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INTRODUCTION

‘These vast piles of snow, which never melt, and seem destined to last as long as the world holds together, present a noble and even sublime spectacle… they may be likened to great frozen Niagaras; and perhaps these cataracts of blue ice are to the full as beautiful as the moving ones of water.’

Charles Darwin, Voyage of the Beagle (London, 1839)

Chile’s Torres del Paine national park lies towards the southern tip of South America, surrounded on the west by labyrinthine, lonely fjords and on the east by seemingly endless, dry steppe, and sitting on the edge of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, the largest sheet of ice in the southern hemisphere outside Antarctica.

The Cuernos from near the CONAF office on Lago Toro (Walks 1 and 4)

There is a feeling of immensity in the landscapes of this, Chile’s premier national park – vast sheets of fractured blue ice, turquoise and emerald lakes, primeval-looking forest, vertical granite spires and seemingly limitless cloud-streaked skies. It is one of those rare destinations with which you think you are familiar even before arriving – after all, one or more of its iconic views decorate almost any publication or webpage associated with Patagonia – yet it has somehow managed to lose none of its magic. It is, quite simply, a staggeringly beautiful place.

Trekking in Torres del Paine – a national park since 1959 and a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1978 – is a hugely rewarding experience. The Torres del Paine Circuit (a circuit of the park, and the main route described in this guide) is without any doubt one of the world’s truly great treks, an opportunity to travel through awe-inspiring mountain scenery in an area with a fascinating history and rich in wildlife. Trails are for the most part clear and well marked within the national park, there is a comprehensive network of huts and campsites, and transport both to and within the park is all refreshingly simple.

It takes about 10 to 11 days to complete the 140km Torres del Paine Circuit as described here – but bad weather can delay your crossing of the highest point on the route, the 1180m Paso John Gardner. The shorter version of the route, the ‘W’, requires five days. None of the walking is particularly difficult, and elevation gain is minimal for most of the stages on the route – the exceptions being the hike over the pass, and up the Valle Ascencio and Valle Francés (but, be warned, rain and wind can turn either of these treks into a considerably more demanding undertaking). The northern part of the Circuit is also fairly remote, with no convenient exit point should you want or need to cut your walk short. This guide also includes some of the shorter walks in the national park, as well as excursions from the nearby town of Puerto Natales, and a trek in the equally beautiful Fitzroy area of Los Glaciares national park over the border in Argentina.

Torres del Paine takes its name from the magnificent granite spires which launch themselves skyward near the head of the Valle Ascencio (torres meaning ‘towers’) – one of the most iconic sights in Patagonia, or anywhere in South America for that matter – and the name of a local estancia (ranch), upon which part of the national park still lies.

The national park does attract an increasingly large number of visitors each year, most of whom arrive in the peak (summer) season of January/February, when the ‘W’ route can get quite crowded, yet despite this it is still possible to find solitude, particularly in the more northerly areas of the park. On my first visit to Torres del Paine I sat among boulders by a stream in the Valle Francés, mesmerized, as shafts of early morning sunlight struck the enormous east face of Paine Grande, all dark rock slung with glaciers, and glistening crags festooned with clouds. It mattered nothing that there was a campsite with a few dozen tents hidden in the forest behind me; in those few moments I was completely and utterly alone. On another visit I clung to an exposed section of trail in screaming winds, only to turn and see a Condor rising effortlessly out of the valley, utterly still except for the feathers on its wing tips, and so close I almost felt I could reach out and touch it.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Torres del Paine

Place names almost always provide a fascinating window into a region’s past. The Paine massif probably takes its name from the Tehuelche world for ‘blue’, paine. The Tehuelche, the indigenous inhabitants of this part of Patagonia, have also left their legacy in other place names (pehoé means ‘hidden’, as in Lago Pehoé; baguales means ‘wild horses’, as in Sierra Baguales; as well as in the names of various plants and animals. And the correct pronunciation should really be ‘pine-ay’, not ‘pain’.

Patagonia

Patagonia is a region covering the southernmost part of South America, made up of the southern parts of Argentina and Chile. The name ‘Patagonia’ derives from the description of the native Mapuche population by Antonia Pigafetta, in his record of the voyage of Magellan. Pigafetta described the Mapuche as ‘Patagones’, which has long been considered to have meant ‘big feet’ or ‘big footed’ in Spanish – although while pata does indeed mean foot, there is no real explanation for the -gon suffix. His description gave rise to enduring legends of a race of giants inhabiting the wilds of southern South America. His description tells us as much about the teller as the subject – the average height for an adult male Mapuche was 5′ 11″, while that of the average Spaniard at that time was 5′ 1″.

Another more recent explanation for the origins of the word Patagonia is that it comes from a 16th-century Spanish romance, Primaleón of Greece, in which the hero encounters a race of ‘savages’, who ate raw flesh and clothed themselves in animal skins (as did the native population encountered by Pigafetta), including a creature called Patagon, described as strange and misshapen, with ‘the face of a dog’ and ‘teeth sharpe and big’ – in other words, all those things the ‘civilized’ explorer might have expected to encounter in a race of ‘savages’ at the uttermost ends of the Earth.

Geography and geology

Chile’s 4300km-long, stringbean shape encompasses an enormous variety of scenery (not to mention climates), from the parched salt pans and blistering heat of the Atacama desert in the north to the splintered fjords, fractured glaciers and frigid wilds of its far south. Its highly indented coastline runs to over 6400km in length, yet the country is on average only some 175km wide. Far off its coast in the waters of the Pacific, its territory includes the Juan Fernández Archipelago and the ever mysterious Rapa Nui or Easter Island – the latter separated from the Chilean mainland by over 3800km of uninterrupted ocean.

