Torres del Paine National Park attracts visitors the world over for its stunning landscapes and amazing hiking opportunities. The classic hikes – the “W” or the full circuit – would each require quite a bit more time than we had. So we decided to simply see what we could in the two days that we had.
After breakfast, we got into the rental car and set out towards the park. There are two routes that you can take to get to TDP from Puerto Natales. The first route is almost entirely on dirt road and takes about an hour and a half. The other route was a bit deceptive, as it was on paved highway for the first half of the distance, but then split off onto dirt road again. For where we were going, we should have probably taken the first route, but the long way around gave us some incredibly stunning vistas on the way there. We kept stopping the car every few minutes to stop and take pictures. That’s the advantage of having your own car. We also saw lots of alpacas, as well as some emus and a few foxes.
A bit of research told us that there was a great boat trip to Grey Glacier that we could take leaving from the Grey Hosteria at 2pm. Leaving Puerto Natales at about 10am, we figured we would have plenty of time to get there. We hadn’t counted on the poor state of the dirt roads, nor on taking the long route or on our frequent photo stops, so we ended up rushing a bit to make it there just in time. As it turned out, 2pm was on Chilean time, and it didn’t actually depart until 2:30. All was good.
The boat trip was incredible. A bit pricey, but well worth it. First, we took a short walk up to Grey Lake and a raft ride out to the boat. Then, we spent about three hours on the water, going straight up to the face of the glacier and back again. They even served us pisco sour on the boat.
We took the shorter route back to Puerto Natales, which was a bit fun after the sun set, but was pretty okay. The rental car held up remarkably well on those bumpy roads. Back in Natales, we had dinner and a quick email check before trying to get a good night’s sleep in preparation for a full day hike in the park tomorrow.
I’ve seen lots of photos of Torres del Paine. Some of the photography is stunning, but nothing quite prepared me for seeing it in person. If you ever have the chance to get here, don’t hesitate, just go. Yes, it’s a long schlep and it’s expensive and it can be cold and rainy, but it’s all worth it.