A short and sweet, highlights-only Torres del Paine experience. Hike and boat the famous W trail’s three major attractions. On this 3-day trip you’ll trek the French Valley, come close to the icy walls of Grey Glacier and hike to the Base of the famous Towers, while recharging each night in a secluded and intimate riverside camp.
PROGRAM ITINERARY:
DAY 1: Your day begins bright and early, traveling to Torres del Paine trek along unpaved roads and past lagoons and pampas; accompanied at times by the guanacos, grey foxes, Chilean flamingos and black-necked swans. Entering the National Park, we’ll cross Pehoe Lake by catamaran and arrive at the starting point of today’s return trek. Our destination, the French Valley, is a spectacular natural basin surrounded by peaks and hanging glaciers. At the beginning of the French Valley trek - a glacial moraine - you’ll scramble over huge boulders and catch the first sight of the hanging glacier atop the valley. From this point, you’ll ascend for an hour through a dreamlike Japanese garden landscape before arriving at the French Valley viewpoint (the “Plateau”). Your reward is a heart-stirring bird’s eye view of granite peaks and hanging glaciers. To one side, the French Glacier and Paine Grande (3050 m); while to the other, La Espada, La Hoja, La Máscara and the main and north “horns” of Los Cuernos arch upwards. In the upper section of the Valley, Cerro Catedral and Cerro Fortaleza loom like turrets above the landscape. Take your time on this trek trip to have lunch at the viewpoint, surrounded by these imposing peaks and open skies. Our return hike is along the same track. We’ll take the catamaran back across Pehoe Lake, and a 35 minute private transfer will drive us to Chile Native Riverside Domes.
DAY 2: Next on the Torres del Paine trek trip we’ll take a 3-hour hike to Pingo Valley to a viewpoint at “Cascada los Salmones”, a waterfall where salmon are sometimes seen. Be alert as we return - you may see a huemul (Andean deer) hiding nearby! After a picnic lunch on the shores of the Pingo River we’ll make our way through a woodpecker-inhabited beech forest to our boat’s departure point. The hour-long boat trip takes us around blue-hued icebergs and to the immense face of Grey Glacier, where we’ll stay for a while to admire its textures, lines and colors. If we’re lucky, we’ll witness a glacial calving, where chunks of ice break off and plummet spectacularly into the freezing waters. On your return journey you’ll see the wind-sculpted “ice mushrooms” atop the massive peaks of Paine Grande. Later, we’ll drive to the Serrano River area where a gourmet meal and good night’s rest await us at our riverside Domes.
DAY 3: Our final day of the Torres del Paine trek trip begins with a transfer across the National Park to the starting point for the trek to the three Towers lookout. Your hike begins with an hour’s ascent, following the Ascencio River into the Ascencio Valley. Here we’ll stop to observe how the valley’s beauty unfolds with rich beech forests, glaciers and waterfalls. Past this lookout point, we continue uphill, this time ascending a gigantic terminal moraine (a ridge formed at a glacier’s end point) where we’ll be rewarded by the arresting sight of the Towers themselves. At this lookout point 900 meters above sea level, we’ll rest, take photos and have lunch. Our descent follows the same path and a private transfer will take you back to Puerto Natales, ending here your Torres del Paine trek.
Trip Highlights
• Hike the challenging French Valley
• Get close to pristine rivers, glaciers and lakes
• Daily panoramic views
• See wild fauna in their natural habitat
• Boat ride across iceberg-dotted Grey Lake
• Trek to the Towers Base
• Secluded accommodation far from the crowds
Prices for season 2020/2021 for 4 guests. Contact us for 2023 prices update.
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