The country is divided into 15 administrative regions, their names preceded by Roman numerals and (with the exception of two regions newly created in 2007) arranged numerically from north to south. Torres del Paine national park lies in the 12th (southernmost) of these regions, XII Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena, the regional capital of which is Punta Arenas.

Running along (and effectively defining) Chile’s eastern border is the Andes mountain range, which stretches some 7000km down the western side of the South American continent and constitutes both the world’s longest mountain range and the highest mountain range outside Asia. The highest peak in the Andes (and in the southern hemisphere), Aconcagua (6962m), is located about 100km northeast of the Chilean capital, Santiago, over the border in Argentina; the second highest peak in the Andes, and the highest in Chile, is Nevado Ojos del Salado (6891m), which lies some 600km north of Aconcagua.

Cerro Paine Grande (Walks 1 and 2)

Further south, the Andes are generally lower in elevation, with the highest peak in Chilean Patagonia (Monte San Valentin) reaching 4058m; while the highest peak in Torres del Paine national park (Cerro Paine Grande) clocks in at a mere 3050m, or somewhat less according to some measurements. Formed by the movement of the Nazca and Antarctic plates beneath the South American plate, the Andes also contain many volcanoes (Nevado Ojos del Salado for example, and the 6570m Tupungato which towers above Santiago) – several of them active (Chile’s Llaima volcano erupted in both 2008 and 2009; Chaitén in 2008–9).

Chile’s position on the edge of the Pacific plate means that it also experiences its share of earthquakes, including the Great Chilean Earthquake of 1960 which devastated the city of Valdivia and measured a staggering 9.5 on the Moment Magnitude Scale (MMS, a development of the Richter Scale which measures large earthquakes more accurately) – the world’s strongest ever recorded. In February 2010 another huge earthquake struck the area south of Santiago, measuring 8.8 on the MMS and causing widespread destruction.

The Andes are rich in mineral resources, and mining is extensive – with Chile ranking as the world’s largest copper producer, supplying a third of the world’s copper consumption. Argentina is also a major copper producer, while the Bolivian Andes are particularly rich in tin; and historically, it was the mineral wealth of the Andes which supplied the Inca civilization – and later the Conquistadors – with silver and gold.

Torres del Paine national park lies a little under 2000km south of Santiago on the edge of the vast Campo de Hielo Sur or Southern Ice Field, fingers of which (the Grey, Tyndall and Dickson glaciers) penetrate deep into the national park. These feed the lakes and rivers which, in their turn, drain southward into the Seno Ultima Esperanza or Last Hope Sound. The lakes and rivers carry large volumes of suspended particles of rock produced by the action of glaciers (‘glacial milk’), and it is this which gives many of the lakes (such as Lago Pehoé and Lago Nordenskjöld) their vivid turquoise hue.

On the trail by Lago Pehoé (Walk 1)

The national park covers an area of some 240,000 hectares, and is roughly delineated by the Chilean-Argentine border and Argentina’s Los Glaciares national park to the north, the Río Zamora and the eastern shore of Lago Sarmiento in the east, the Southern Ice Field to the west, and the Río Serrano and the enormous Bernardo O’Higgins national park to the south. The Cordillera del Paine or Paine massif lies more or less at its centre, slightly separate from and to the east of the main Andes chain – a landscape of vertical granite spires and shattered rocky peaks, which emerge above unspoilt forest, fast-flowing mountain streams, spectacularly coloured lakes and massive glaciers.

Much of the Paine massif constitutes the exposed remnants of a granite laccolith – igneous rock, which was injected into the earth’s crust some 12 million years ago during the Miocene epoch, forcing the surrounding sedimentary rock upwards. An earlier intrusion (a mafic intrusion of monzonite, and later olivine-gabbro) underpins the granite laccolith. Since then the surrounding sedimentary rock has been gradually eroded, leaving the more resistant granite Torres (‘towers’) – along with other peaks such as Fortaleza and Cerro Espada – gloriously exposed. This exposed granite also forms the central portion or band of the Cuernos (‘horns’), while their dark, spiky upper bands constitute the shattered remnants of the surrounding sedimentary strata. The underlying intrusion is only partially exposed.

The southern portion of the Paine massif is bisected at its centre and towards its eastern side by the two river valleys, the Valle Francés and the Valle Ascencio. Both the Río Francés and the Río Ascencio drain south into Lago Nordenskjöld, which then drains into Lago Pehoé and Lago Toro; on the western side of the massif the huge Glaciar Grey feeds Lago Grey and the Río Grey.

THE SOUTHERN PATAGONIAN ICE FIELD

The Southern Patagonian Ice Field or Campo de Hielo Sur is the largest expanse of ice in the southern hemisphere outside Antarctica, stretching about 350km north to south and covering an area of about 16,800km2 – some 14,000km2 of which lies within Chile (predominantly within Bernardo O’Higgins national park), the rest being in Argentina. The average elevation of the Southern Ice Field is about 1400–1600m, although several of the glaciers descend to sea level in the west, and it reaches well over 3000m in places. Largest among its huge glaciers is the Pío XI or Bruggen glacier (the longest in the southern hemisphere outside Antarctica), some 64km long and covering an area of 1265km2; others include the O’Higgins (820km2), Jorge Montt (510km2), Tyndall (331km2) and Grey (270km2) glaciers in Chile, and the Viedma (978km2), Uspala (902km2) and Perito Moreno (258km2) glaciers in Argentina.

