Nature and Tourism in
Southern Chile:
TORRES DEL PAINE NATIONAL PARK
Declared Biosphere Reserve by the
UNESCO in 1978, the Torres del Paine National Park, (located in the Chilean Patagonia) in
internationally renowned as one of the most beautiful, unspoiled and remote places of the
planet. Their attractions reside on its spectacular mountain range, lakes, flora and fauna
that make of this place an ideal destination for Eco-tourism and adventure.
The park is located 2500 km South of
Santiago, the capital city of Chile. Despite its remoteness, this area has a pretty good
tourist infrastructure. In the cities of Punta
Arenas and Puerto
Natales, almost mandatory stopovers on the way, you have a full fledge of choices of
quality and price. Inside the limits of the park you can choose form campgrounds all
around the park, nice hostels like Hostería Pehoe, Hostería Torres and Hostería Lago Grey, or a five
star Hotel Explora.
Some reasons to visit the Park
The Corporación Nacional
Forestal, CONAF, administers the park with a less than charming weather, you can find strong winds
even during summertime (December through March). The mean summer temperature is 11 C (52
F) with a minimum of 0.8 C (33 F) and a maximum of 24 C (75 F). The average rainfall is
700 mm per year (27 inches) and altitude goes from 50m (166 ft) to 3000m (10.000 ft) above
sea level.
Without doubt, one of the major attractions
of the park is the Paine Massif, mostly composed of granite, and originated 12 million
years ago. The highest peak is the Paine Grande (3050 m), although the most representative
peaks are the "Cuernos del Paine" featured on most pictures of the park. The
Torres del Paine are three sheer granite towers, that make a challenging and coveted prize
for climbers.
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.
The park flora varies with the area and
altitude. You will find from windy grasslands to coigue and lenga tree forests that grow
smaller as you gain altitude resembling a natural Bonsai garden. There is a small bush
called calafate that produces a berry that locals say you have to eat to return. Among the
fauna inhabitants you will find guanacos (n Andean camelid), ñandús (American ostrich),
condors, mountain lions, gray and culpeo foxes and a wide variety of birds.
To hike 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, and if you
want to push your limits, there are plenty of activities related to adventure like
climbing, kayaking, rafting or glacier crossing. Any way you take it, it will stay in your
memories forever.
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