Customer Reviews

The entire hike of the french valley

Every day in Torres del Paine was amazing.

The highlight was definitely going over the John Gardner Pass. It was a tough but really rewarding day. One of the most magical moments was when we made it through the pass and had an absolutely gorgeous view of the Grey Glacier in front of us. I also really enjoyed going through the windy passes and fighting our way through the infamous Patagonian wind! It was a pleasure to meet other people on the trail and to discuss what we had seen already and comparing experiences.

It is hard to pick just one as every day found new and really memorable events. But I’ll say seeing an avalanche come off the Paine Grande was really special. We witnessed it on the Miradores hike.

There are several. At age 11 I did a report on Chile-I knew someday I would visit. At 68 my dream came true. The sheer, dramatic, non-stop beauty of both Argentina and Chile rattled my senses. But, I had some personal Gold Medal days. I made it to the Base of the Towers. A feat worth the work. At the top we spread a tiny bit of my best friend's ashes. She would have loved this trip too. Hiking almost every day to spectacular sites but also treking more than 10 miles a day-that's a good day. Oh-and cooking dinner with a local chef was spectacular. We foraged for our vegetables in her garden and had the added treat of a fox watching the hen house. We got word the next day that the fox had a couple of victories. Biking 15 miles on gravel. I said I would never ride gravel-but I did and it felt good to check that off my list. EcoCamp was life changing. Waking up each morning in a dome-stepping outside and getting a good morning greeting of the Towers. Or, stepping outside to see the sky peppered with billions and billions of stars. My world got bigger that night. I also loved the zero waste mantra and I have taken that home with me. I also loved the food. Oh-maybe the Pesco Sours too! There were some points that were memorable but also life-threatening. In Agentina-El Chetain -we did a kyaking trip. The wind whipped up and there were white caps on the lake. We went in the water-tipped over. This was not the day I was planning to do a Polar Plunge (another bucket list item I can now check off). This could have gone south very quickly and frankly-it has changed my relationship with water. I think kyaking is spectacular-but I think you might do it with better kyaks and wetsuits.

Given the beauty at every turn, it would be hard to pick out one memorable moment, but if I had to, it would be the French Glacier. I've seen a number of glaciers now in my life, but have never seen one on such a steep landscape as was this one. Hearing a number of avalanches was pretty cool too, but unfortunately, never really saw any movement lower down below the cloud deck.

Overall it was good, we were lucky with the weather and the group was fairly easy to get on with.

It is impossible to pick just one. We LOVED all three of the full day excursions we did. Tuesday, our 1st full day in camp, we went big - Base of the Towers. The weather had been very windy for the prior 2 weeks (we were told); however, Tuesday was absolutely perfect. The only negative about the excursion is hordes of people. There is a small city hiking the trail. Other than that, awe inspiring. Day 2 as Mirador Ferrier (for 3 of the 4 in our group). Our 4th member hung out for 3 hours in the coffee shop and read a book - a perfect 3 hours for that person. After Ferrier, we connected with our 4th member and made the easy walk son the beach of Grey Lake and part way around the peninsula to see ice bergs and Grey Glacier. The weather was windy and a bit rainy, but that is not a negative at all. The weather can change every 15 minutes and provides uniqueness all the time. Our last full day at camp was the French Valley hike. Because the boat across Pehoe Lake only comes and goes certain times, you aren’t able to “take your time” as much. However, I think the French Valley is better for some of us than Base of the Towers, while some would say Base of the Towers and others would say Ferrier. That must mean we chose the perfect excursions for our fitness level - we are all in. As cool as the excursions were, the people at Patagonia Camp were the most memorable part of the trip for all of us. Paao, our guide for day 1, immediately became a member of our family. We loved her so much we begged to have her be our guide on all 3 days, and they granted us the wish. We love her!!! Rafael, the general manager of Pat Camp, won us over from the first time we met him. He always took the time to seek us out at camp and meaningful discussions with us, tell us about Chilean history, Pat Camp stuff, and stories about life. He will be a dear friend forever, even if we never see him again. The list of others is so long: Emily, Javi and Tamara - our servers in the restaurant, Andres - the bartender, Paula - the greeter, the front desk people, Andre - head of excursions, Edgardo - front desk, and the list goes on. PEOPLE, PEOPLE, PEOPLE. The Pat Camp staff are top notch. We are believers that you get from life what you put into it. The same goes with relationships with others. We genuinely wanted to connect with our Pat Camp friends, and they wanted to connect with us.