In all 48 major outlet glaciers have been identified, together with a further 100 smaller cirque and valley glaciers. Most of the major glaciers either terminate in the sea (on the Chilean side), including the Jorge Montt, Pío XI and the Serrano, or in freshwater lakes such as those in Torres del Paine and Los Glaciares national parks. Only three of these glaciers are not retreating, the Pío XI, San Rafael and the Perito Moreno. Otherwise, the retreat of glaciers in the area has been exceptionally rapid, the Grey some 2.3km and the Tyndall some 1.6km over the past 22 years, and the O’Higgins retreating 14.6km and losing an area of over 50km2 in the period 1896 to 1995 – one of the largest glacial retreats of the 20th century. Almost all of the glaciers are calving (shedding huge chunks of ice from their snout), often in spectacular fashion, into adjacent lakes or fjords.

Glaciar Grey (Walks 1 and 2)

The Southern Patagonian Ice Field forms only one part of what was once the Patagonian Ice Sheet; the North Patagonian Ice Field (now contained within the area of Chile’s Laguna San Rafael national park) is the other, smaller, remaining portion. About 17,500–18,000 years ago, during the last glacial period (the Llanquihue glaciation, as it is called in Chile), the Patagonian Ice Sheet covered an area of some 480,000km2, stretching roughly as far north as Puerto Montt, and also extended across the Andes some distance into Argentina.

Climate

The 16th-century English navigator and adventurer Thomas Cavendish had little positive to say for the Patagonian climate, describing it (or more specifically, the conditions he encountered in the Straits of Magellan) as ‘vile and filthy foul weather’. This is a little harsh, however, for while it is true there can be plenty of wind and rain in this part of the world, the climate isn’t always that grim. In Torres del Paine national park, days are long during the summer, and the weather can be wonderful, with some of the most magnificent cloud formations. You just need to come prepared for, well, foul weather.

Lone Ñirre (Nothofagus antarctica) and low cloud, near Mirador Cuernos (Walk 3)

Daytime temperatures in January/February (that is, summer in the southern hemisphere) in Torres del Paine average around 11°C, although it can vary enormously from around 24°C to just above freezing, and at night will feel much cooler. Precipitation levels also vary, generally increasing further west, and nearer the South Patagonian Ice Field.

Windswept trees near Glaciar Los Perros (Walk 1)

Weather conditions in Torres del Paine are notoriously difficult to predict, the huge glaciers in the area giving rise to various microclimates, which make accurate long-term weather forecasts almost impossible.

One thing trekkers have to get used to in Torres del Paine is the wind, which fairly blasts off the South Patagonian Ice Field straight into the Paine massif, and when it gets really strong (gusts of well over 100km/h are not uncommon) it can make walking almost impossible. Huts carry (tentative) forecasts for at least two or three days ahead, so it’s worth checking these and timing certain sections of your route – such as the crossing of Paso John Gardner – accordingly. It is not always windy, and there are plenty of days when it’s perfectly calm – but if you get round the entire Circuit without getting at least one day of high winds, not to mention a good dousing of rain, you can count yourself fairly lucky.

The wind is at its worst during the peak visitor months of January and February – conditions tend to be rather more settled (but naturally much colder) during the winter. But to quote the excellent local magazine Black Sheep (which has now sadly folded): ‘Wind is as much a character [of] the landscape as the mountains, trees and pampas themselves…. Prepare yourself as best you can, arm yourself with a good attitude, and enjoy.’ Sound advice.

Further north in Chile the climate is very different, with average daytime temperatures in Santiago during the summer reaching around 29°C. The Argentinian side of the border tends to be drier, and it is possible to travel from clear skies and brilliant sunshine in Los Glaciares national park to low cloud and rain in Torres del Paine national park.

When to visit

The trekking season in Torres del Paine lasts roughly from early summer to early autumn (late November to late April). January and February are peak season, coinciding with school holidays in Chile, and during these months campsites and trails can become quite crowded, especially on the more popular ‘W’ route. Mosquitoes are at their worst at this time. March is on balance the best month to visit, although December and even April are also good. During the winter bitter temperatures and heavy snowfall put most people off, but this can also be a beautiful time to visit (some agencies offer winter ski touring) – and free from the wind and mosquitoes.

Wildlife and plants

Mammals

Almost synonymous with images of Torres del Paine national park is the Guanaco (Lama guanicoe), a large cameloid closely related to the Llama. Around the approaches to the national park they have become rather relaxed about busloads of visitors jumping out to take photographs of them. However, in more remote areas such as Sierra Baguales, where humans remain much more of a novelty, they tend to be rather more inquisitive. The calves are born during the spring, and are known locally as chulengo. The word ‘guanaco’ is pronounced with the accent on second syllable.

The other two South American cameloids, the Llama (Lama glama) and the Vicuña (Vicugna vicugna), are present in other parts of Chile; the Guanaco and the Llama are the slightly larger of the three. There is a fourth cameloid in Chile, the Alpaca (Lama pacos), but this is actually a domesticated and selectively bred form of the Vicuña.

Far more elusive is the now endangered Huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus). This small, shy, deer-like animal was once quite common, but was hunted to near extinction by early settlers and is now extremely rare. Male Huemul are slightly larger than the female and stand up to about 90cm at the shoulder. CONAF (Corporación Nacional Forestal), which oversees Chile’s national parks, asks that any Huemul sightings are reported to the national park office. The Huemul was incorporated into the Chilean coat of arms in 1834 and still appears there, alongside the Condor. The Southern Pudu (Pudu puda), the world’s smallest deer, is present in other parts of Chile but not in Torres del Paine.

Guanaco (Lama guanicoe), Sierra Baguales (Excursion 3)

The largest predatory land mammal in Chile is the Puma (Puma concolor) – a beautiful, lithe and (despite the fact that it seems to decorate half the tourist literature of Patagonia) highly elusive big cat. In the highly unlikely event that you see a Puma, count yourself lucky! On a more practical note, if you do happen to meet one and it doesn’t run first, do not run, but maintain eye contact and back away slowly, raising your arms to make yourself look as large as possible. Never approach cubs. Also present in the park is the much smaller Geoffroy’s Cat or Gato montés (Leopardus (Oncifelis) geoffroyi), which may be threatened with extinction in the near future.

