Treks and hikes in Patagonia (Argentina & Chile)
Ushuaia (AR)
Paso de la Oveja – our first 2-days/1-night trekking tour
The day before the trip we went to the tourist office to register for the tour so in case something happens someone knows where we went and can send help. Buying fuel at the pomp for our stove was not a problem.
The Paso turnend out to be a very beautiful and varying tour. The description in the Lonely Planet seemed to us more like a scenic description than a guide to find the way. The map that we bought the day before at the souvenir shop Monte Olivia together with the markers along the way helped us much more.
Day 1
We took a taxi to get to the start. It cost us 100 ARS. From the gate we followed the 4WD trail, which was very muddy at times.
Tip: Walking sticks can be of help here and in many parts of the trail.
Until we got to the boarder of the National Park Terra del Fuego the way was “marked” by horse poo. In the park yellow markers joined the poo. After 7 hours we came to Laguna del Caminante. The short and steep descend was again very muddy. But it’s worth it – this place is beautiful! As we arrived there we were the first. Later a few more people came but it still felt as if we were alone there.
Day 2
In the morning it took us a while to get ready, because we still don’t have a certain drill of who does what. Going up the gravel field to the pass wasn’t too steep, the markers could be seen very well – sometimes yellow sticks, sometimes small hills of stones. However we would not recommend doing this with limited visibility. There are two ways to go down again. We took the descend over the gravel path (mainly because we didn’t saw the other option). It is good to walk, but you have to keep up your concentration. Remember to stop when you want to look around! As we saw the descend into the forrest we thought about an easy end of the walk – but we were totally wrong. Literally hundreds of fallen trees lay in our way. The way was sometimes marked with a ribbon tied around a tree, but once or twice we overlooked it probably climbing over or crawling under a tree an ended up searching for the way. You better come to this section in day light, otherwise we think you will have to stay in the forrest. At the end we followed a car track on a meadow and saw the street, but the gate was closed and the guarding dogs attacked us. We had to turn right for about 10 minutes to get to the spot were we could climb over the fence. Again a dog fletched its teeth. Here we walked along the old Motodrom to get to the outskirts of Ushuaia. From there we took the normal bus downtown. A young woman helped us, because we had money but not the bus card. As last duty of the day we went to the tourist office and told them that we were back.
Punta Arenas (AR)
Cabo Froward – 5-day-trek
If you want to see the southern most point of the American mainland you have to walk.
Tip: You will get fresh infos needed for the track here
– Hostal Magellanes – a map and some Infos
– The needed tide table @ Chilean Navy Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service
– A good weather forecast @ Dirección Meteorológica de Chile
The bus leaves near the supermarket (Sanhueza-Pinto) on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays around 7:30 am to San Juan. It takes around 1 hr and immediately turns back again. A second tour in the evening of the same days leaves San Juan at 7:10 pm.
Day 1
We told the driver what we wanted to do and he knew exactly where to drop us off (Rio Santa Maria) – our starting point. From here we walked to lighthouse Faro San Isidro. In the beginning there is a dirt road next to the beach until it vanishes at some point from where you walk directly at the beach. The ground here consists mainly of cobblestones where we sank in at every step, which was very tiring. (When we returned there was low tide, the rocks are much easier to walk on!)
At the lighthouse we made a stop, because it rained heavily. There we met Collin – a guy from New Zealand who waited there alone for his whale watching tour, because someone made a mistake with the date. After that welcomed pause (but bad, overpriced coffee) we walked till Rio Yumbel – our destination for today. Next to the lighthouse the way was clearly marked, but after that it was more like a search game. Many trails lead into the forrest, but only one is the right one. Again it would have been much easier to walk at the beach during low tide!!! Around 7 pm we reached Rio Yumbel and set our tent near the old cottage. This is a good spot, because it protects you from the icy winds and you can take the water from the river. We shared the place with another Spanish speaking couple. About 50 meters inland we got fresh water from the river, we cooked and immediately went to bed as it got cold and rainy.
Day 2
The next morning it rained a lot. Claudia’s shoes had got wet and the wind blew approx. with 8 Beaufort. We had packed too much kilo into our backs and didn’t really trust the markers for the upcoming (lonely) trail so we realized that it’s better for us to “call it a day”. We decided to walk back. At the lighthouse we met Collin again – still waiting. We thought about staying there for a night to enjoy the peaceful surrounding and atmosphere (there is really NOBODY here!!!) but they charge you 40.000 Pesos/person/night for a room, or you can stay for 10.000 at the Refugio – which is basically an old, stinking shack. You guessed it – we walked back. We set up our tent next to Rio San Pedro as it was the first grassy and flat spot along the way and it was already late. We should have gone about one kilometer more, because there are nicer spots, but … You know. The night was good, but it rained the next morning constantly. When it stopped – only for 30 minutes – we packed our stuff and walked on. So we were 4 hours to early for the bus back to Punta Arenas. It got colder and it rained harder and there was no shelter next to the street so we decided to walk in the direction of Punta Arenas to stay warm and meet the bus on the way. 1,5 hours later Nixon – a Chilean truck driver – gave us a lift. Thank you Nixon!!!
