Torres del Paine National Park

In the early morning in Ushuaia, I boarded the bus and headed north to the Chilean side of Patagonia. The goal was the city of Puerto Natales, the starting point for various activities and hikes in Torres del Paine National Park. Since there is no direct bus from Ushuaia to Puerto Natales, at least not in the off-season, a stopover was made in Punta Arenas. Crossing the Argentine-Chilean border in the middle of nowhere was quite an extensive process. The luggage was meticulously checked, and several dogs were used, especially to prevent the importation of fruit. The importation of various types of core fruit into Chile is strictly prohibited and is punishable by high fines. I continued without fruit, crossed the Strait of Magellan by ferry, and the barren but quite interesting landscape passed by quickly. There were plenty of guanacos (a type of llama), rheas (flightless birds), and various predators to observe, often feeding on the remains of guanacos. All according to the laws of nature. Shortly after dark, I arrived in Puerto Natales and checked into the hostel, only to find out that the room unfortunately had no heating. It is not optimal to sleep in a wooden house without additional heating when the temperature is below freezing point. Wearing a complete set of winter clothes including a scarf and a hat prevented freezing at night, but I still felt slightly cold when the alarm clock rang in the morning to catch the bus to Puerto Natales. Arriving at the bus station, I was surprised to find no bus despite checking the time several times. Upon inquiring about the situation, the lady at the counter smiled and indicated that the time on my phone was wrong, and instead of 11 o'clock, it was already 12 o'clock. The explanation for the blunder was quickly found. When I inserted the Chilean SIM card into my phone, the time was automatically adjusted to the Santiago time zone, which is one hour behind. Apparently, the phone company overlooked that the south of Chile is divided into another time zone, and I did not notice the mistake as the SIM card change took place just before falling asleep.

Since the next bus to the same direction was 2 hours later and the fare was quite moderate at around 10 euros, the damage was limited, but it was still annoying.

Upon arrival in Puerto Natales, I admired the beautiful location of the city, which consisted mostly of simple wooden and tin houses. The 360° view is fantastic, with numerous snow-covered peaks and hills hugging the Ultima Esperanza Fjord, where Puerto Natales is located. The slightly hilly and rugged terrain blends wonderfully with the rough landscape.

For the next day, I had already booked a hike to the 3 iconic peaks of Torres del Paine, so I was picked up from the hostel early in the morning around 6 o'clock. In the off-season, this is only possible with a guide, as the weather conditions here can change rapidly, and all public transportation to the national park, which is about 1.5 hours away from Puerto Natales, stops operating in the winter.

In the days leading up, I had been checking the weather forecasts repeatedly, and it remained the same - today was supposed to be the only cloudless day of the week, perfect conditions for the hike.

Upon arrival at the entrance of the national park, the access permits were checked (this costs 30 euros for 3 days), and one could already see the 3 iconic towers rising in the distance between the mountains. We waited until the rising sun painted the towers in an orange light - what an impressive sight - and then got back into the car to drive to the start of the trail. I had some concerns about today's hike because I was already completely frozen shortly after leaving the vehicle. Well, that's not a good start!

At the trailhead, the guides gave some instructions, and a group of 14 people (including 3 guides) started moving. We walked through a kind of steppe, steadily ascending through a valley, crossing a windy pass, and then entering a forest. My concerns about the temperatures quickly disappeared. Due to the constant movement, the rising sun, and being protected by 4 layers of clothing, I was quite comfortable and able to move through the landscape without problems. Our international group was in good physical condition and had a similar pace, which made the whole hike very harmonious and homogeneous.

After 3.5 hours, it was time to put on the crampons, as the last section would be steep and involve snow, ice, and coarse rocks, leading to the lagoon at the foot of the towers. The final part of the ascent was indeed quite strenuous, and one had to constantly pay attention to where to place the next step. So we continued at a moderate pace with full concentration for another hour to reach the goal of the hike at an altitude of about 900 meters through sometimes impassable terrain. Just before reaching the destination, we could already see the towers poking out from behind the rocks, giving us a brief glimpse of the powerful force of nature that awaited us. As the curtain of rock and stone finally lifted and we had an unobstructed view of the lagoon and the landmarks of the national park, we couldn't stop marveling. What a panorama, what a monument, what a backdrop - and all under clear skies. Simply beautiful and more than impressive!

I hadn't even finished being amazed when a short sound and a nod from one of the guides caught my attention, indicating that I should look up because a condor was soaring over the lagoon. What a sight, and in that moment, the icing on the cake.

The king of the Andes, with a wingspan of sometimes over 3 meters, can glide between the peaks for up to 5 hours without flapping its wings once. This is made possible by the animal's ability to perceive different winds, currents, and thermals visualized in different colors. What a majestic and impressive creature.

We spent almost 2 hours at the lagoon, and the sight of this massive rock wall did not lose its fascination even after extensive contemplation. The brain can hardly comprehend the size of these giants as there are no trees or similar tools for scaling. Standing at the edge of the lagoon, you are looking at an almost 2,000-meter-high wall of rock. Simply overwhelming!

It was time to return to the valley, and after one last look back (I had a hard time tearing myself away from this place), we started the journey back. The return was relaxed, and I enjoyed the views before arriving back at the starting point of the tour after almost 11 hours and in darkness.

All in all, it was a perfect day and a very pleasant group. It was a lot of fun. I would like to thank the guides again, who were always reliable contacts with their humorous nature and expertise. Gracias!

The next day, my original plan was to take the bus to the park again to see Los Cuernos (the horns), an impressive rock formation and one of the landmarks in the park. However, as it was impossible to get a public bus or any other affordable means to reach the park, I spent the day in the city and decided to stay an extra day to try my luck again the next day.

Patagonian towns, especially in Puerto Natales, are noticeable for the number of street dogs. There are constantly countless dogs everywhere, so you always have a companion. Almost all of them are super relaxed and friendly, but some of them also have the habit of barking loudly and aggressively due to territorial behavior. This can be quite exhausting, especially after dark, and I preferred to walk in the middle of the streets to have a better overview. More than once, I suddenly stood in front of one of the barking fellows, which can be quite frightening, especially when you only notice the encounter at the last moment.

Back to the plan of seeing “Los Cuernos”: as there was literally no other way to reach the horns, I decided to join a smaller group that visited various points in the park and then took short hikes from there.

The day was relaxed, and we visited various lagoons, waterfalls, glaciers, lakes, and a cave. All quite interesting and beautiful to see, but Los Cuernos did not cooperate today, and no matter where in the park we were, the thick cloud cover around the rock formation did not reveal the view, and I could only imagine the impressive sight. That's ok, it was still impressive, and the weather is a factor that cannot be influenced, especially in such regions. After 3 eventful days, in the evening, satisfied and excited, I went to bed after having 2 beers. Because the next day, I was ready to continue, and I was curious about the adventures that were waiting for me down here.