- Buenos Aires : Explore over the weekend
- Gaucho Day Trip from Buenos Aires
- Visit Ushuaia : Tierra del Fuego National Park
- Visit Ushuaia : Laguna Esmeralda Hike
- Visit Ushuaia : Cruise on the Beagle Channel
- Explore Heart of Patagonia : El Calafate
- Explore El Chalten : Hike Laguna Capri and Chorillo del Saltado
- Explore Torres Del Paine from El Calafate
- Half Day trip from El Calafate to Perito Moreno Glacier
- An evening train to Tigre Delta
To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it’s taken for granted.Unknown
The highlight of our Argentina exploration has been the exploring the enchanting Patagonian wilderness in Ushuaia and then in El Calafate. However, this wouldn’t be complete without exploring the Torres Del Paine national park in Chile. Drive and explore Torres Del Paine from El Calafate with us
Our initial plan was to do a long day trip from El Calafate to the national park, however this had to change, and we had to improvise. Firstly, the friendly lady at the car rental said us that the road suggested by google is the not advisable as it’s a gravel road, so best go to Esperanza and then drive to the border at Cancha Carrera – which meant additional journey time. Secondly the weather gods had finally changed their minds after warm spells in Ushuaia and El Chalten, and it was now clouds, raining and bitter cold. So, we decided overnight that we will change plans and spend a day in Chile – this is the first time we did an impromptu plan on the go – that too involving a newer country. We quickly booked an accommodation around Puerto Natales and off we went to what Addy calls the “Spicy Country” – Chile.
Tip 1
Google maps shows a deviation on Route 40 (El Cerrito) to the border of Cancha Carrera. Don’t take this deviation, drive all the way to Esperanza and then onto the border. We did try the deviation for a mile or so and it was simply horrible – the road was very rough and bumpy for 65 km!
Tip 2
If you are driving a rental car from Argentina to Chile – You would need to get a Chile pass. This can be arranged with the car rental company and is mandatory. Please let the car rental company know in advance and costed us around 169$
We were quite tired after our hike of El Chalten the previous day , so we left leisurely and head towards the Chilean border. The drive was like that off El Chalten with beautiful landscape, Guanaco, Rhea birds, miles of straight road against the dust barren land. We had a pit stop at Esperanza and headed east towards the border
Tip 3
There are not many fuel stations around Patagonia. So if you are driving to Chile – Fill up at the ONLY fuel station(EPA) at Esperanza
This was our first land crossing into a different country and which involved an immigration. We imagine a border to be secure with fences, military personnel, secure budlings, gates etc. Google asked us to veer from the road, turn right and we were on a muddy gravel road just miles away from the border. All I could see was just mountains and a dirt track, I had my doubts if we were lost, but as usual we trusted google maps and she wasn’t wrong. In the middle of nowhere was a little building which was essentially the border/immigration office and more.
We all had to disembark on the Argentinian side and check our passports, the car pass for Chile and were handed over a little piece of paper – keep it handy always. We were then waved off before entering the ‘No man’s land’, so the Chilean border isn’t immediately after the Argentinian one. We drove for another 2 km’s before seeing other set of buildings which was the Chilean border. Had to get off and get all the docs checked, also bags scanned, and one officer checked the boot of the car for food – I wouldn’t say it was very thorough. The Immigration officer gave a piece of paper which you need to keep very carefully till the point you leave Chile. All done – we were finally in Chile.
Tip 4
You are not allowed to take any food across the border to Chile. So get rid of any fruits, dairy, meat etc. Packed snacks are fine but raw produce or cooked food isn’t allowed.
The roads got better here – more paved and concrete roads. And to our surprise the landscape and vegetation changed as well. The land wasn’t barren but more green – resembled the Ngorongoro Crater from Tanzania. It was beautiful, and the rain and low clouds added to the beauty.
Again, an impromptu plan as we had more time now in Chile and Addy had never been to a cave. When I asked her, she was very reluctant to visit a cave, as the fairy tales go –monsters stay in caves. I wanted her to see a real one – a prehistoric one. We headed straight to the Milodon cave – a 200 meters deep, 80 meters wide and 30 meters high prehistoric cave. It was here that one of the first explorers to the region found remains of The Mylodon – a giant sloth that looks with a. bear with horse face. It was estimated that the remains were close to 13000 years old.
