It is perhaps the most beautiful hike I have ever done in my life. A journey to feel different atmospheres: strong winds, heavy rains, bright sun, fresh air. It is nine kilometers grinding leg, about five hours to reach the top of Torres del Paine, and the same distance and time to return. Tiring, demanding, but with an unbeatable reward.
Torres del Paine National Park, declared a biosphere reserve by Unesco, has an area of over 220 thousand hectares. It’s huge. There are backpackers who spend a week camping in the Park and have the courage to travel circuits that are around 90 kilometers.
In itself, it is a destination that encompasses a good part of the Patagonian landscape: lakes, lagoons, glaciers, pampas, snow-capped mountains and forests.
For those who prefer to get to the point or are not very friends with camping (like me), the best option is to do the full-day at the Base de las Torres, a natural wonder that has become one of the most popular images of Patagonia (the thousand Chilean peso bill has a drawing of this landscape).
To do the one-day walk in the Park, a good option is to stay in Puerto Natales, a small town in the Magallanes Region. It is worth spending an afternoon touring the port, seeing the birds that fly over the Almirante Montt Gulf, or enjoying extreme tricks in the dock’s skatepark.
From very early in the morning, regular buses depart from the Puerto Natales terminal to the entrances to the Torres del Paine National Park. It is a journey that lasts around 3 hours, in which I recommend sleeping to arrive with more energy for the trek.
A few meters after starting the tour, I met Julien, a French engineer who I did not say goodbye to until the end of the day. I think that sometimes it is nice to take long walks in solitude with nature, but other times it is better to be accompanied, much more in this park where there is so much to see, share the amazement, chat about life, and take good photos instead of just selfies.
The tour begins with a slight ascent towards mountains with green skirts. Although it was a sunny day in the southern summer, with the height, rains and gales began to arrive. You have to have a good waterproof jacket or cape so you don’t have to get soaked to the top.
Then there are descents that lead to the Ascencio River and the lush trees that border it. The slopes do not take long to return, with paths traced in the middle of the Lenga forest. With only a kilometer to go to the finish line, we and Julian decided to stop for lunch at one of the shelters. I think it was not a bad idea because the final ascent is very demanding, a steep path with many obstacles.
From below you can see the people who conquer the top as tiny toy soldiers. When we reached the Base of the Towers, at 870 meters above sea level, the fog made it impossible to see them in their entirety. We could not believe such bad luck: having walked five hours and not finding the desired image. But with Julien we decided to be optimistic, we had an hour to stay there, so we crossed our fingers and waited.
Suddenly, the three granite columns appeared. It was less than five minutes to delight in its majesty. What I liked the most was seeing the sunlight reflected off the rocky base and the wind dragging the shadows into the lagoon. We had reached the Torres del Paine.
I remember my mom telling me on WhatsApp that it seemed like another world. And yes, it is another world.
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