Puerto Natales (CL)
Parque Nacional Torres del Paine (CL) – 6-days/5-nights
The “Q-tail” and the “W” 
Day 1
Administracion – Refugio Paine Grande (this trail is called the “tail”), 18 km
The bus took us from the bus terminal in Puerto Natales to the park entrance. Everybody had to leave the bus, fill out a form, buy the ticket and watch a 3-minute video with park regulations. We went to “Administracion” – the third and final stop of the Bus within the national park. From there we started our tour. It rained, and a cold north wind blew over the plain. The trail was clearly marked and so we walked the mountains always in our view. A small highlight was to so see the shining turquoise blue water of lake Pehoé coming from the south. After 6 hours we reached Refugio Paine Grande.
It is a nice campsite and many people set up their tent here. We found a nice spot, shielded from the wind by the mountain and paid 10.400 Pesos (2 person/night). The cooking place is something the German TÜV (Technical Inspection Authority) should never see. It could be mistaken for a fair of backpacking cooking stoves under a roofed octagon packed with approx. 60 people. We saw how two of them went into flames and had to sacrifice our dish towel to help extinguish the fires. The banõs and showers are to few for so many people. Girls lined up to get a shower (only two out of three had hot water).
Day 2
Refugio Paine Grande – Mirador Glacier Grey – Refugio Paine Grande, 21 km
We left our tent and most of the stuff at the Refugio and walked with only one light backpack. In the morning the northern wind blew strong and cold. Grey and black clouds roamed the sky. Most of the way the forrest gives protection from the wind, only at a few tops it was uncomfortable. From one of these tops we saw some “ridiculously blue” icebergs drift in the lake (Lago Grey) surrounded by the snow scraped mountains. Finally we got to the mirador, just 10 minutes behind Refugio Grey. To get to the best and nearest spot you have to do some easy climbing over the rocks to get to the end of the cliff. It is worth it, because the mirador is great! Still you can only imagine how many ice shoves it’s way there. After 8 hours we were back at Refugio Paine Grande in the evening.
Day 3
Refugio Paine Grande – Campamento Italiano, 7,6 km
I (Tom) had a rough night, because I drank not enough water during last days hike and so got a severe headache. Unfortunately the water supply was turned of at night and I had to wait until the morning. We decided therefore to take it slow. We got some more sleep, ate late breakfast, packed our stuff and started around high noon. It was a wonderful summer day and the mountain tops were clear to see. The hike to Campamento Italiano was beautiful and easygoing and there was enough water coming from the mountains to drink. The bridge just before the camp, laid over a roaring wild stream, had a wonderful view at Cerro Paine Grande and the hanging Glacier del Frances. We took it slow and got there in around 2,5 hours. Here immediately we reserved a spot two days in advance for Campamento Torres.
Tip:
If you want to go to Campamento Torres you only can make a reservation here or at the park entrance. You need this reservation if you don’t want to be send down by the ranger.
Campamento Italiano is basic, smaller as in Paine Grande and far more relaxed. We found a good place for our tent, set it up and enjoyed the sun at the river with this breathtaking view.
The cooking shelter here is as well too small for all the campers. It’s just an open shack. We were lucky, got some space to cook and it stayed dry. As we started cooking there was an incident with someone’s stove. It was one of this new stoves were you can use the heat of the stove to load the battery of your mobile. The guy did exactly that but left the stove alone and finally the stove went up in flames. The rangers confiscated the stove and we saw later how the owner was expelled from the park by a ranger.
Our dinner this evening (polenta with chorizo salami) was the tastiest so far, yummy!
Day 4
Campamento Italiano – Valle del Francés – Mirador Britannico – Campamento Italiano – Refugio Los Cuernos, 16 km
In the night I woke up from a loud bang. In the pitch black night there was no chance to see what happened. Than I realized that a major junk of ice must have been broken of from the mountains glacier. Scary! The regular breath of my girl friend told me, that she still slept. So I laid down again as well and hoped for the best…
In the morning we only walked with one minimized backpack. We took some warm clothes, rain gear, some water and our nuts-dry-fruit-sweets-pack. The other backpack with the rest of our stuff stayed at the outer wall of the the ranger station. (You are not allowed to stay more than one night so we had to pack everything before we left.) The hike went slowly upwards and had some stunning views. In the forest we saw some cousins of Treebeard standing You can imagine why people in former times spoke of an haunted forrest, if it looked like this one.
