Boleslav

Hi, I am planning a trip to Patagonia in March and do not know where to start. What would you recommend to visit. We are hikers not afraid of several days of backpacking, love nature, do not care for city-sightseeing much. Thank you!

owlwoman

One answer - Torres del Paine in Chile. If I were a serious backpacker, that's where I would go. Angelo from Chile Nativo was our guide, he was extremely personable and knowledgable, but you could do it on your own too.

lifelist

Well, the main places to visit in the Patagonian Andes are Parque Nacional Los Glaciares - the Fitz Roy range, as well as, Perito Moreno Glaciar; and Parque Nacional Torres del Paine. You can easily spend 2-3 weeks exploring these parks and the surrounding areas.

For the trekking aspects of things, I'd recommend getting the Lonely Planet Guide to Trekking in the Patagonian Andes. It lists the various treks you can do in this area and gives good logistical information.

The main gateway towns to these locations are El Calafate, Argentina (Perito Moreno Glaciar); El Chalten, Argentina (Fitz Roy); and Puerto Natales, Chile (Torres del Paine).

I'd recommend flying into El Calafate, and spending a day checking out the glaciar. You can also sign up for various activities, such as trekking on the ice. Then, grab a bus to El Chalten, and either do dayhikes or backpack the park. Head back to El Calafate, and grab a bus to Puerto Natales. From there, head into Torres del Paine, and do the "W" route - either camping or staying at the huts along the way.

Another thing you can add is catching the Navimag ferry departing out of Puerto Natales for Puerto Montt through the Chilean fjords. This is a backpacker's ferry, and not a luxury cruise.

I wrote up a trip report of a trip I did a couple of years ago here:

http://www.photo.net/travel/southamerica/patagonia/

Boleslav

Thank you very much for your responses.
I had in mind the Torres, but since I am at the beginning of the planning, I just do not know the logistics side yet. Like where to fly, how to get to Torres, rent a car? Accommodation while hiking - refugio vs. tent.

Sarah891198

Remember Esquel

lifelist

As mentioned, it'd probably be best to get a guidebook to nail down your logistics. Briefly, the gateway town to Torres is Puerto Natales, Chile. You can reach Puerto Natales a number of ways.

1) From your home, you do a flight to Punta Arenas, Chile - usually connecting through Santiago, Chile. From Punta Arenas, you'd likely catch a bus to Puerto Natales - it's a four-hour bus ride and relatively inexpensive. I imagine you could find a small airline that would get you to Puerto Natales from Punta Arenas and save you some time, but it's expensive.

2) You could reach Puerto Natales via El Calafate, Argentina. This is an attractive option since you would probably go through Buenos Aires, Argentina. So, you would fly from your home to Buenos Aires, Argentina and then onward to El Calafate, Argentina. From El Calafate, it's an inexpensive 5-hour bus ride to Puerto Natales. Again, you could also find a small airline to get you to Puerto Natales from El Calafate, but it's expensive.

3) Another option would be to fly into Santiago, Chile and from there catch a bus to Puerto Montt, Chile. You could board the Navimag ferry which takes a multi-day voyage through the Chilean fjords to Puerto Natales.

Renting a car in Patagonia tends to be very expensive. Also, most of the roads are dirt/gravel making for a very bumpy ride. The bus system is very good and inexpensive.