Two species of fox are present in the park, the South American Grey Fox or Chilla (Lycalopex griseus; also known as the Patagonian Grey Fox, Zorro Gris or Zorro Patagónico) and the Fuegian Fox or Culpeo (Lycalopex culpaeus; also known as Zorro Rojo). The Culpeo is the larger of the two species, which is also easily distinguished (as the name implies) by the colour of its coat. Both species are protected in Chile, although illegal hunting still occurs. The genus Dusicyon is often used for South American foxes instead of Lycalopex.

Other mammals include the Big Hairy Armadillo (Chaetophractus villosus), Humbolt’s Hog-nosed Skunk (Conepatus humboldtii), and various species of rodent, including the Longtailed Colilargo (Oligoryzomys longicaudatus), the Patagonian Chinchilla Rat (Euneomys chinchilloides) and several species of field and grass mice, such as the Yellow-nosed Akodont (Abrothrix xanthorhinus) and the Olive-coloured Akodont (Abrothrix olivaceus).

In neighbouring Bernardo O’Higgins national park you have a chance of spotting the Southern Sea Lion (Otaria flavescens), South American Fur Seal (Arctocephalus australis) and Marine Otter (Lontra felina).

Birds

Along with the Guanaco, another familiar wildlife sight in and around Torres del Paine is the Ñandú or Lesser Rhea (Pterocnemia pennata), a very large flightless bird with long legs and neck and three toes.

Perhaps the most iconic bird in South America, the Andean Condor or Cóndor (Vultur gryphus), is also one you have a fairly good chance of seeing in and around the park, soaring on thermal air currents. With a wingspan of up to three metres, the Condor is the largest flighted landbird. Adults have black plumage with white areas on the back of the wings and around the base of the neck, and bare pinkish skin on the head and neck; adult males have a dark red comb. Appearing clumsy on the ground, the Condor is a magnificent bird once in flight, gliding effortlessly in search of carrion. It usually nests on ledges on cliffs.

The Southern Crested Caracara or Carancho (Caracara plancus) is a commonly seen raptor, often spotted by the roadside when driving in southern Chile. It is a striking bird, dusky in colour with cream throat and barred breast, and reddish skin on its face. Less common are the smaller tawny-coloured Chimango Caracara (Milvago chimango) and the comparatively rare White-Throated Caracara or Carancho cordillerano del sur (Phalcoboenus albogularis). Other birds of prey include the American Kestrel or Cernícalo (Falco sparverius), sometimes called the Sparrow Hawk (but unrelated to the Sparrowhawk found in the UK), and the Black-Chested Buzzard Eagle or Aguila (Geranoaetus melanoleucus) – the largest hawk in Chile, adults being recognisable by their black head and throat.

Male upland Goose or Caiquén (Chleophaga picta)

Owls include the Magellanic Horned Owl or Tucúquere (Babu magellanicus), the largest in the region, with large ear tufts and predominantly grey, mottled plumage, and the smaller and more common Austral Pygmy-Owl or Chuncho (Glaucidium nanum).

The Chilean Flamingo or Flamenco chileno (Phoenicopterus chilensis) is found on or around lakes with a high alkaline or salt content such as Laguna Amarga and Laguna Los Cisnes.

The Black-necked Swan or Cisne de cuello negro (Cygnus melancoryphus) is frequently seen along the shores of Last Hope Sound near Puerto Natales, or Laguna de los Juncos or Lago Toro within the park. Slightly less common is the Coscoroba or Cisne coscoroba (Coscoroba coscoroba), a smaller all-white swan with a reddish bill. The Upland Goose or Caiquén (Chloephaga picta) is another common resident in and around the park; the male is predominantly white with a black barred breast, and the female predominantly cinnamonbrown with black barred flanks. The slightly smaller Ashy-headed Goose (Chleophaga poliocephala) is also fairly common.

Carancho or Southern Caracara (Caracara plancus)

The Crested Duck (Lophonetta specularioides), Andean Ruddy Duck (Oxyura ferruginea), Chiloe Wigeon (Anas sibilatrix) and Speckled Teal (Anas flavirostris) are all fairly common residents in the park. Less common are the Spectacled or Bronze-winged Duck (Speculanus specularis) and Flying steamer-Duck (Tachyeres patachonicus), both of which can be seen on Lago Toro, the Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera) and the rather wonderful Torrent Duck or Pato cortacorrientes (Merganetta armata), which can be spotted perched on rocks in some of the more remote, fast-running mountain streams, such as the upper reaches of Río Ascensio.

The Black-faced Ibis or Bandurria (Theristicus melanopis), with its long curved bill, ochre neck and grey band across its breast, is often seen in fairly large groups, grazing in open meadows within the park. (The Buff-necked Ibis, Theresticus caudatus, is very similar but lacks the grey band.)

The Neotropic Cormorant or Yeco (Phalacrocorax brasilianus) is found in the larger rivers and lakes in and around the park; it is glossy black, with a small area of white plumage around the bill during the breeding season. Its call is fairly distinctive, a series of rather pig-like grunts. Also resident in larger lakes and rivers is the Great Grebe or Huala (Podiceps major), large and fairly long-necked, with dark grey to black plumage and a red-brown patch on its neck. Much smaller and somewhat less common is the Silvery Grebe or Blanquillo (Podiceps occipatalis). The Blue-eyed or Imperial Cormorant (Phalacrocorax atriceps) is found in Bernardo O’Higgins national park, and can be seen on the cliffs of Last Hope Sound between Puerto Natales and the Balmaceda glacier.

