William Leitch comments in his book, South America's National Parks, "if fate gave you an opportunity to experience one and only one of South America's panoply of national parks, it would have to be Parque Nacional Torres del Paine.” He continues, “it is the sort of park that changes its visitors by setting standards of sheer sensory impact against which all other parks are thereafter measured . . . [and] the loop trail is one of the best scenic walking tours in South America!" Created in 1970, Torres del Paine Park boasts dense southern beech forests, dotted with fields of daisies and lupines, spectacular lakes, and turquoise-colored glaciers that descend from the only Continental Ice Cap outside of the poles. The region supports a variety of wildlife, including guanacos, ñandús, foxes, huemels and pumas in addition to flamingos, swans, upland geese, ibises, Magellanic woodpeckers and condors. Towering above it all are the dramatic granite spires whose near-vertical walls are world-renowned!

This is the classic adventure in Torres del Paine, featuring a challenging trek around the principal range to which Leitch refers. It has been designed for those who enjoy wilderness hiking and want to experience the best of the incredible Patagonian Andes. From Santiago, we fly south to Punta Arenas. The next day, we continue driving north, passing Puerto Natales on the Last Hope Sound, to Paine Park and start our 9-day circumnavigation of the range. Our route begins near the Ascencio River with a hike to the climbers' basecamp at the foot of the Towers. We then follow the Paine River, through rolling hills and dense forests, past Dickson Lake, to ascend a steep, 4,000', scree-covered pass, where we have expansive views of the massive Continental Ice Cap. We descend the other side and continue, beside the magnificent Grey Glacier, before we spend our final night in the park at a cozy hostería.