Torres del Paine National Park

The Torres del Paine National Park in the south of Chile is one of the most famous parks and perhaps even the most beautiful in the whole continent. Accordingly, many visitors come here every year. The most popular multi-day hike - the W-Trek - is booked out months in advance, so we had to look for an alternative. We decided to rent a car and drive through the park.

We were very lucky because a few days before we arrived at the park, it had rained so heavily that many trails had become slippery and closed. But on our first day, they were all reopened, and we set off on one of the most impressive hikes. In about 4 hours, we walked to the lake at the foot of the Torres (Towers) del Paine. Just as we reached the top, the clouds that had persistently lingered there disappeared, revealing the impressive Torres. The granite peaks reflected in the water of the lake, and we were amazed.

The weather was somewhat unpredictable the next day, so we decided to do some smaller hikes to different viewpoints, which we could conveniently reach thanks to our pickup truck. We admired the impressive Cuernos del Paine, a roaring waterfall, and braved the strong wind at the viewpoint of Lago Grey and its glacier.

On the third and last day, we tackled the short but steep climb to the Ferrier viewpoint. When we reached the top, we were overwhelmed by the view of the entire park with its lakes, mountain peaks, and glaciers. The only thing that made the stay a bit uncomfortable was the icy and very strong wind. So we made our way back down and finally drove along numerous other viewpoints out of the park.

The Torres del Paine will remain one of the top highlights of this trip in our memories, to which the huge stroke of luck with the weather contributed a great deal.