Nine Perfect Days in Patagonia...Day 7 and the Mirador las Torres
After one full week in South America, we finally made it to the iconic Torres del Paine National Park. My plan was to hike the hardest section of the W trek this first day because everything seems easy when you're sitting at home, typing out your itinerary.
4. The view is worth the climb.
I sidled up alongside a private tour guide someone paid for, so I can tell you that the distinctive black and gray striping on these mountains is due to settlement of volcanic ash.
There are a couple different entrances to the park itself, and it will take you a little over 2 hours to reach the closest one from Puerto Natales, and about an hour from Rio Serrano. The drive is beautiful (but bumpy!) and you will want to stop several times along the way. You should check the park's website directly for up to date information regarding passes and access, but when we went, the 3 day pass was about $30/person.
This is the Lake Pehoe lookout and the red building is restaurant/hotel Hosteria Pehoe.
There are several stopping points throughout the park with sign posted information. You could spend one whole leisurely day just driving around the park, but we ain't got time for that.
Rather than do the typical 4-5 day W trek route, I compromised with Jorge and we decided to spend 3 days in the park, hiking only 3 sections of the route:
Day 1: Hike the Mirador las Torres
Day 2: Hike to Cabins los Cuernos
Day 3: Hike to Paine Grande, take the ferry and bus back to our car
If you are on a tight timeline, you should consider the fact that you might not be able to get unobstructed views at the Mirador las Torres, depending on the weather. We had absolutely no wiggle room in our itinerary, meaning if the weather was real $hit, we'd be in trouble. Luckily, it worked out for us, but if you have the time you should consider giving yourself an extra day or two as insurance.
It took about an hour from the park entrance to the parking lot at Hotel las Torres, which acts as basecamp for the Mirador las Torres hike. Much of the route was unpaved and bumpy, and we were more than ready to get out of the car by the time we arrived.
Day 2: Hike to Cabins los Cuernos
Day 3: Hike to Paine Grande, take the ferry and bus back to our car
If you are on a tight timeline, you should consider the fact that you might not be able to get unobstructed views at the Mirador las Torres, depending on the weather. We had absolutely no wiggle room in our itinerary, meaning if the weather was real $hit, we'd be in trouble. Luckily, it worked out for us, but if you have the time you should consider giving yourself an extra day or two as insurance.
It took about an hour from the park entrance to the parking lot at Hotel las Torres, which acts as basecamp for the Mirador las Torres hike. Much of the route was unpaved and bumpy, and we were more than ready to get out of the car by the time we arrived.
This is the Hotel las Torres and "basecamp" for people starting the Mirador las Torres hike. There is a large parking lot, which people honestly treat like a temporary camping ground, a little shop and a way point for bus transportation within the park.
I don't want to get into the particulars of how to hike the Mirador las Torres, becauses it's pretty self explanatory. Instead, I will offer you four observations:
1. Roundtrip (from the parking lot) it is probably about 12 miles total. You have to hike nearly a mile just to reach the starting point of the hike.
From the Hotel las Torres you have to walk a little distance to start your hike. This cable bridge spans a swiftly moving stream a short distance from the hotel.
Beginning our hike.
2. It is nearly uphill the entire way! There is an approximate 3,000 ft elevation gain.
Once you cross the bridges, you will take a trail that veers to the right. How do you know it's the right trail? Because it looks like a wide, dusty, uphill trail to hell. I don't think I have any pictures from this portion of the hike because I was busy telling Jorge that this was his trail of tears and filming him.
3. One of the most beautiful stretches of the hike is a flat portion of privately owned land.
Once you finish your first uphill trek, you will cross into what feels like heaven. This is a flat portion of land that you have to cross before reaching another uphill stretch to the look out. It is a privately owned valley that catches stray breezes and echoes with the sounds of the rushing stream below. It is well worth climbing to reach.
The uphill walk really thins out whatever crowd of hikers you started with, so that when we got here we were almost totally alone. This might have been my favorite part of the entire hike.
See. Totally worth it.
This hike normally takes 7 - 8 hours, but I think it took us around 5 - 6. The way down is obviously a lot quicker and easier, plus we had the added motivation of getting back to our hotel, showering and laying down.
If you only do one hike in Torres del Paine, this should be the one. The view is so rewarding, and I wouldn't skip the struggle to get it. That's at least 50% of the fun, right? :).
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