MULTISPORT TORRES DEL PAINE (5 DAYS)

Our first day starts cycling alongside Eberhard Fjord to Puerto Pratt, the first Chilean town officially created in 1899 with the purpose of consolidating Chilean territory in Última Esperanza. Continue to Puerto Consuelo, an estancia founded in 1893 by Hermann Eberhard while he was searching for suitable land to farm sheep. From his settlement, Eberhard explored the area and eventually discovered the Mylodon Cave, your next stop!

Declared a historic monument in 1968 and a national monument in 1993, the Mylodon Cave holds countless stories of some of the first groups of humans on the continent. Men and women, who we first heard about in 1985 when Eberhard discovered prehistoric Mylodon skin remnants, found refuge from unpredictable weather in the cave while on the lookout for this wild megafauna.

After a stroll inside the cave we’ll hike along the Rupestre trail for the next 4 hours. Along the way, we will be able to admire forests filled with typical Patagonian trees such as Ñirre, Lenga, and Coihue. Additionally, we will discover three hidden caves with impressive cave paintings and enjoy a wide viewpoint, where it is common to observe majestic condors in full flight. Afterwards, our private transfer will take us to the accommodation for today: our exclusive Riverside Camp!

Today’s destination, the French Valley, is a spectacular natural basin surrounded by peaks and hanging glaciers.

To get there we’ll take a short transfer to Pehoe Lake and cross it by catamaran. At the entrance to the French Valley – a glacial moraine – you’ll scramble over huge boulders and catch the first sight of the hanging glacier atop the valley.

From this point, you’ll ascend for an hour through a dreamlike Japanese garden landscape before arriving at the French Valley viewpoint (the “Plateau”).

Your reward is a heart-stirring bird’s eye view of granite peaks and hanging glaciers. To one side, the French Glacier and Paine Grande (3,050 m / 10,006 ft.); while to the other, La Espada, La Hoja, La Máscara and the main and north “horns” of Los Cuernos arch upwards.

In the upper section of the Valley, Cerro Catedral and Cerro Fortaleza loom like turrets above the landscape.

Take your time to have lunch at the viewpoint, surrounded by these imposing peaks and open skies. Our return hike is along the same track.

We’ll take the catamaran back across Pehoe Lake followed by a private transfer to Chile Nativo Riverside Camp.

After breakfast, our transfer will take us along the Paine River past Lake Pehoe to Pudeto where we will begin our first gentle round-trip hike for the day.
We will pass by the Salto Grande Waterfall where the Nordenskjöld Lake flows into the Pehoe Lake creating a magnificent turquoise blue water.
We can enjoy the area’s boardwalk with offers spectacular views of the lake as well as the Paine Grande & Cuernos mountains.
Continuing on along a gentle path, we will pass by an open area where the effects of the 2005 national park fire can be seen. Our trail takes us along the black sandy beach of Nordenskjöld Lake where one can feel the powerful Patagonia winds before arriving up top to the Cuernos lookout point which offers captivating views of the French Valley, Los Cuernos, and Paine Grande mountain.
Listen closely as you can hear the valley´s glaciers as they shake and move down the icy rock. Taking the same path back, we will enjoy a fresh snack, fresh drink, and short rest before our private transfer takes us to our next trailhead!
After a short 30 minute transfer, we’ll set off from the Sarmiento Lake ranger station in route to the Laguna Amarga area.
Hiking along a beautiful wildlife observation trail which connects two of the four park entrances, we’ll be able to photograph some spectacular landscapes and observe guanacos and a wide variety of endemic waterbird species who frequent this area for nesting and feeding.
The coscoroba swan, upland goose, caiquenes, and black-neck swans are just a few of the species we can see along our way.
After about an hour of hiking, we will reach a rock eave formation where a series of cave paintings dating back to 6,000 years ago can be observed.
We will learn about this section’s history and some of the first inhabitants of Patagonia who frequented this area to hunt. This trail crosses through a very special landscape of the park which has several small lagoons and wonderful frontal views of the Paine Massif.
This sector is also a place where Pumas tend to frequent due to it’s prime conditions for hunting guanacos! Arriving to the Laguna Amarga entrance, our private transfer awaits where it will transfer us to our accommodation.

After an early breakfast your transfer will drive you to Grey Lake to meet your kayaking guide. Here, with views of Paine Grande and Grey Glacier as our morning backdrop, you’ll be briefed on kayaking safety and paddling techniques.

You’ll paddle Grey Lake for approximately 2 hours, weaving amongst the floating icebergs that have calved from the glacier and been whittled into natural ice sculptures by the wind and sun.

While paddling, take time to look around you: the granite peaks of Paine Grande, Cordon Olguín and Los Cuernos interplay beautifully with the water’s multiple shades of turquoise.

Leaving Grey Lake we’ll begin our descent of Grey River, which snakes through canyons bubbling with rapids and framed by steep rock faces.

Accompanied by views of the imposing Paine Massif, we’ll paddle for 25 km (15.5 miles) down Grey River until it joins the Serrano River.

After 4-5 hours of paddling we’ll arrive back at our campsite ready to stretch our muscles and prepare for dinner and rest.

Our final day begins with a transfer across the National Park to the starting point for the trek to the three Towers.

Your hike begins with an hour’s ascent, following the Ascencio River into the Ascencio Valley.

Here we’ll stop to observe how the valley’s beauty unfolds with rich beech forests, glaciers and waterfalls.

Past this lookout point, we continue uphill, this time ascending a gigantic terminal moraine (a ridge formed at a glacier’s end point) where we’ll be rewarded by the arresting sight of the Towers themselves.

At this lookout point 900 meters (2,952 ft.) above sea level, we’ll rest, take photos and have lunch.

Our descent follows the same path and a private transfer will end our journey back in Puerto Natales.