March Reviews

Crossing the John Gardner Pass was the most memorable moment for me! We'd had a rainy morning and we actually had a pretty gorgeous snowstorm as we were crossing over the top. I always felt safe with our guide Emilio, but I could barely lift my eyes. I was just following the footsteps right in front of me. Once we passed the tallest part of the trek, we started walking back down, and what lay in front of us was one of the most stunning sights I'd ever seen - a HUGE glacier! That was the most memorable day because it was an intense experience and the visuals still stick in my mind.

Pros: excellent scenery, guiding was fair to excellent, reasonable value, swoop organizers were helpful and responsive to issues. Cons: lodging was variable..refugios are not a highlight...some better than others, food options also variable, should have easy hikes first and move to progressively harder hikes instead of the reverse!!! If you can afford it, choose a better option...if not, grim and bear it!

Seeing and hearing the Pia glacier calving twice while standing in front of it!

Torres del Paine was amazing, Both the Explora hotel and the region. Calafate hotel was fine, but Pepita Morena tour and Estancia Christina were both great. The cruise from Ushaia was nice.

Hiking on the Perito Moreno glacier!

Highlights, trekking to el Chalten, Laguna Capri and Las Torres; visiting Perito Moreno Glacier. The landscapes were stunning and the wildlife was everywhere. The people were lovely. Have told many friends/family and will likely tell more. Surprises? Yes. The weather! We were graced with sunshine on our treks. A clear sky and still water at el Chalten. The guides had never seen a day like that ever. The magical moment was when I reached base of Las Torres. I rounded a corner and boom, there I was.

The highlight was the amazing landscape and how it changed every day. The refugios were more comfortable than expected (didn't expect a bar!) and the staff were friendly. We were pleasantly surprised to get a pisco sour on the boat back across lake grey complete with glacier ice cubes. Personally my most magical moment was getting engaged at the base of the towers, somewhere I've wanted to go for as long as I can remember!!! Thank you for making it happen!

There were two. Making the trek over the John Gardner Pass to see the massive glacier and climbing up to see The Towers.

Seeing a glacier and glacial lake for the first time.

Hiking torres del paine with our guide and hiking group

The "W" (your part of our trip to Patagonia) exceeded our expectations. We were prepared for, as you must be, autumn Patagonia rain and were delightfully surprised by shorts and t-shirt weather. The guides were terrific, the other hikers a real joy to be around, and the refugios quite comfortable. Food was both healthy and plentiful. We hike around big rock piles all the time (Bend, OR), so the reason we take these trips is to have new experiences and meet other people. Everyone could not have been any nicer or (for the most part) polite. The only advice we might add is: take your time, don't allow yourself to get sucked into a "got-to-get-there-now" attitude. Amble, turn around once in a while, then amble some more: the view is everywhere. Food, showers and conversation come soon enough; most of the magic happens on the trail.

The hike to Las Torres lookout. We were not able to see Las Torres, but the hike was incredible and the weather very challenging. Our guide, Jose, was incredibly insightful and knowledgeable about the geology, flora and fauna, and history.

The overall experience, especially the views and the nature of course.

Sunrise the day we hiked to the Base of Torres del Paine. We were so lucky and got to see them with minimal cloud coverage.

The first view of the Horns in Torres Del Paine.

The highlight (and hardest part) was the remoteness of the area and bushwacking and cold river crossings. The scenery was unbelievable and not like anything I've seen before. Even though we were very remote and rustic and not on a trail, I always felt in good hands and safe with our guides Diego and Christian. Always upbeat and you felt they could handle any situation that arose. The surprise was the difficulty of the terrain and navigating without a trail! It was magical to not see another human being other than our group for our entire trek!

Torres Del Paine hike to Base of Towers, Chilean Flamingos, Perito Moreno glacier, penguins

We did the w trek west to east, so we were able to hike las Torres at sunrise which was definitely the most magical and memorable moment.

The guides are knowledgeable, kind, and friendly. One guide in particular made the trip for one of us life changing. Javier Lagos helped her summit Torres del Paine one step at a time. He never give up and did not let her give up on herself and ability to complete the trek. Putting one step ahead of the other she completed the trek with a smile on her face. He helped her find her WILL POWER.

80 knot winds, beautiful scenery and great food.