Magellanic Penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) and burrow

The Southern Lapwing, also called the Queltehue or Tero (Vanellus chilensis) is another common resident, as are the Magellanic Oystercatcher or Pilpilén austral (Haematopus leucopodus) and the South American Snipe (Gallinago paraguaiae). Two gulls are found in the national park, the Kelp Gull (Larus dominicanus) and the Brown-hooded Gull (Larus maculipennis).

Woodpeckers include the Magellanic Woodpecker or Carpintero negro (Campephilus magellanicus), a large and truly magnificent-looking bird, black-bodied with a white ‘v’-shaped marking on its back and, in the case of the male, a brilliant red head; and the smaller Striped Woodpecker or Carpinterito chico (Picoides lignarius). The Chilean Flicker or Pitío (Colaptes pitius) is fairly common in the park. The Green-backed Firecrown (Sephanoides sephanoides), a member of the hummingbird family, is sometimes seen in the Valle Francés.

Other common species include the Rufous-collared Sparrow or Chincol (Zonotrichia capensis), the Austral Blackbird or Tordo (Curaeus curaeus), the Patagonian Sierra-Finch (Phrygilus patagonicus) and the Grey-hooded Sierra Finch (Phrygilus gayi).

The Magellanic Penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) is present in Bernardo O’Higgins national park, and in huge numbers (some 120,000) on Isla Magdalena, in the Straits of Magellan. While in the Straits of Magellan you also have a chance of spotting the Black-browed Albatross (Thalassarche melanophris) and the Southern Giant-Petrel (Macronectes giganteus).

Reptiles and amphibians

The park is home to several species of amphibian including the Grey Foureyed Frog (Pluerodema bufoninum), Grey Wood Frog (Batrachyla leptopus), the Spiny-chest Frog (Alsodes australis) and the Patagonian Toad (Chaunus (Bufo) variegatus). Reptiles include the Magellanic Lizard (Liolaemus magellanicus), Fitzinger’s Lizard (Liolaemus fitzingeri) and the rather wonderfully named Darwin’s Grumbler (Diplolaemus darwinii).

Invertebrates

At least ten species of butterfly have been recorded in the national park, including Whites and Fritillary; less pleasantly, huge numbers of particularly voracious mosquitoes are present during the summer. The Black Widow spider has been found in some localised areas of the park, including around Laguna Amarga.

Plants

The dense deciduous forests of Torres del Paine national park are characterized by several species of Southern Beech, primarily Lenga (Nothofagus pumilio). The Lenga is a tall and fairly broad-trunked tree and grows up to 30m, forming a dense canopy on mountain slopes with plenty of rainfall; it may also occur in a dwarf form. The Lenga was the preferred wood for making bows among the Indians of Tierra del Fuego. The Magellanic Coigüe or Coigüe de magallanes (Nothofagus betuloides) is also found on humid mountain slopes with heavy precipitation, as well as on more sheltered areas of scrub. It grows up to about 25m in height or may occur as a shrub. The Antarctic Beech or Ñirre (Nothofagus antarctica) grows at lower altitudes or in boggy, waterlogged or windy areas. The trunk is often twisted and contorted. It reaches up to 15m in height and occurs as a smaller shrub.

1 Berries of Murta or Prickly Heath (Gaultheria mucronata), Torres del Paine national park;

2 Estrellita or Falkland Lavender (Perezia recurvata), Torres del Paine national park;

3 Llareta or Balsam Bog (Bolax gummifera);

4 Flowers of Murta or Prickly Heath (Gaultheria mucronata), Torres del Paine national park;

5 Campanilla or Streaked Maiden (Olsynium biflorum), Torres del Paine national park

A number of semi-parasitic shrubs are found on the branches of Northofagus trees, all (rather confusingly) known as Farolito chino in Chile. These include the yellowish Misodendrum punctulatum and the green Misodendrum linearifolium. Both have shaggy, beard-like appendages, longer in the latter species and forming a distinctive sight on Northofagus trees in the area.

Lago Toro and Mata Barrosa (Mulinum Spinosum) from near Puente Weber (Walk 4)

The Calafate or Palo amarillo (Berberis microphylla) is a large, bushlike shrub found in and around the park, on scrub and steppe as well as in areas of Northofagus forest. The deep bluish berries are edible, and are used to make jam as well as a liqueur (which you’ll find for sale in plenty of shops in Puerto Natales). There is a saying here, that whoever eats Calafate berries will one day return to Patagonia (well, it worked for me). The flowers are small and yellow. Not to be confused with the Calafate is the Prickly Heath or Murta (Gaultheria mucronata), which has small belllike white flowers and red berries, or the Diddle-Dee or Murtilla de magallanes (Empetrum rubrum), which has tiny fleshy leaves and reddish berries that darken as they ripen. Both these species are found in areas of scrub as well as Northofagus forest.

Colourful houses in the old town of Valparaíso, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Firebush or Notro (Embothrium coccineum), a large bush with bright crimson flowers, grows in scrubland areas such as along the trail north of Refugio Paine Grande and alongside Lago Pehoé. Another common scrub-dwelling species is the white-flowered Fachine or Mata verde (Chiliotrichum diffusum).

Typical of wet and boggy areas, as well as areas of scrub and steppe, is Balsam Bog or Llareta (Bolax gummifer), which grows in large (up to 0.5m), deep green semi-hemispherical cushions. Although they look incredibly hardy, they can take up to 10 years to regenerate from a single human footprint – so tread carefully. Sphagum Moss (Sphagnum magellanicum) is also found in bogs and waterlogged areas. On drier, rocky scrub you will find Mata Barrosa (Mulinum spinosum), which forms dense thorny cushions up to 0.8m in height, with tiny yellowish flowers.