Addy loved every bit of this place – the sheer size of the cave makes everyone looks like dwarfs. We bid goodbye to the cave and drove towards Puerto Natales – which was our final pitstop for the day and the closest town to Torres del Paine National park. Along the way I saw many signs for Puma crossings. Having seen various wild cats including the Jaguar, Leopard, Cheetah, Tiger, Lions and the Lynx – the puma was always on my list. And the Torres del national park is the best place to see one. However, with a 4 year old and also having to spend 4-5 days spotting the cat, this wasn’t possible this time around. But we know we would come back here someday to see this beautiful cat.
Soon we were at Puerto Natales, a pretty little sea side town. We stopped by the sea but it was too windy by now, so we picked up groceries filled up our tank and went straight to our accommodation – which was located a little outside the town in a very secluded little areas overlooking the mountains.
Tip 5
Similar to Argentina, Chile is heavily reliant on Cash transactions. The Accommodation we booked preferred cash – so if you are travelling to Chile either pay it beforehand or carry Cash. The exchanges at Puerto Natales offer real bad rates , especially for Non USD currencies.
We called it a day, had a nice meal of Chilean side of the steak and some instant noodles. The accommodation itself wasn’t the best as it was quite cold and a single heater in the living room meant we had to tuck ourselves in with extra layers.
We were up early and as expected it was a cloudy, windy, and rather wet day. We had planned the sunny days to explore El Calafate, El Chalten and Perito Morino glacier so had to compromise with the weather in Torres Del Paine national park.
After having a quick breakfast off we went towards the national park. The Plan was to drive around leisurely in a circular route and head towards the border. You can see the map here. The roads as we approached the national park were part paved and part gravel and quite bumpy at places. We stopped to take in the views at Mirador Cuernos Del Paine and then drove further. The national park entrance has a fee to be paid which we weren’t aware of and unfortunately you can’t pay it at the gate. So, the only option is to pay it online beforehand or using the computer terminals at the entrance office. A we had bad reception on our mobiles we opted for using the computer terminal but the site itself wasn’t loading. Finally the very helpful rangers gave us a free pass and waved us in – really thankful to them.
The road is mostly a dirt track in the national park. We drove further on our planned route before arriving at Salto Chico Falls. Here we have a majestic Luxury hotel (Explora Patagonia hotel Salto Chico) at this place, and it was hard for us to understand where exactly was the waterfall. Luckily one of the hotel workers showed us the way – just cross the car wash and enter the gates towards the hotel kitchens. On the left hand side you have a little path which takes u behind the hotel and there she was the majestic Salto Chico Waterfall.
We drove further taking in all that was on offer, the beautiful emerald lakes to lush green forest and we arrived on the banks of Lake Pehoe at Hosteria Pehoe. A beautiful hotel located in lake Pehoe with the backdrop of rolling snow peaks. We had our lunch break here – we had home-made Ravioli. There are almost no options of food/restaurants once inside the national park.
We went to Salto Grande but the road was sadly closed- maybe due to the wet weather but had options for Toilets. We stopped further down at Mirador Nordenskjöld Lake so take in more views of the national park before heading towards Cascada Rio Paine waterfall – which was quite majestic and we had Guanacos grazing on the other side of the waterfall which made a perfect backdrop.
Finally we made our way towards the border as we had a long drive back. We passed Laguna Amarga and El Lago Sarmiento before pulling up at the borders and going through the formalities again and big our goodbyes to the spicy Country – Chile. We were so happy that we executed this impromptu plan. While planning helps us stay on course and avoids being exposed to last minute panics (which is essential with a kid) – a bit of dynamism or runtime plans and the uncertainty adds to the thrill of an escapade.
Another log drive and we were back to El Calafate with loads of memories of Torres Del Paine national park.
This is Aldrin and my partner Amoli. We bring you "Earths Pilgrim" - a unique insight into our travel escapades while leaving life in a cubicle. If you are looking for some inspiration to break the shackles of a regular life, then you are the right place. Read more about us- Click here.