Along the way there was plenty of fresh water to fill our bottles. At the mirador we took some pictures and started our way back to camp. We got to Italiano about 6 hours later. We grapped our stuff, repacked and left for Refugio Los Cuernos. It’s a scenic route along lake Nordernskjöld. The little beach shortly before the Refugio is especially nice, although I saw nobody swim.
The Refugio Los Cuernos costs us 17.000 Pesos and in our mind it wasn’t worth this. We were really disappointed. The wooden platforms were all booked and the left spots did not deserve the word “campground”. We looked around and found a grassy spot near the road above the camp, not sure if this spot still belonged to the camp. The cooking area is nice but again there is not enough room for so many campers. The showers seem to be new but unfortunately someone forgot the clothes hook… And with this amount of people in high season they need more cleaning.
Day 5
Refugio Los Cuernos – Campamento Chilenio – Campamento Torres, ~16 km
After a really cold night, we had some difficulties to get out of the tent. The sun convinced us that a beautiful day would lay ahead of us – and so it was. Another Patagonian summer day. It was hot, but fortunately there were enough rivers coming from the mountains. The best part was going into Valle Ascencio. It is such a beautiful valley. The last part, to get to the Campamento Torres, was a bit tough after such a long day, but we made camp after 6 hrs. Luckily we already had made a reservation at Campamento Italiano because the ranger at camp Torres really wanted to see it …and even send some guys down back to camp Chilenio again because they had none. At the chalkboard next to the rangers office stood sunrise 6.45 am (meaning coming over the hill top) – uhh, that meant to get out of the sleeping bag at 5 am. We prepared the top compartments of our backpacks to take them with us (some cookies, water and ALL warm clothes), ate some noodles and went to bed early.
Day 6
Campamento Torres – Torres del Paine – Hotel Torres – Puerto Natales, ~ 10 km
The alarm rang at 5 am! Ugly but necessary! 15 minutes later we started our walk uphill to the Torres. It was dark, cold and we only could see what our headlamps revealed. The way was marked, but in the night you can easily miss a mark. Especially as we got to the gravel field just under the mirador.
Tip:
Make sure that the batteries of your head lamp have full power and always make sure you yourself see the markers.
Later back at camp we heard stories of people following the ones before them, just to discover that these guys didn’t now the way either and they had to walk back all the way and search for the right trail. Others followed a guy with a horse, but unfortunately he was heading somewhere else!
As we got to the mirador we seeked shelter from the cold wind and put everything on what we’ve got. Than we waited for the sun to get over the mountains and bath the Torres into this red magical light. Unfortunately that didn’t happen, but we were lucky enough that it stayed dry all the time and that we could see the Torres in their full breathtaking beauty. Shortly before we wanted to leave the place a condor flew around the Torres and over our heads. Personally I think, it could not have gotten better than this!
We got back to camp, made breakfast (oat meal with dry fruit and nuts + a hot maté cocido tea for the last time, yeah!), packed our stuff and left to catch the transfer bus from Hotel Torres (1 pm) to get the 2.30 pm bus at Porteria Laguna Amarga back to Puerto Natales. It was our sixth day but we were faster than ever. Without the food and only with the small water bottle filled, the backpack felt lighter than ever. We even passed people that started earlier and at the end kept up with a group of young Israelis that were so much quicker the days before. We managed to get to Hotel Torres an hour before the transfer bus left and arrived finally in Puerto Natales around 4.30 pm in the afternoon. We made it, YES!!! 😀
We didn’t make a reservation at the hostel we stayed in before we left and as we returned it was fully booked 
But we were lucky to find another hostel quickly. We showered, gave our clothes to the laundry and than went to celebrate.
La Piscada de Carlitos was the restaurant of our choice. With a pisco sour, a giant hamburgesa completa, patatas fritas and a liter Austral beer. It totally overwhelmed our digestive tract, but it was worth it!!!
What you should know before you leave:
– in high season you have to get rid of the idea that you can enjoy nature on your own. Just the “backside”, if you are doing the “o”, offers some loneliness.
– we liked the free campsites more than the ones we had to pay for. The free ones are very basic but it is a fair deal. The paid ones, like Los Cuernos with ~30 $/night, are not worth the money, because the banõs are dirty, the showers few, the kitchen shelter to small, etc..