Flowers in scrub, steppe and rocky areas include the small blue Estrellita or Falkland Lavender (Perezia recurvata), the Campanilla or Streaked Maiden (Olsynium biflorum), Adesmia or Chinita dorada (Adesmia pumila) and Saxífraga (Saxifraga magellanica).

WHERE TO WATCH WILDLIFE

For birdwatchers, some of the best areas in the Torres del Paine national park are Lago Toro and the smaller lakes and pools between Pudeto and Laguna Amarga (such as Laguna Los Cisnes and Laguna Los Juncos); the area surrounding the latter is also a good area for spotting Guanaco. Laguna Amarga is one of the best areas in the park for seeing Chilean Flamingos. On the Torres del Paine Circuit, Torrent Ducks may be spotted in the upper reaches of the Río Ascencio. Some of the less-visited areas of the national park such as Río Pingo offer a good chance of seeing wildlife and birdlife, including some of the less common species – if you’re really lucky, you may spot a Huemúl. The best place to see Magellanic Penguins is on Isla Magdalena, about 2hrs by boat from Punta Arenas in the Straits of Magellan.

History and culture

Early settlers

By around 12,000BC the great migration of peoples over the land bridge that once existed between what is now Siberia and Alaska, and down through North and South America, had reached what is now Chile – including its far south. Initially nomadic hunter-gatherers, these peoples nevertheless left a legacy of handicrafts and pottery (see exhibits in the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino in Santiago), and the tribes in northern Chile are thought to have had cultural links with local Pre-Incan cultures. The tribes of central Chile appear to have become increasingly settled, with the development of agriculture and irrigation, while those further south in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, conditioned by the harsher lanscape and climate, maintained a more nomadic existence.

Excavations in Chile’s Cueva del Milodón and surrounding caves, just south of Torres del Paine national park, have unearthed arrowheads indicating human settlement in the area from around 10,000BC. Over the border in Argentina, Cueva de las Manos, near Los Glaciares national park, contains paintings dating back some 9500–13,000 years, including hunting scenes with humans and animals and, later, numerous hands, both imprinted directly onto the cave wall and ‘sprayed’ in negative, probably from a blow pipe.

House near Lago Toro, Torres del Paine national park (Walks 1 and 4)

Inca Empire and Spanish conquest

During the 15th century the Inca Empire expanded its territory dramatically from Peru, exacting tribute from the tribes of northern Chile, but met with fierce resistance from the Mapuche, one the most powerful tribes in central Chile, and the border between Inca and Mapuche lands was fixed on the Río Maule, approximately 250km south of Santiago.

Christopher Columbus’ ‘discovery’ of the Americas in 1492 and Ferdinand Magellan’s successful navigation of the Straits of Magellan in 1520 were followed by the Spanish conquest of the Aztec and Inca civilizations in Mexico and Peru (in 1521 and 1532 respectively), the latter under the command of Francisco Pizzaro and Diego de Almagro. Almargo continued south in search of further gold and riches, but finding none turned back at the Aconcagua valley.

In 1538 Pedro de Valdivia, one of Pizzaro’s generals, with only a handful of men (Chile’s apparent lack of gold or other riches made it a far less attractive proposition to most than Peru), set off southwards from Cuzco in Peru, founding the city of Santiago in 1541. The development of the Chilean capital, at that time still subject to the Viceroyalty of Peru, is well illustrated in a series of plaques on the pavement in Santiago’s Plaza de Armas.

Estancia Cerro Paine, on the road to Refugio Las Torres (Walk 2)

Over the following years Valdivia attempted to increase Spanish lands further south, where it was once again the Mapuche who put up fierce resistance, and Valdivia himself was killed by the great Mapuche chief Lautano – it is said, by having molten gold poured down his throat. Nevertheless, further subjugation of the local Chilean population continued after Valdivia’s death, and the foundations of colonial society were steadily laid. This resulted in the emergence of powerful landowners and estates worked by a disempowered native workforce, the decimation of the indigenous population by diseases from Europe, and the conquered people’s gradual conversion to Christianity by the Catholic Church.

Fight for independence

Over time Chilean demographics changed, with an increasing number of mestizos (those born of Spanish fathers and indigenous mothers) and criollos (Spaniards born in Chile) in the population, and with these changes came the fledgling desire for increased autonomy from Spain.

The catalyst for Chile’s transition to independence was the Napoleonic conquest of Spain and deposition of the Spanish monarchy. In 1810, at a meeting of prominent citizens in Santiago, a junta was elected, with the purpose of maintaining Spanish sovereignty in Chile. Then, in 1811, José Miguel Carrera took power into his own hands, creating a Chilean flag and a provisional constitution; in response, Royalist troops loyal to Spain were dispatched to Chile from Peru. The junta voted to replace the authoritarian Carrera with the brilliant young general Bernardo O’Higgins, but Carrera retook power, and by failing to send reinforcements to O’Higgins ensured his defeat by Royalists at Rancagua. O’Higgins and other ‘Patriots’ were forced to escape to Argentina, while numerous others were exiled to the Juan Fernández archipelago, and in Santiago the Royalists reversed the junta’s reforms.

Across the Andes, O’Higgins joined forces with the Argentine general José San Martín, who was preparing to drive the Royalists out of South America. San Martín’s ‘Army of the Andes’ and O’Higgins’ Patriots launched their offensive in February 1817, crossing the mountains from Mendoza by four different passes and routing the Royalists at the Battle of Chacabuco, and then again at the Battle of Maipú. Chilean independence was declared in April 1818, with the task of leadership passing to O’Higgins (the position was offered to San Martín, but he declined). The Royalists in Peru were soon defeated, although Spain did not recognize Chilean independence until 1840.

