Trekking Patagonia
Punta Arenas
Otway Sound and Cerro Castillo
Torres del Paine - Rio Serrano
Torres del Paine - Cabanas del Paine
Torres del Paine - Grey Glacier
Torres del Paine - Lake Pehoe
Torres del Paine - Sarmiento Trek
Torres del Paine - The Towers
Los Glaciares - El Calafate
Los Glaciares - Perito Moreno Glacier
Los Glaciares - El Chalten
Los Glaciares - Mt. Fitzroy
Los Glaciares - Posada Lunajuim
Argentina to Chile - The Great Bus Swap
Puerto Natales
Getting to Patagonia
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Trekking Patagonia |  |
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Patagonia is the southernmost portion of South America, made up of the Andes mountains to the west and south and plateaus and low plains to the east. We trekked
two famous national parks in the Andes portion: Torres del Paine in Chile, and Los Glaciares in Argentina.
We went in late February, which is the middle of their summer.
We started in Chile, traveling north by van from Punta Arenas to Cerro Castillo via Puerto Natales. After spending a night in Cerro Castillo, an hour's drive took us into Torres del Paine.
where we hiked for four days. We then continued north via bus to Argentina, stopping for a night in El Calafate to visit the Perto Moreno Glacier.
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The next day, another four-hour bus ride took us to the small town of EL Chalten, which is on the outskirts of the Mt. Fitzroy area of the vast Los Glaciares National Park. After hiking around Fitzroy
for three days, we returned by bus to Punta Arenas, spending a night in El Calafate and another in Puerto Natales on the way. Our total trip was 15 days.
We were generally pleased with Go South Adventures, but there were a number of surprises that made us feel like we were
the first of their customers to do this particular trip. Like all/most of the numberous other companies that book similar trips, the company you
book with is merely a middle-man between you and the local companies who do the actual tours. In Torres del Paine, for example, you seem to end up
with Blue Green Adventures no matter whom you booked with.
A travel alarm clock is a necessity; there's no wake up service. And bring a flashlight. In our lodgings in Cerro Castillo and Torres del Paine, electricity was turned off at 11:00 p.m.!
Choosing a Tour Company
While you can certainly do it on your own, we
wanted the convenience of a tour, and one that featured hiking but didn't involve camping or shared bathroom facities. We chose Go South Adventures 
because they offered lodge based hiking of both parks.
What to Pack
Time Differences
Chile and Argentina are an hour ahead of Eastern Standard Time, when Chile and the U.S. are both on Daylight Savings Time, which is only from the middle of October until the first Sunday in November.
From the first Sunday in November until the second Sunday in March - when the U.S. is not on Daylight Savings Time and Chile is - Chile is two hours ahead of E.S.T. And from the second Sunday in March until the middle of October, when the U.S. is
on Daylight Savings Time and Chile is not - there is no time difference!