Chile '25 • Day 11: Torres del Paine, Chile

INTO THE PARK

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The Massif on the way into Torres del Paine National Park

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BE PREPARED

As they say, you need to be prepared for any kind of weather in Patagonia, even in summer. There is rain in the forecast all week though none today, BUT there was so much wind we couldn’t do our planned day hike to Mirador Cuernos. Park staff were turning everyone away from even getting on the trail. Instead, we decided to do some driving around the park to see what we could see. Somewhere on the way to the Paine Waterfall, I think it was at the Nordenskjöld Lake lookout we got out for some photos and the wind was so strong we could barely stand up and it was difficult to hold a camera steady. We heard later that there have been winds strong enough to knock over a bus. I totally believe it!

Notice the crazy blue green color of the lake, which is fed from glacier water. It really looks like this! It's a photographers paradise in this weather, because teh cloudsd are moving fast and like the Grand Canyon, the light is constantly changing on the subject. When I finally catch up on the trip blog I'll create a SmugMug gallery with all the shots from my Canon. These are pretty much all iPhone photos.

Nordenskjöld Lake

When we arrived at the Paine Waterfall, winds were much less strong and the sun was out. From here you can get some views on the backside of the incredible massif always in view at Torres del Paine.

We ended up at the Las Torres Hotel/Lodge for a short nature walk. This stop is along the famous ‘W’ trail which is a multi day trek. Better bring gear for all weather, that’s for sure. There were a lot of hikers, mostly ones that had been hiking I think as they all looked pretty exhausted.

WOW: THE VIEWS ARE EVERYWHERE!

View from the Road!

View from our Room!