The 19th century

O’Higgins ruled until 1823, but the taxes introduced to rebuild the country’s war-ravaged economy, and his anti-clerical reforms, made his position increasingly untenable, and he finally went into exile in Argentina, where he died in 1842. There followed an unsettled period, until stability was restored under the authoritarian rule of Diego Portales in 1829. Portales consolidated his position by issuing a new constitution, giving the head of state increased power, and maintaining the support of landowners and clergy, astutely judging it neccessary to overturn those reforms which threatened Church privileges, but he was assassinated in 1837 following his declaration of war on Peru.

Immigration to Chile from Europe increased from the mid-19th century, both in the capital and further south, with several thousand Germans settling in the Chilean Lake District (the area north of Puerto Montt), and a steady stream of Italian, Croatian, English and other settlers arriving in Patagonia – a process nicely encapsulated in the atmospheric cemetery in Punta Arenas, with its broad, cypress-lined avenues and its gravestones of pioneers and immigrants. Like the earlier process of colonization, this later immigration resulted in the almost complete loss of southern Chile’s indigenous population – the Tehuelche and, further south around the coast, the Kaweshkar – who were, quite simply, subsumed beneath the tide of settlers and missionaries. Meanwhile silver and, in particular, copper mining increased in the north, and wheat exports soared, feeding a growing economy and increased international trade.

A lucrative nitrate industry, centred around Antofagusta – at that time part of Bolivia (but now in the north of Chile) – was the cause of Chile’s involvement in the War of the Pacific in 1879. Following Bolivia’s decision to raise export taxes on nitrate (contrary to an agreement to which an earlier border settlement had been subject), Chile invaded Bolivia, with Peru (which controlled the nitrate-rich area around Iquique and Arica) joining on Bolivia’s side soon after. Chile’s victory over Bolivia in August 1879, and the capitulation of Lima early in 1881, gave the country a vast area of new territory in the north (the border moved some 900km further north, at both Bolivia’s and Peru’s expense) and complete control over the enormous nitrate deposits of the Atacama desert. It also cut off Bolivia’s access to the Pacific.

Territorial disputes between Chile and Argentina, primarily over Patagonia, were mostly resolved when the two countries signed a treaty of 1881 recognizing their mutual border – although one 50km section of this, just north of Torres del Paine, remains unresolved. (Although the two governments agreed on the position of the border in 1991, this was not ratified by the Argentine parliament, and at the time of writing no formal agreement had been concluded.)

In 1890 the authoritarian president José Manuel Balmaceda’s decision to act in direct defiance of Congress led to Civil War, with the army backing Balmaceda and the navy backing Congress. Following his defeat, Balmaceda committed suicide.

The 20th century

Chilean society remained deeply divided, with a vast gap between the disempowered workers and the ruling and landed elite, and strikes became increasingly common, typically resulting in brutal oppression. A number of social reforms were introduced by president Arturo Alessandri in a new constitution in 1925, a theme which was to be taken further by a later president, Eduardo Frei, in the 1960s.

Following his election as Chile’s first socialist president in 1970, Salvador Allende instigated a series of radical social reforms aimed at closing the gulf between rich and poor, nationalizing companies and redistributing land. Despite initial successes, however, rising inflation and a drastic fall in world copper prices, combined with covert operations by the CIA to destabilize Allende’s government, led to a military coup in 1973, in which Allende was killed in the Moneda Palace when it was bombed.

The 1973 coup ushered in 17 years of brutal military dictatorship under Auguste Pinochet, in which thousands were executed or tortured, opposition parties banned, press freedom curtailed and Congress dissolved. Pinochet’s re-privatization of industry and other free-market economic policies eventually led to a reduction in unemployment and inflation, but only at the expense of welfare and education and at massive social cost. Pinochet drafted a new constitution in 1980, which guaranteed him power for a further eight years, following which a referendum would be held.

The referendum of 1988 saw Pinochet voted out of power and a return to democracy under Patricio Aylwin, and both he and his successors Eduardo Frei and Ricardo Lagos attempted to tackle the thorny issue of human rights abuses under Pinochet and to reform the long-neglected health and education sectors.

Chile today

Today Chile has a strong economy – one of the healthiest in South America – although the distribution of wealth remains very uneven, as attested by the shanty towns south of Santiago. In 2006 Michelle Bachelet was elected President – the first woman to hold this position in Chile – and in 2009 Chile became the first South American country to gain full membership of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Bachelet was succeeded by Sebastián Piñera in 2010, but returned to office in 2014.

UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES IN CHILE

 Chiloé churches

 Rapa Nui national park (Easter Island)

 Valparaíso old city centre

 Humberstone and Santa Laura saltpetre works

 Sewell mining town

 Qhapaq Ñan, Andean Road System

Torres del Paine national park, despite being submitted to the tentative list in 1994, is yet to be accepted pending a resolution of the Chilean-Argentine border dispute.

Early exploration and mountaineering

The Southern Patagonian Ice Field was first explored in detail by Federico Reichert in 1913–14. Alberto de Agostini followed in 1928 and 1931, and in 1928–29 Gunter Plüschow undertook an aerial exploration, the aircraft later crashing in Lago Argentino. HW Tilman and Jorge Quinteros crossed the Ice Field from east to west in 1955–56, starting from Tilman’s yacht ‘Mischief’, moored in the Chilean fjords, and the two ending up swimming in Lago Argentino before returning.