Highlights: Wilderness of Isla de Navarino, and climbing surprisingly interesting and spectacular peaks from El Chaltén. Birdlife was prolific and spectacular. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. Almost everything was surprising. Not to have time in the wilder off-trail parts of the Paine region was disappointing.

Spotting a female Puma in Torres del Paine

In terms of the sights and the people, Patagonia was wonderful. The landscapes were larger than life, and even with photos, it was not possible to really capture the entire scope of what we saw. You just have to be there! We liked this aspect about it. We also met people on the trail who we’ve now connected with back at home. It was awesome to have made friends who have shared in such a unique and wonderful experience with us.

There were lots! it was a real surprise to be offered White Horse whisky on glacier ice on the return trip from visiting Lake Dickson and seeing the glaciers. I treasured the moment lying in The sunshine at Lake Dickson while viewing The three glaciers and all the group became quiet just enjoing the peace and the spectacular views. Sitting round the campfire at the first outpost while the hailstones fell on us was certainly memorable. The views from my horse while riding were also very memorable.

I answered 'Maybe' to the above question because Patagonia is so very far away from South Africa, but if it was nearer we would definitely want to go again. For me, the unexpected highlight were the epiphytic forests, especially in Pumalin Park. We were very struck by the politeness of everyone in Chile, and the safety - given where we come from! We found everyone we were in contact with to be welcoming and helpful. One of the most magical moments was our arrival at Tepuhueico, where we were stunned by the architecture and the warm tones of the wood, as well as the thought that had gone into every aspect of the building. It was a lovely treat of a stay to end the trip.

Trip was wonderful! The highlights were amazing landscapes and friendly, interesting people. The wind was the big surprise, despite multiple warnings, we still did not expect the powerful gusts (50 mph or more!) that we encountered. Magical moment was the sun setting at 11:00 at night, with a full moon rising.

The trip was unbelievable! No matter where you were, everywhere around you was breathtaking. Being on the water during the cruise was the most memorable portion. There were never ending waterfalls, the more you looked the more you saw! Each day we had at least one rainbow. We got to see the penguins, albatross, humpback whales, sea lions, and dolphins! The vegetation on all of the islands, areas and on Cape Horn was a huge surprise. The guides were so informative and reinforced each of the teachings over the course of the trip to make sure all of the guests learned as much as possible, and all of our questions were answered. Not only were we educated on the history but also present time varying from animals, flora, natives, and explorers. Absolutely loved the trip!

Highlight was definitely all the hikes. The landscape and wildlife were amazing. The drive itself wasn't that great, except from El Calafate to El Chalten. However, I enjoyed seeing all the guanecos everywhere! We didn't quite meet too many people, but everyone was friendly that we met. Especially in El Calafate, when we had issues with our car and had to change our plans - the hotel staff were especially helpful. Seeing Mt. Fitz Roy, cloudless and framed by the beautiful lake was amazing.

Overall fantastic. Highlight was probabaly Mt. Fitzroy but Base of the towers were great as was kayaking and the glaciers! All superb to be honest Landscapes were stunning - never get tired of seeing those. Plenty of wildlife too including seeing a guanaco give birth and an armadillo. The base camp in torres Del Paine was great and our guide Rodrigo was top notch

The trip was great. The Stella Australis was wonderful as was the crew, above and beyod expectations. The Glaciers were amazing. The scenery was breath taking and memorizing. Should be on everyone's "bucket list". Eco Camp in Torres del Paine - AMAZING!!!! The views were out of this world. The wildlife that we did get to see, beautiful!!!! The accomodations were as expected and were fit for a trip like this. Everyone that worked to put this trip together for us did a great job and exceeded our expectations. Thank you so much. A trip of a life time that will forever be remembered.

Considering this was a late add on to a long planned leg of our trip, it was way beyond expectation - Atacama is stunningly beautiful, but what probably brought it so much to life was our guide. Very hard to pinpoint one specific high point, as there were many; camping in our guides favourite secret spots he'd discovered, the Milky Way in all its glory, giant cacti, a range of other plants and animals, geysers, caves, a skillfully swift acclimatisation programme enabling a 5600m summit within 3 days, the list goes on.

Watching 50 to 70 guanacos in their natural habitat about 200 feet from me in the late afternoon in a stunning valley with mountains surrounding the valley - Valle Chacabuco Parque Patagonia