Day hikes from a comfortable eco-camp in Chile's pristine Torres del Paine National Park

Patagonia's spectacular, untamed wilderness is simply beyond description. Some even say it's like the Grand Tetons and Yosemite rolled into one. Its pristine beauty has been preserved in the breathtaking mountain environs of Chile's Torres (Towers) del Paine National Park. You'll spend four days hiking among the ice-clad peaks and granite needles of the Torres del Paine—5,000 feet of near-vertical granite rising from the surrounding rolling grasslands and beautiful lakes to an altitude of 10,000 feet.

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Activities

5 days moderate to strenuous day hikes on varied terrain

TRIP HIGHLIGHTS

• The best day hikes in Patagonia's Torres del Paine National Park
• Four days hiking among the ice-clad peaks and granite needles of the Towers of Paine (10,000') with the rolling grasslands and sparkling peaks of Chilean Patagonia at your feet
• Overnight in the comfortable dome tents of a unique Eco-Camp within the park, affording you the highest level of comfort while maintaining low impact on this fragile environment

Duration: 6 days Start Location: Punta Arenas, Chile End Location: Punta Arenas, Chile

BRIEF Itinerary

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  Day 1 : Meet in Punta Arenas, Chile.

  Arrive in Punta Arenas, Chile, on the northern shore of the Strait of Magellan. An MTS representative will meet you at the airport and transfer you to your hotel for the night.

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  Day 2 : Eco-Camp, Paine National Park

  From Punta Arenas we’ll drive about three hours across the Patagonian plains to the quiet fishing and mining town of Puerto Natales on the shores of Seno Ultima Esperanza (Last Hope Sound). Here we’ll stretch our legs a bit and have lunch. Continue driving toward Paine National Park and take in the first spectacular views of the Paine range (weather permitting). There is also a very good chance to see guanacos (cousins of the camel and llama) up close in this area of the park. We will arrive at our Eco-Camp in the early evening for dinner and overnight.

• Day 3 : Trek to the Torres del Paine Base

  Choose among a variety of excursions each day. You may opt to get an early start for an early all-day hike to the Torres del Paine. We’ll walk towards the Ascension River and cross it over a suspension bridge. Continue hiking along the river over a low pass into the Ascencion Valley, then through beech forests to the talus-covered slopes below the towers. A 30-minute hike up the rough talus and boulders brings us to a viewpoint where the towers rise majestically before us, with the glacial lake below—guaranteed to take your breath away!

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  Day 4 : Western Lake and Grey Glacier

  Transfer to Lago Grey—Grey Lake—where we'll have the opportunity to observe icebergs calving into its icy waters—a truly spectacular experience. We’ll go sailing on the lake for a couple of hours, and enjoy our box lunch amidst the stunning scenery that surrounds us on all sides. We’ll then take off for a leisurely hike to Lago Pehoe, with fantastic views of the glacier behind us and the Paine massif rearing up above us on our left.  After a short sail on the Lago Pehoe, we’ll return to the comfort of our Eco-Camp lodgings.

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  Day 5 : Boat across Pehoe Lake and hike to the French Valley

  Take a boat across Pehoe Lake. Hike into the French Valley, one of the most spectacular cirques in the Paine Range. During this hike into the southern cirque, we walk below the glaciers that descend from Paine Grande (the highest summit in the Paine range), and below the enormous granite sweep of the horn-like Cuernos del Paine—peaks with beautiful black “horns” of slate atop gray granite.

• Day 6 : Transfer to airport for return home

  After breakfast at our picturesque Eco-Camp, we’ll transfer back to the airport in Punta Arenas for your flight to Santiago after 5pm. There you'll connect to a homebound flight or join one of our extension trips.

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  Eco-Camp

  
  

Properties shown are representative of the accommodations we use on this trip, may not be inclusive of all accommodations we use, and are subject to change.

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photo credits: ©MTS Photo File