Hola Chile - Hiking In Torres Del Paine

After a few days in Ushuaia, my dad and I were making our way to Chile in order to hike parts of the famous W-Trek in the even more famous Torres del Paine National Park. We hired a car in a nearby town and drove to our accommodation. The drive was interesting as I have never seen this many potholes so deep.

That said, when we saw the mountain range of Torres del Paine, we were both stunned and amazed. It was a spectacular formation of mountains and even though I was driving, I could hardly focus on the road. Luckily, there were a few viewpoints at which we could stop and enjoy the views.

The accommodation I picked out for us was also a bit more adventurous - glamping, but without the glamour in it. In the tent were just two water beds with thick blankets. That's it.

Anyway, the next day it was finally time to do a proper hike in Patagonia, Chile. For that, we woke up early and drove to a small pier where a boat would take us to the start of the hike. Today's destination was the French Valley, which was a roughly 14km hike. On the way, we made friends with another guided hiking group and thus gained the benefit of some local knowledge while hiking towards the valley.

With the enormous Torres del Paine mountain range constantly in front of our eyes, we hiked through forests, dead trees, along lakes and crossing rivers. We ate lunch at the closest Refugio before the final steep-ish ascent. We already got a first glimpse of the French valley and its impressive Glacier Frances half an hour before, but now it was time to get closer.

From the Refugio, it was 'only' a 2.5km hike, but the elevation gain would be 572m, so not a very easy feat. Once we passed the treeline, the wind blew with such force that we really had to concentrate when and where to step. Walking up, though, the views of the glacier got better with each step and once we reached the viewpoint, the enormous entirety of the glacier unfolded right in front of our eyes. It was truly impressive.

Imagine a giant wall of grey rocks, snow, small waterfalls and ice rising in front of you, with clouds racing above the peaks and giving way to a blue sky. You can see and hear blocks of ice breaking free from the glacier and falling into the abyss. And to top it off, when you turn around you can see the peaks of the famous three towers appearing behind a giant hill.

It was a truly spectacular sight and we lingered there until the wind got too strong. After what felt like an endless walk back to the boat, we waited with some hot chocolate at hand for the return ferry. From the roof of the ferry, we managed to get another beautiful view of the Torres del Paine massive rising in front of clear skies. The pizza back in our Camping Site was very well deserved!Read more