The O-trek of Torres del Paine: Exploring the natural beauty of Chilean Patagonia
- Lore Van Craenenbroeck
- 6 hours ago
- 5 min read
Patagonia is a region in southern South America that stretches over Chile and Argentina. Since the southern tip of South America is the closest land to Antarctica, scientific expeditions often leave from here on their trip to the Antarctic Peninsula. As a biologist and Antarctic researcher, I have long wanted to go, not just because of its link with Antarctica, but also for its beautiful nature and impressive landscapes. A few years ago, it was finally time. I set out to hike in the Patagonian nature. I traveled with a group since I did not have that much hiking experience, and some parts of the trail can be challenging. I do not recommend hiking this trail alone as an inexperienced hiker.
After a long bus trip, we finally arrived at the welcome center in the National Park Torres del Paine, the starting point of the O-trek and one of the highlights of my trip. The O-trek, a 140 km long loop around the Paine Massif in the Chilean part of Patagonia, hosts many different landscapes, from meadows with flowers to forests and stunning views of glaciers and glacial lakes. The circuit takes around 8 days to complete, hiking about 15-20 km a day. It is an extension of the more popular W-trek and takes you to more remote regions of the national park. With some luck, you could spot some wildlife along the way, such as guanacos, a type of camelid, or Andean condors, a species of vulture and one of the largest flying birds in the world. Torres del Paine is also said to have one of the highest concentrations of pumas on Earth, but they are rarely spotted on the trail. The path is well-marked and there are manned huts along the entire circuit. Camping is only allowed in designated campsites, and you are required to carry all your trash to the end of the trail.
We started with a lot of energy and enthusiasm on the first kilometers of our hike. My backpack was filled to the brim with food, camping equipment and a lot of extra clothes. The weather in Patagonia can change quickly, so we needed to make sure we had enough layers of clothing to withstand any type of weather. Luckily, we did not need to bring a lot of water since the water from the streams was pure enough to drink and we could refill along the way. The first few days, we were already hit with the strong winds Patagonia is known for and had to endure some tough climbs. We came across some beautiful mountain lakes, and our first glacier of the walk, the Los Perros glacier, but the most impressive sights of the trail were still to come.
(1) On the first day, a herd of horses was on our path, (2) the Los Perros glacier. Photos by Lore Van Craenenbroeck.
On the fourth day, we had to pack up our stuff early in the morning and leave the campsite before 7 am. The rangers warned us today was going to be the longest and most challenging day of the hike, and we needed to be sure to reach our end destination before dark. We hiked over snow patches in quite a steep climb to reach the John Gardner pass, the highest point of the O-trek at 1200 meter above sea level. I was happy that I brought my trekking poles to stabilize myself and not slip in the snow. It was very cold when we got to the pass, but from the moment we passed the highest point, the breathtaking view of the Grey glacier made us forget all about that. It was one of the biggest glaciers I have ever seen. The Grey glacier is fed by the Southern Patagonian ice field, the largest continuous icefield in the southern hemisphere with the exception of Antarctica. It stretches for more than 350 km across the Andes over the border of Chile and Argentina and feeds many other glaciers, such as the well-known Perito Moreno glacier in Argentina. We couldn’t stay too long on the pass since we still had a long way to go to the campsite. It was a long descent along the glacier with parts in the forest on steep and uneven terrain that went on forever, and crossing some suspension bridges. I have never been so happy to finally reach the campsite. I could barely lift my feet anymore on the last part. Completely exhausted, I installed myself on a bench and had a much needed drink and snack to regain some energy. Then we still had to put up the tents…
(1) The John Gardner Pass with the Grey glacier in the background, (2) the Grey Glacier terminus that ends into Lake Grey. Photos by Lore Van Craenenbroeck.
For the next part of the circuit, we were on the more popular W-trek. The paths became busier, with people on day trips also joining the trail. The W-trek has some nice lookouts that you can choose to include in your trip or skip. To get there, there are of course some steep and tough climbs, but the views are well worth it and if you are there already, why not go? We could leave our heavy backpacks behind and climb up with only a small backpack with some food and water. When reaching the highest lookout point (Mirador Britanico), it felt as if we were at the heart of the Paine Massif as we were completely surrounded by mountain peaks.
The Paine Grande campsite on the W-trek, surrounded by mountains. Photo by Lore Van Craenenbroeck.
After 7 days, we were almost at the end of the circuit, but still had to see one of the major highlights of the park, the Torres, the three granite peaks of the Paine Massif the national park is named after. Our last campsite Chileno was small, but very popular because it is so close to these peaks. Many people leave in the middle of the night to reach the Torres when the sun rises, leaving a reddish glow on the granite. We left around 3 am in the pitch dark with our headlights in a race to the top. When we got there it was freezing cold and I unfortunately had to leave just before the sun was fully risen. Luckily I could still see the three tops clearly come out of the clouds.
The Base Torres viewpoint. Photo by Lore Van Craenenbroeck.
After 8 days of hiking, I was really feeling the pain in my feet. A blister had started to form on the sole of my foot and my muscles were aching. When we returned to the welcome center it was both a feeling of relief and sadness that the hike was over.
The next day we traveled onward to Ushuaia, the final stop on our trip. The journey took almost a full day, which gave us plenty of time to recuperate from the 8 days of hiking. The city is located in Argentina at the tip of South America. Ushuaia is often called the southernmost city in the world and the Gateway to Antarctica. From here, Antarctica is ‘only’ about 1100 km away. Many ships lay in the harbor to leave to the Antarctic Peninsula through the Beagle Channel. Sailing through the Beagle Channel you could see many seabirds and marine life, such as sea lions, cormorants and even penguins further down. It is the closest I have ever been to Antarctica, but who knows, maybe a scientific expedition will take me there some day.
(1) The shipwreck of the old tugboat St. Christopher with the port of Ushuaia in the background, (2) an Andean Condor resting on the rocks. Photo by Lore Van Craenenbroeck.
Written by Lore Van Craenenbroeck
Sources:
Comments