The park is 112 km north of Puerto Natales, and you really would be silly trying to see it as a day trip from there - bite the bullet and book 3 nights inn or near the park. Be warned, this is somewhere you really must visit, but there are a heck of a lot of other people in the world with the same objective. The result is that there are not enough hotel rooms and those that there are are expensive for what they are. The excess of demand over supply means they can overcharge and get away with it. Their food is, in the main also expensive and of poor quality. Even in summer it can be very cold, with strong winds (summertime being December through March). The mean summer temperature is 11 C. Having said all that you really do want to spend some days here, the scenery is breathtaking.
The National Park was established in 1959 as Parque Nacional de Turismo Lago Grey and became Torres del Paine National Park in 1970.The park was in 1978 designated a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.
Lady Florence Dixie published a book in 1880 which gave one of the first descriptions of the area. Her book refer to the three towers as Cleopatra's Needles. This area is today the Torres del Paine National Park. It is land of mountains, glaciers, lakes and rivers. The main attraction of the National park is the Cordillera del Paine. The Paine Massif is mostly composed of granite, and was thrown up 12 million years ago. The highest peak is the Paine Grande (3050 m), although the most photogenic peaks are the "Cuernos del Paine" featured on most guidebooks of the park.
En the southern extreme of the South Icefield, the park has many glaciers,
lakes, lagoons and rivers. Among them we can mention the Sarmiento, Nordenskjold,
Pehoe, Paine and Dickson, each one with waters of different shades of blue and
green. The largest rivers that cross the park are the Pingo, Grey and Dickson.
The latter having three spectacular waterfalls, Paine, Salto Grande and Salto
Chico.
Sunset in the park
There are hiking trails all around the park, with lodges, campgrounds, and transportation on most trailheads. Trails are safe and easy to follow, made for the average trekker. Though not steep, the paths are long and a hike of several hours is normal if you want to get the best of the views. This is not somewhere that you can drive up to a mirador, take the snaps, and tick the place off as "done".
They are understandably hard on stopping people camping without permits or lighting fire. In 2005, a careless Czech backpacker camping illegally caused a fire that destroyed 160 km² of the park.
Happily we caused no damage, and after three nights headed to Chile and our next stop at Calafate.
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| View from our hotel window at Torres del Paine | Grey morning in Torres del Paine |
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| Iceberg on lake in Torres del Paine | Iceberg on lake in Torres del Paine |
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| Iceberg on lake in Torres del Paine | Iceberg on lake in Torres del Paine |
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| Rivers to cross | Iceberg on lake in Torres del Paine |
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| Distant view of the famous Cuernos at Torres del Paine | The famous Cuernos at Torres del Paine |
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| Torres del Paine National Park | Torres del Paine National Park and Cuernos |
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| Cuernos in Torres del Paine National Park | Bridge over flora in Torres del Paine |
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| Mountains and flora in Torres del Paine | Flora in Torres del Paine |
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| Flora in Torres del Paine | Its not all flora |
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| Incredible scenery in Torres del Paine National Park | Incredible scenery in Torres del Paine National Park |
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| Incredible scenery in Torres del Paine National Park | Incredible scenery in Torres del Paine National Park |
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| Guanaco in Torre del Paine | Guanaco in Torre del Paine |
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| Guanaco in Torre del Paine | Condor in Torre del Paine |
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| Mountains in Torre del Paine | Mountains in Torre del Paine |
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| Walking in Torre del Paine National Park | Mountains in Torre del Paine |
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| Walking in Torre del Paine National Park | Walking in Torre del Paine National Park |
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| Amazing flowers against the mountains | Horses cross a river |
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| Hotel in Torre del Paine National Park | A tight squeeze getting out of the Torre del Paine National Park |