Patagonia by International Mountain Leader Lucy Vincent
Patagonia – wild, windy and yet so beautiful, with great food, places to stay and easy to travel around. A number of well signed, and provided for, long distance trails exist with variants possible to add additional intrigue and excitement for us all. Most popular is, of course, the Torres del Paine circuit with its established wild camping grounds and amazing views across the Moreno glacier plus the ability to get so close to the towering spikes. There is even a hotel near the bottom of the branch off for viewing the peaks
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The rear of the circuit is less frequented with most groups choosing to walk in and out the same way rather than travel around. The hut behind the Torres del Paine on the full circuit is in gorgeous flower meadows with close up sightings of the foxes that frequent the area. This is delightful and so worth doing.
For the Torres del Paine circuit, you should base yourself in Puerto Natales and take the coach into the park. A wilder experience can be found in the Fitzroy National Park which is accessed from El Chalten (a days coach journey from Puerto Natales). Here there are many options to walk in, view Fitzroy and Cerro Torre and the amazing wildlife that you can get impossibly close to.
Although less touristy, with some sporting river crossings and wicked weather this area is really ‘out there’ but I have still seen families with young children walking in the area. There are also some huts and designated camping areas.
There is not a huge amount to do in El Chalten other than plan your walk and stock up on supplies. For those feeling really adventurous then it’s possible to cross the mountains and traverse behind Fitzroy and down the glacier. I made this journey (2 of us) in 2007. We didn’t see many others apart from a few guided parties at the start. Be prepared to dig out sleeping areas for your tents, build walls around and the biggest crevasse systems you’ve ever seen to negotiate on and off the glacier. If you are not experienced in glacier travel there are plenty of Mountain Guides based in El Chalten. The sheer beauty of the place, the vastness and the opportunity to see Fitzroy from a completely different angle makes it all worth it.
Snow shoes are useful in the deep glacier snow and can be hired in El Chalten. The final pass off the glacier is called the windy pass. That’s an understatement… my walking poles bent in half and I found myself being picked up by the wind and thrown twenty feet or more at a time.
To access Patagonia is relatively quick and easy with flights to and from either Santiago or Buenos Aires. From the major airports, internal flights or long bus journeys are your main options depending on where you are trying to reach.
Top tips – take wind resistant clothes, moisturisers, lip salve, strong walking poles and a sturdy tent which will weather the storms. You can buy almost anything you need out there too. Chile, in particular, feels very European and has the most amazing cuisine. Oh, and do check current custom arrangements as when I went Chile didn’t allow milk or meat products in and they were really strict on border controls. That means wayfarers lightweight food could be problematic.
Thank you Lucy!