Eric Shipton visited the area in 1960–61, completing an epic crossing from north to south between the Jorge Montt glacier and Lago Argentino (a distance of over 200km). The first full north–south crossing of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field was completed by Pablo Besser, Mauricio Rojas, José Montt and Rodrigo Fica in 1998. Cerro Lautaro, an active 3380m volcano in Bernardo O’Higgins national park (named after the Mapuche military leader who defeated Valdivia), was first climbed in 1964 by Pedro Skvarca and Luciano Pera.

The first European to see and describe Torres del Paine was Lady Florence Dixie who, bored with England, passed this way on horseback in the 1870s, and described the region in her book Across Patagonia (1880): ‘Beyond the hills rose the three red peaks and the Cordilleras. Their white glaciers, with the white clouds resting on them, were all mirrored to marvellous perfection in the motionless lake, whose crystal waters were of the most extraordinarily brilliant blue I have ever beheld.’ Baquedano Santiago Zamora, Tomás Rogers and Carl Skottsberg all visited the area during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The great Swedish explorer Otto Nordenskjöld visited the area in the 1920s, followed in the 1930s–40s by the Silesian priest and mountaineer Alberto de Agostini – hence the names Lago Nordeskjöld and Torre di Agostini.

A cattle ranch was established in Torres del Paine in 1896, running until the 1970s, and a large area of the national park on the eastern side still lies on private land. Part of the area was declared a national park in 1959 (although not before large tracts had been cleared for livestock), this being enlarged over the following years until reaching its present size of over 240,000 hectares. It was declared a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve in 1978.

Climbing expeditions to Torres del Paine began in earnest in the late 1950s, following on the heels of several expeditions to the Fitzroy area of Los Glaciares national park in Argentina a few years earlier. These included Lionel Terray and Guido Magnone on Fitzroy in 1952; Walter Bonatti on the western side of Cerro Torre and the Adele Cordón, and on Cerro Mariano Moreno, in 1958–59; and Cesare Maestri’s much disputed climb on Cerro Torre in 1959. Torres del Paine’s North Tower (Torre Norte) was first climbed by Guido Monzino in 1957–58; the Central Tower (Torre Central) by Chris Bonington and Don Whillans in 1963; and the South Tower (Torre Sur) by Armando Aste, also in 1963. Fortaleza, at the head of the Valle Francés, was climbed by a British team in 1968.

Getting to Chile

The most direct route is to fly to Santiago (17hrs from the UK, 11hrs from New York, 13hrs from Los Angeles, 16hrs from Sydney, 12hrs from Auckland), and from there to Punta Arenas (3hrs 30mins), from where it’s a 3hr bus trip to Puerto Natales, the ‘gateway’ town for the Torres del Paine national park. Chile’s national carrier, LAN (www.lan.com), tends to offer the best fares, and (at least in my experience) in-flight comfort and entertainment aboard LAN is way ahead of the main competitor on this route, Iberia (www.iberia.com).

Approaching El Chaltén, Los Glaciares national park, Argentina (Walk 8)

Fares are not cheap – expect to pay at least £900 for a return flight from the UK or the US to Santiago in season, and a further £300 for the return flight on to Punta Arenas. LAN sometimes offers promotional fares on domestic flights, but these are not usually available very far in advance, so if you are tying in domestic flight times and dates to an international flight, it’s safer to just book the whole flight (international and domestic) at once (unless you are flexible with your itinerary). Check the individual airlines’ websites, as well as search engines such as Opodo (www.opodo.com) and agencies in the UK (see ‘Agencies and tour operators’ below) to find the best deal. Book as early as possible, particularly for travel in January/February (when flights between Santiago and Punta Arenas often become fully booked).

The majority of flights from the UK and elsewhere in Europe to Chile are routed via Madrid (TAM flies via Sao Paulo), and include a fairly lengthy transit time to get from one terminal/gate to another – however, Madrid airport is huge, and the time taken to get between terminals and gates (which usually includes passing through another security check) should not be underestimated.

Alternatively, you could fly to Santiago and continue from there to Puerto Montt (14hrs by bus, 1hr 40mins by plane), and from there take the Navimag ferry (www.comapa.com) down the Chilean coast to Puerto Natales (3 days). The ferry trip provides a spectacular cruise alongside the Chilean fjords, passing glaciers, icebergs and the occasional whale en route. There is one section of the route which passes slightly further out to sea, however, and if the weather’s rough, you can expect a heaving swell.

Another option is to fly to Argentina – via Buenos Aries (17hrs from the UK) and El Calafate (a further 3hrs), which gives you the opportunity to visit Los Glaciares national park (in particular the Fitzroy area near El Chaltén, which unlike the Perito Moreno glacier cannot be visited as a day trip from Puerto Natales), before continuing to Puerto Natales by bus (5hrs), passing through Río Turbio before crossing the border at Dorotea. It is also possible to take a more direct route from El Calafate to Torres del Paine, via the border post at Cerro Castillo, thus completely bypassing Puerto Natales – although in this writer’s opinion it would be a great shame to do so. Note that public transport on the latter route is much more limited, and involves changing buses at Cerro Castillo. Airlines flying from the UK to Buenos Aires include Aerolinias Argentinas (www.aerolineas.com.ar), Iberia (www.iberia.com) and British Airways (www.ba.com, via San Paolo).

For the majority of people visiting Torres del Paine from the UK and Europe, travelling to Chile by air will be the only practical option. However there are a number of cruise ships operating around the coast of South America, including between Buenos Aires and Santiago.

Transport within Chile

Travelling within Chile is a refreshingly straightforward affair. LAN (www.lan.com) covers the country with a comprehensive network of domestic flights, and there is another private airline, Sky (www.skyairline.cl). Buses are comfortable, frequent and reliable, and fares very reasonable; and ferries connect various ports along the coast.

Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales