One of Patagonia’s crown Jewels
The next stop in our journey was Puerto Natales, or more specifically, the Torres del Paine National Park. The flight from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales was more like a quick hop, with 20min in the air. The approach was very windy, however, the pilots did an excellent job landing the airplane softly. Unfortunately, for the first time on this trip, the handling was not spot on and we spent an hour waiting at the airport for our transfer. Once that had arrive, we were on our way to the national park.
Torres del Paine national park fits the theme of nature, one that we have stuck to at several locations on this trip (such as in Antarctica or El Calafate). The area around Torres del Paine one that many consider to be the most beautiful landscape in Patagonia. This is a sentiment that we shared throughout our entire stay here, and one that became very clear the moment we left Puerto Natales in direction of the park.
We arrived at our hotel, a couple of minutes outside of the park gates, and decided to take an afternoon off. Cedric and I used the opportunity to explore the area around the hotel, right by the Rio Serrano river. The hotel, beautifully located, had a direct view of the Park and the mountains, mainly the Paine Grande and the Los Cuernos. We spent the evening in the hotel and got a good night of rest.
On Saturday, we planned a fishing excursion. We started the day off by driving through the national park to get to our fishing river. The drive was accompanied by stunning views of the mountains, the crystal blue lakes, the lush forests and the Argentinian steppe. After a 2h drive, we met our guide, who took us to the river, where we would try to fish for trout.
It was the first fly-fishing excursion for all of us, so we started the day off learning how to cast. While it looks pretty easy when others do it, that is not the case. We struggled a in the beginning, where we tried to learn the casting moves on land. After some practice runs, we then moved onwards to apply it in the water. Similar to our performance on land, the first casts in the water were not elegant. However, after a couple hours, we started getting more of a hang of it. Nevertheless, we were unsuccessful in catching any fish.
Subsequently, we took a break for lunch. The guide made some lamb in the back of his pick-up truck, which was excellent. Once we finished, we headed to another river where the guide promised there would be ‘more fish’. Unfortunately for us, the fish situation was dire in the second river as well. After a few more hours, we called it a day. Not only did we not catch any, we actually failed to see any fish. As a result, we told ourselves that the lack of success had to do with the conditions of the river and not our limited casting skills.
For the second day in the park, we had picked out a hike that we wanted to do. Although we had initially planned to do an 10h hike, we decided that it was a bit too much after a long day fishing. We met our driver, and made our way to the starting point of the hike. Once we arrive, we were told that we could not complete it due to the fact that it was a ‘with guide only’ hike, stemming from the Pumas in the area. Neither the map of the park (’20 season), nor the online guides we had read, indicated that. We quickly pivoted, and completed two smaller lookout treks, for some hours of walking. The second trek in particular took us along the shores of a couple of the lakes to the front of the Paine Grande and the Los Cuernos, resulting in magnificent views of both.
Much like Antarctica, the Torres del Paine national park is one I would like to visit again. With its spectacular views, it is a must for all nature lovers.
Torres del Paine National Park is a national park encompassing mountains, glaciers, lakes, and rivers in southern Chilean Patagonia. The Cordillera del Paine is the centerpiece of the park. It lies in a transition area between the Magellanic subpolar forests and the Patagonian Steppes. The park is located 112 km (70 mi) north of Puerto Natales and 312 km (194 mi) north of Punta Arenas. The park borders Bernardo O’Higgins National Park to the west and the Los Glaciares National Park to the north in Argentine territory. Paine means “blue” in the native Tehuelche (Aonikenk) language and is pronounced PIE-nay, while Torres means “towers”.
Torres del Paine National Park is part of the Sistema Nacional de Áreas Silvestres Protegidas del Estado de Chile (National System of Protected Forested Areas of Chile). In 2013, it measured approximately 181,414 hectares (700 sq mi). It is one of the largest and most visited parks in Chile. The park averages around 252,000 visitors a year, of which 54% are foreign tourists, who come from many countries all over the world. It is also part of the End of the World Route, a tourist scenic route. The park is one of the 11 protected areas of the Magallanes Region and Chilean Antarctica (together with four national parks, three national reserves, and three national monuments). Together, the protected forested areas comprise about 51% of the land of the region (6,728,744 hectares (25,980 sq mi)).
The Torres del Paine are the distinctive three granite peaks of the Paine mountain range or Paine Massif. From left to right they are known as Torres d’Agostini, Torres Central and Torres Monzino. They extend up to 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) above sea level, and are joined by the Cuernos del Paine. The area also boasts valleys, rivers such as the Paine, lakes, and glaciers. The well-known lakes include Grey, Pehoé, Nordenskiöld, and Sarmiento. The glaciers, including Grey, Pingo and Tyndall, belong to the Southern Patagonia Ice Field.
Source: Wikipedia.org under https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torres_del_Paine_National_Park
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It occupies a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Chile covers an area of 756,096 square kilometers (291,930 sq mi), with a population of 17.5 million as of 2017. Chile is the southernmost country in the world, the closest to Antarctica, and share land borders with Peru to the north, Bolivia to the north-east, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far south. Chile also controls the Pacific islands of Juan Fernández, Isla Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas, and Easter Island in Oceania. It also claims about 1,250,000 square kilometers (480,000 sq mi) of Antarctica under the Chilean Antarctic Territory. The country’s capital and largest city is Santiago, and its national language is Spanish.
Spain conquered and colonized the region in the mid-16th century, replacing Inca rule, but failing to conquer the independent Mapuche who inhabited what is now south-central Chile. In 1818, after declaring independence from Spain, Chile emerged in the 1830s as a relatively stable authoritarian republic. In the 19th century, Chile saw significant economic and territorial growth, ending Mapuche resistance in the 1880s and gaining its current northern territory in the War of the Pacific (1879–83) after defeating Peru and Bolivia. In the 20th century up to the 1970s Chile saw a process of democratization, rapid population growth and urbanization and increasing reliance on exports from copper mining for its economy. During the 1960s and 1970s, the country experienced severe left-right political polarization and turmoil. This development culminated with the 1973 Chilean coup d’état that overthrew Salvador Allende’s democratically elected left-wing government and instituted a 16-year right-wing military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet that left more than 3,000 people dead or missing. The regime ended in 1990 after a referendum in 1988 and was succeeded by a center-left coalition which ruled until 2010.
Chile is a developing country with a high-income economy and ranks 43rd in the Human Development Index. It is among the most economically and socially stable nations in South America, leading Latin America in rankings of competitiveness, per capita income, globalization, state of peace, economic freedom, and low perception of corruption. Chile also ranks high regionally in sustainability of the state, democratic development, and has the lowest homicide rate in the Americas after Canada. It is a founding member of the United Nations, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Pacific Alliance, and joined the OECD in 2010.
Reference: Wikipedia.org under https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chile
