Hiking Fitz Roy & Torres del Paine National Park - GROUP TOUR

We welcome you at Calafate airport and transfer to your accommodation. You get the rest of the day to enjoy the town. At night we get together with the tour leader and fellow travelers to enjoy dinner (not included).

After breakfast we take our bus for the 220 km long drive to El Chaltén, a small and picturesque village at the foot of Fitz Roy & Cerro Torre massif. El Chaltén is the town to stay and visit the northern area of ​​Los Glaciares National Park and the provincial reserve Lago Del Desierto. This day is free to explore the town and rest before 3 days in which we will walk in the park admiring the best natural sceneries.

Early in the morning, after breakfast, we take the bus upon Hostería El Pilar where we start hiking to see one of the most spectaculars viewpoints of the National Park: Laguna de los Tres, with its zephyr blue color, lies at the foot of the massif, offering full close up views of Fitz Roy massif spires and glaciers. Each wall raises something from 600 to 1500 mts above the surrounding glaciers. Fitz Roy, with its 3405 mts above sea level, is considered the “King of Patagonia” and also considered one of the three most beautiful mountains on Earth. In the late afternoon, we hike back to our hotel.

Today, we visit the Torre valley. This valley starts as a glacier valley in the Laguna Torre reaching town as a fluvial valley. Is shorter and with less gain of altitude than Fitz Roy trail. We get to a first viewpoint of the glacier part of the valley after a first hour of walking. Depending on conditions, we will go on to reach the lagoon, natural viewpoint for the group of ice-mushroom-covered spires of Cerro Torre massif. Its blue colour and dimensions are breathtaking. We hike back to El Chaltén in the late afternoon.

This mountain, 1500 mts tall, is located immediately south of Cerro Torre valley and offers some of the best views over the different group of mountains, glaciers and lakes that features the area. From the lower terraces to the summit, you can get spectacular views of Fitz Roy, Torre and the spectacular glacier valley in between both. From the summit the bonus is the sight of Paso del Viento and some of the mountains that stick out from the Patagonian Ice field. According to the group capacity, we choose the lower terraces or try the summit, a long but gentle climb in scree. The lower part of the mountain is covered by shrubland and forest. We are back in Chaltén by late afternoon.

After breakfast we take our bus to El Calafate. Upon arrival we have the entire day to explore the city or to do an optional excursion.

We dedicate this day to one of the World’s Natural Wonder: the Moreno glacier. This ice field- type glacier flows down from the Patagonian Icefield, a big sheet of ice that with its 22.000 square kilometers is the third largest glacier area in the world, after Antarctica (14 M sq km) and Greenland (1 M sq km). Because unusual favorable local conditions, this glacier is the only one in the world that shows a closure and rupture process. The road leads to the very front of the glacier, which will be only meters away from your eyes. The roar of the chunks of ice falling inside the glacier or from the glacier into the lake, the frequent collapse of the front seracs into the turquoise water, makes out of this day a very special and unique experience.
Then we wil go up to “Bajo de las Sombras” from where, you will board the catamaran boat to navigate the Lago Rico where your will be able to appreciate the amazing ice wall of the Perito Moreno Glacier and its icebergs. Then we go back to our accommodation in El Calafate.

Early in the morning we transfer to the bus station where we take a regular bus Puerto Natales, crossing the border into Chile. This is a picturesque fishermen town located in the shores of the Ultima Esperanza (Last Hope) fiord. The afternoon is free to explore the town.
In the late afternoon join the tour leader to meet new travelers joining the tour for the W trek in Torres del Paine.

Early in the morning we transfer to the bus station in Puerto Natales to take a regular bus to Torres del Paine National Park, World Heritage by the UNESCO (United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization). Approaching the Park, we start to see the different mountains that feature the area: Paine Grande, the Horns, Admiral Nieto and the Towers. The bus stops at Laguna Amarga where we get off and start walking to out camp in Las Torres area. It is a two hours walk, very enjoyable. The rest of the day is at leisure.
Camp equipment is provided: tent and sleeping bag. Meals are served in a dining tent.

Early in the morning we start walking towards the bridge over the Ascensio river, head trail for the world-famous Paine towers. We "warm up" hiking a steep one-hour slope, to get inside the valley itself, a narrow "V" shape alpine valley coming from inside the Paine massif. A gentle downhill leads us to Refugio Chileno, a cozy and comfortable mountain lodge, which can be a good turnaround point for those not willing to make a full day hike. We then walk in a gentle slope along the river side and inside beech forest. A final climb on moraine takes us to the Towers viewpoint: a glacier origin lagoon and the three towers rising vertically 1000 mts from the glacier. The lack of breath will be either because the climb and the sight!!!! We go back to our camp on the same way we came.

Early in the morning a one-hour drive takes us to Port Pudeto to board the catamarán that crosses lake Pehoe twice a day. Then we start out way to Camp Paine Grande. Where we will spend the following two nights

Today we will leave unnecessary items in our tents and we set out to the French Valley trail. The trail skirts Paine Grande south slopes and lake Skottberg, to take us after 2 hours and a half of continuous ups and downs, to the hanging bridge upon the French River. This breathtaking location is at the foot of both the 2700 mts south east face of Paine Grande (to the west) and the Horns, with its characteristic black sedimentary topping, to the east. We continue walking 1 h further by Italian camp to reach breathtaking viewpoints over the area. After lunch and photos we retrace our steps back to Paine Grande Full Camp.

Lake Grey trail leads from Pehoe valley across ridges to reach Grey valley. This magnificent valley flows down 60 km from the Patagonian Ice field, featuring the huge glacier calving down in the grey color lake. Our trail skirts the lake, going up and down the westerns slopes of Paine Grande, offering some of the most impressive sights of the Park. From the high sections of the trail, many different viewpoints allow us to see the south end of the lake where the blue icebergs gather, the mountains rising far in the distance above glaciers Grey and Tyndall, and of course lake and glacier Grey. We reach the main viewpoint, a rocky point somewhat 2 hs away from Pehoe, with views over the Lake and Glacier Grey and the surrounding glaciers and mountains. We come back along the same trail, crossing bogs, shrublands and forest. By noon we take the boat to cross Lake Pehoe to Puerto Pudeto where we take a bus to go back to our accommodation in Puerto Natales.

At the indicated time, transfer to Punta Arenas airport or Punta Arenas bus station. End of services.
Combine this trip with an extension to Ushuaia in Argentina (bus) or other regions in Chile.