– don’t worry to much about the weather! These mountains are the hardest to climb in the world because of the unpredictability of the weather in this region. Prepare for everything and you are ready to go! We met two woman on the hike that we met before on a trail near Ushuaia. They experienced a blizzard in Valle Francesca, just a few days before we got there. (Not that we didn’t see hikers only in short trousers, t-shirt, sandals, nothing to drink and eat.)
– try your sleeping bag before you go! Our sleeping bags are filled with goose … and have a limit at +2. But even with an additional silk liner that was not enough on all nights.
– people leave the park and let gas cans etc. behind. A good possibility to refill your gas/petrol supply.
El Chalten (AR)
We did two wonderful dayhikes here.
To Laguna Torre, from where you can see Cerro Torre und Glacier Grande. This one is very easy, because it is flat most of the time.
To Fitz Roy with stunning views upon Fitz and it’s satellites and the whole national park. This trek can be done starting from El Chalten by feet and returning the same way or you can get a shuttle in the morning and start from the northern end of Parque National Los Glaciares. I did it this way and it was a beautiful trek.
El Bolson (AR)
From El Bolson (AR) to Puerto Varas (CL) via Parque National Lago Puelo – 4-day hike
Hike along the 4 lakes Lago Puelo, Lago Inferior, Lago De Las Rocas & Lago Azul.
All the info that we got was well meant but at best inaccurate. We learned that the hard way, on our first multiday hike with all our stuff. Fortunately our friends Tine & Flip hiked with us and kept moral up with cooking i.e. pancakes!
Day 1
We hiked into town from our hostel (5 km) to see wether it would be a good idea to carry all our stuff this time. We felt good, so we took a remise that drove us to the entry of Parque Nacional Lago Puelo for 120 ARS. At the entry we had to wait, because still some fires were going on in the area. Later we could go further to the info point were a woman explained us that we could cross the river, but not with her knowing. She recommended to take a boat for the crossing or a horse ride , so that we could register officially for the trail – to be safe because of the fires. So we did and paid 100 ARS/person for the boat. The crossing was shot and fun, but looking at the low water mark of the river totally ridiculous. We got out of the boat and started our hike to the Argentinian border post.
As we arrived we were the only ones and could camp near the border post at the lake. This place is beautiful!!! We spent the afternoon lying in the sun, watching the clear waters of the lake (drinkable!) and read in our books and travel guides… Not to mention the bottle of red wine we brought as well 😉
Day 2
We started our day at 7 am and got our stamps from the Argentinian Guarderia around 9 am. It wasn’t an easy hike for us due to the heavy backpacks. We were told the way was along the lake and not difficult. But it turned out to go up and down all the way, more steep up than down. To get up to Lago Inferior was quiet tiring, but the view over these two lakes was really beautiful. We were soooo lucky when we finally arrived at the Chilean border post, got our stamps and camped directly at the nearby Lago de las Rocas. Here we were visited by some pigs and later by some horses that we had to keep away from our tents. But all in all again a wonderful spot. A dip-in is a must due to the crystal clear water and we recommend to spend some time at the beach after sunset as the sounds of nature are amazing here.
Day 3
Again we started early. Today we wanted to reach Lago Azul or a street behind it to catch the bus to Puerto Varas the next morning. The way today was a little similar to yesterday but today we could enjoy it better – maybe we get used to the weight!? At some points today we felt a little like in the Alps, i.e. when walking over fields and narrows. Today we also could see the surrounding landscape and some mountains as we left the forrest for longer periods. In the afternoon we arrived at Lago Azul. A Chilenian family lives here and offers boat rides over the lake. We agreed to go the next morning at 8:15 so we can reach the bus at the other side (after 3 km more to walk) around 10 am. We were allowed to camp at the beach for free. As the sun was shining we took a bath in the beautiful blue waves and later enjoyed some pancakes, freshly made on our trekking stove
Day 4
Today we skipped breakfast so we could get the boat at 8.15 am (25.000 CLP). The 15 minute ride over the flat lake in the morning was cold but awesome! The lake is so blue and so deep and so clear… Also the water went down the ground so steeply at the shore that you could do a jump with your head in front just out of stand from the beach. From here we walked the flat 3,5 km to the street and waited at the big bridge next to the campground. We got picked up by the local bus and it took us to the ferry at Lago Tagua Tagua. The ferry waited for the bus to arrive and left as soon as we were on board. The ride over the lake was again really beautiful.
On the landing spot the next bus waited to take Tine & Flip to Cuchamo for the next hike and us further to Puerto Varas to relax for a few days. We arrived in Puerto Varas around 5 pm.
Safe travels
Claudia & Tom
