel):
Lodging: Hotel Las Torres
Arrive Puerto Natalas. Private transfer to Torres del Paine National Park (110km/2 hours). Along the way, we saw local animals such as guanaco, condors, huemul deer, and nandu. We also passed by gorgeous turquoise lakes and were introduced to the Andes in the distance.
We stayed in the national park at Hotel las Torres, a property located at the Las Torres Base Area. The hotel is conveniently located right at the start of the ‘W’ trek, which we began the next day with a hike to Mirador las Torres, a popular hike to the base of the 3 Towers. We visited the park’s visitor center and watched the parade of hikers coming back from the hike. Daylight is plentiful in February – it stays light until around 10pm. The hotel had a great bar with many local cocktails (Pisco Sours and Calafate Sours were popular) and we ate all meals at the hotel.
Day 3 (day 1 hiking):
Distance:12 miles
Elevation: 3500’ feet
Lodging: Hotel Las Torres
Today we began the W trek (which we hiked east to west) with an out and back hike from Las Torres Base Area to the Towers. This was a hard first day. The first part is an open trail, the second part is through a nice forest, and the third part is the most difficult as you climb up a lot of large rocks/boulders to reach the ‘summit’. We left early (8am and with a bag lunch provided by the hotel) to avoid the crowds on the way up and had a relatively clear view during lunch at the top, alongside a lake with the Towers looming above us. The descent was slow as we encountered a lot of hikers going up as we were coming down. Uphill hikers have the right of way! Refugio Chileno is about ½ way, and a great place to stop for a beer on the way down and meet hikers from all over the world. Drinks & Dinner at the Hotel las Torres.
Day 4 (day 2 hiking):
Distance: 7.25 miles
Elevation: 1277’
Lodging: Refugio Los Cuernos
Today we hiked (with bag lunches provided by the hotel) from Las Torres Base Area to Refugio Los Cuernos. We started later (11am) because it was a short hiking day and we were wanted to enjoy more time in our very nice hotel before the next 2 nights in refugios. Because we were spending the next 2 nights in refugios, we carried packs with supplies for 2 nights/3 days and our luggage was transported to our final night’s stay at Hotel Gray.
Today’s hike was an easy, beautiful hike undulating along Lago Nordenskjold. We had a steep descent to Refugio Los Cuernos, where we slept in 3 person cabins. Showers/bathrooms were a short walk away. There was a bar/restaurant that served a set dinner and breakfast and made us lunches for the next day’s hike. This was a very communal refugio filled only with hikers because the only way to get there is by hiking! It was a very windy night and we all thought our cabins were going to blow away!
Day 5 (day 3 hiking):
Distance: 15.48 miles
Elevation: 3200’
Lodging: Refugio Paine Grande
We hiked up and back (with bagged lunches from the refugio) the middle section of the W, from Refugio Los Cuernos to Refugio Paine Grande. We walked through the forest and up to see our first big glacier, Glacier Frances. You can leave a bag of your non-essentials at Campamento Italiano, a refugio at the start of the ascent up the valley if you want to lessen your load, and then grab it again on your way down. Continuing up the middle of the W, we reached Mirador Britanico for gorgeous views of the Valle Frances.
After a long walk back down the ‘middle of the W’, we grabbed our stored supplies at Campamento Italiano and we hiked ‘across’ the bottom/left of the W. On this stretch, we got to experience the winds we had heard so much about! We spent the night at Refugio Paine Grande, a large refugio on the edge of Lago Pehoe with a great view over Cuernos del Paine. There is a ferry that comes right to Refugio Paine Grande, and many people start their W trek here, hiking west to east. We were in shared dorm rooms with bunks (4-6/room) and shared bathrooms. Dinner and breakfast were served cafeteria style. They also have a fun bar area where you can get drinks and pizzas and enjoy an amazing view after your long day of hiking! It was another windy night – thank goodness for ear plugs!
Day 6 (day 4 hiking):
Distance: 16 miles (was supposed to be 8…)
Elevation: 3000’ (was supposed to be 1500’)
Lodging: Hotel Lago Grey
Bag lunches in packs, we hiked the final stretch ‘up the left side’ of the W from Paine Grande to Refugio Grey. This was a gorgeous hike north along the shores of Lago Grey where we saw icebergs and then the famous Glacier Grey. Our return trip was supposed to be by ferry from Refugio Grey to our hotel, Hotel Lago Grey. There was a chance that the ferry would be cancelled due to winds – something that happens about 2 times a year – but the experts all said we were going to be OK, and the ferry was running. But the winds proved to be too strong and the ferry turned around. We were stuck. After some deliberation (and consultation with Pygmy), we decided we needed to retrace our (many steps) and hike back to Refugio Paine Grande and hopefully catch the last ferry out of the park.
Once we got news of the canceled ferry, our group pivoted quickly. Four of our strongest hikers sped 8 miles to the ferry dock to make sure we could get on it. Our intended hike of around 8 miles and 1,500’ of gain ended up being 16 miles with 3000’ of elevation gain. Fortunately, we all made it back to Refugio Paine Grande and caught the last ferry (and had time for a beer in the bar!) After the ferry ride and a speedy 45 minute drive (our hotel came and picked us up) we arrived at Hotel Lago Grey, which was gorgeous. Sadly, it was 8:30pm and we had to leave the following morning at 5:30am so there wasn’t a lot of time to enjoy it. We had a nice 65th birthday dinner for one of our group in the hotel restaurant, were reunited with our suitcases, and went to bed!
Day 7 (travel day):
Lodging: Imago Hotel and Spa, in El Calafate, Argentina
We were driven from Chile into Argentina, to the town of El Calafate. Because of an impending strike at the border, we departed at 5:30am. Our total journey was around 7 hours. The scenery was stunning with many animals, lakes, and mountains, and we arrived at Imago Hotel and Spa, on the edge of El Calafate (a short cab or shuttle ride to town, or a nice walk). Some people enjoyed the hotel’s spa, others the Caesar salad and french fries.
We took the hotel shuttle to El Calafate (some walked, about a 50 minute walk) and toured the town – lots of souvenir shops, restaurants, etc. We cabbed to dinner at Rancho Aparte and had a homemade dinner in the private residence of chef Gabo. We highly recommend this experience – book ahead (if you aren’t in a group you will dine with other travelers)! We had vegetable soup, lamb stew, and there was a vegetarian pasta option. He is so welcoming and kind and it was an amazing experience to have him prepare dinner for us in his colorful home. Highlight meal of the trip for many of us!
Day 8 (Glacier visit/day 5 hiking):
Distance: 3 miles
Elevation: 500’
Lodging: Imago Hotel and Spa, El Calafate, Argentina
Today was minitrekking on the Perito Moreno Glacier! We were driven an hour plus and took a short boat ride to reach our starting point. The glacier is truly breathtaking. Unlike most glaciers, this one is growing. It is larger than the city of Buenos Aires. The walls are 60 meters high and calving occurs about every ½ hour.
For the trekking, we met our gorgeous guide (Mauricio), were fitted with archaic crampons and helmets, and hiked for about an hour and a half on the glacier to see crevasses, deep blue ice, caves, moraines, ice formations, etc. We even had scotch on the rocks – the rocks were ice-picked off the glacier by Mauricio. We had an extended boat ride back to view the glacier up close and then drove about 15 minutes to the visitor center and to the main viewing platforms above the glacier for more views of Petito Moreno.
Once back at the hotel, there was more hot tubbing, some massages, and cocktails/french fries. For dinner, we took a short walk (5 mins from the hotel) to Volpi Bistro (book ahead!) where we enjoyed dinner in the chef’s home. Set menu – either vegetarian or beef. A very upscale, delicious evening and we were the only guests in his home for this meal.
Day 9 (travel and Day 6 hiking) :
Distance: 12 miles
Elevation: 1600’
Lodging: Chalten Suites, El Chalten, Argentina
Today we were driven to El Chalten, a 2-hour drive on iconic Route 40 to Los Glaciares National Park. We stopped mid-way at the popular Hotel La Leona, known for its lemon meringue pie and a stay by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in 1905. We settled in the town of El Chalten, a small, ‘rugged’, windy, tiny town full of hikers and climbers known as the National Capital of Trekking in Argentina. We stayed right in town at Chalten Suites, surrounded by the mountains that make up the famous ‘Patagonia’ logo on so many of our jackets.
This was meant to be a rest day, but because of impending weather the next few days, we grabbed lunch and hit the trail to hike to Laguna Torre to see Cerro Torre. The trailhead was a quick walk from our hotel and it was a relatively easy, beautiful hike until we got to Laguna Torre when the rain (our first real rain, but it was brief) and wind started up. We quickly turned around and hustled back to town.
The reward of any hike out of El Chalten is ice cream at Domo Blanco upon your return, and our group visited frequently over the three days we stayed in town. After refreshing showers, we had drinks at Fresco (fun hang out place – looked like great pizza and burgers as well), dinner at the Don Los Cerros Boutique Hotel & Spa, and made another stop for ice cream at Domo Blanco.
Day 10 (Day 7 hiking) :
Distance: 14.5 miles
Elevation: 3000’
Lodging: Chalten Suites, El Chalten, Argentina
Our final hiking day in Patagonia was the famous trek to Laguna de Los Tres at the base of Fitz Roy. Instead of the traditional start in town, we took a shuttle (the hotel booked it) to the El Pilar trailhead to avoid some elevation gain and to see additional scenery we would have missed if we had started in town and done the ‘out and back’ option. We highly recommend doing it this way.
The start of the hike was through a forest, with glacier views, to a steep climb to Lago de Los Tres. The final ascent was a beast, climbing straight up a rocky path, 1,600 feet in less than 2 miles. A few opted out of this final climb and were fine with that decision! The wind at the top was epic and the rain and sleet on the way down made for a scary descent. Then it was another few miles back to town on an undulating trail with a final long descent into town. But, all were rewarded with ice cream at Domo Blanco, drinks and papas fritas (french fries) at Nomade (Fresco was closed), dinner at Maffia Trattoria, and more ice cream at Domo Blanco.
Day 11 (rest day/optional hike day):
Lodging: Chalten Suites, El Chalten, Argentina
Pushing our two hikes out of El Chalten a day ahead of schedule was a great strategy because the weather today was horrid! Most made it a rest day, but even going for a walk around town required full rain and wind gear. Pouring ‘sideways’ rain, strong winds, and 30-degree weather in the summer! Some of the group hiked in the afternoon to see waterfalls, others had lunch at Monte Rojo, some went across the street to the spa and sat in the massage chairs. Dinner was one of the best of the trip, at The Asadores. There was a 5-course tasting menu – meat or vegetarian – and we were serenaded by an Argentine combo. And of course, after dinner we had another ice cream at Domo Blanco.
Day 12 (travel day):
We were driven back to Calafate airport and flew to Buenos Aires (which you can read about here).
Summary:
This was an epic trip that we’d been planning for months and months and it was all we hoped it would be. Amazing hiking, the Andes, rugged open landscapes, glaciers, the Patagonia wind ‘experience’, little rain, wonderful scenery, all day exertion immersed in nature followed by wonderful evenings with great friends. And nobody got hurt (beyond many blisters and one cut elbow) or sick! The trip was a HUGE SUCCESS!!!
