Chile Extension

Drive to Torres del Paine National Park

Oct 21

During your journey to the park, you will observe how the strong westerly winds have sculpted the vegetation of the Patagonian steppes. En route you may find guanaco, a southern relative to camels, southern grey fox, and Patagonian skunk while enjoying your first contact with southern beech (Nothofagus) forests. You will stop several times for photography and wildlife observation along the way. You may find colorful groups of Chilean flamingos on the alkaline pools and black-necked and coscoroba swans on the shores of Ultima Esperanza Fjord in Puerto Natales. Driving towards the park, enjoy splendid vistas of the hilly terrain and if it’s clear, of the Paine Massif in the distance. While visiting the valleys you will learn about the origins of the dramatic backdrop of Torres del Paine, one of the finest natural spectacles in Patagonia. In the evening you may do a nature walk or a sunset photo session.

Western Torres del Paine and Grey Glacier

Oct 22

You will start early to view and photograph the Paine Massif at dawn. Today you will explore the southern and western regions of this vast national park, which comprises 600,000 acres. The omnipresent Paine Massif, a magnificent set of rugged peaks formed out of granite and sedimentary rock, dominates the landscape. You will have the opportunity to explore the southern beech forests and its diversity of plants and animals; you may find Magellanic woodpecker, austral parakeet and, if you are lucky, the shy Andean deer (huemul). Take in the contrasting mosaic of towering mountains, glaciers, wetlands, steppes, and forests. Lake Grey is one of the highlights of the day where colossal icebergs are stranded on the southern shore of the lake after a long, slow transit from the glacier front.

From the southern shore you will board our boat for a 3-hour excursion through the icy waters of the lake towards the impressive and actively calving front of the Grey Glacier. Grey is one of the nearly 50 outlet glaciers originating from the massive Southern Patagonian Ice Field, the world’s third largest ice cap after Antarctica and Greenland. The front is full of crevasses and the solid glacial ice colors vary from whitish to deep indigo. The glacier is flanked towards the east by impressive granite walls that are part of the Paine Massif, and towards the west by the eroded and low summits of the older Andes. You will be treated with a glass of Pisco sour or Scotch with millenary (glacier) ice. In the evening you may do a photo outing for sunset and the dramatic cloud formations.

Eastern Torres del Paine

Oct 23

You will keep exploring the alkaline ponds and reed-fringed lagoons located in the eastern part of the park. Approximately 120 bird species are found in the park and you will see a considerable number of them with the help of binoculars and the spotting scope. The flora is also very beautiful; the park holds around 500 plant species, and since it’s springtime, you may see the myriad of flowers that bloom in these magnificent landscapes. In the evening you may do an outing to view and photograph the mountains and clouds at sunset.

Eastern Torres del Paine and back to Punta Arenas

Oct 24

You will start early to photograph and view the Towers or the Horns with the first light. With the right lighting, the mountain base turns orange and the scene becomes very dramatic with peculiar lenticular clouds moving fast over the peaks. At the eastern corner of Sarmiento Lake, you will reach a location that commands the most incredible views of the towering peaks of Las Torres, the pinnacles from which the park takes its name. As you move around the park, you might observe herds of guanaco, the curious-looking lesser rhea, and impressive Andean condors soaring along the road. During the morning you will visit the eastern side of the park to enjoy the views of one of the impressive waterfalls of Paine River and if it’s clear, of the fabulous granite columns of the Paine massif from Laguna Amarga. If you’d prefer to hike to the base of the Towers, you can opt to do this today; your hotel can provide a guide (costs extra). After your picnic lunch, you will head back to Punta Arenas.

Join our South Georgia and Antarctic Peninsula trip

Oct 25

Continue on our South Georgia and Antarctic Peninsula trip. See the trip itinerary for today’s details