Category: Stories & Inspiration

Wetlands are some of the world’s most important carbon sinks. Marshy areas soak up atmospheric carbon far more quickly than trees, to the extent that as well as being crucial biodiversity hotspots, wetlands collectively store twice as much carbon as all the forests in the world.  These wetlands don’t just have to be vast areas […]

Any traveller to Argentinian Patagonia quickly becomes familiar with the name Perito Moreno. It’s the name of one of the region’s most celebrated landmarks, the epic Perito Moreno Glacier in Los Glaciares National Park, which can be explored in a host of ways, from boat trips along its frozen cliffs to ice-hiking on its back. […]

In April 2024, Florida-based landscape architect Sydney Fisk travelled with Swoop Patagonia to Torres del Paine. Her experience centred on a stay at EcoCamp, which had been the focus of a research project on sustainable travel and eco-resorts. We caught up with her after her trip to discover what it felt like to finally visit […]

‘Don’t go right. Please, don’t go right…’ Talking to the road is never a good sign, but I’d become obsessed with its direction and the crazy thought that I could win it over as an ally in my all-consuming struggle with the Patagonian wind. Now so strong I could barely keep my bike on the […]

It’s a story as old as humanity itself: the conflict between farm and wilderness, between those raising livestock and predators looking for an easy lunch. Whether it’s ranchers and coyotes on the American plains, Maasai herders and lions, or shepherds versus wolves in the mountains of Europe, the question always remains: can people, livestock and […]

Note: This article was updated on 14 November 2024 In July 2024, Chilean authorities announced that the Las Guardas Bridge, a key crossing point along the O Circuit trail in Torres del Paine National Park, had been seriously damaged by winter avalanches. We are pleased to announce that thanks to the support of Swoop customers, […]

Torres del Paine captured my heart on my first visit there nearly ten years ago. I was so won over by its wild beauty that made me want to become a mountain guide. It was where I did my guide training and where I then worked for five seasons, guiding guests from all over the […]

I never tire of Patagonia’s glaciers. For me, they are this region’s most dramatic testaments to the power of nature. They are like living things, endless flowing in frozen rivers down from the Andes, slowly reshaping mountains and carving their way across entire valleys. Many of Patagonia’s most fantastic glaciers reach straight into the sea […]