Chile travel guide

Torres del Paine National Park covers approximately 180,000 acres, and one can easily spend 2-3 days in the park. The area is beautiful and very varied with mountains, glaciers, forests, beautiful ice blue lakes and is covered with fire bushes with bright red flowers. A number of mammals live there, for instance several fox species, guanacos (a llama species), huemuls (a deer species) and pumas - the latter very rarely. It is also here that the mountain range Torres del Paine is located, and when trekking to the higher peaks, it can be a challenge to stand firm on the hillside, where you encounter the wild winds of Patagonia.

If you go trekking in Torres del Paine National Park, it is a must to "climb" - or at least hike to the base of - Torres del Paine mountain range with its three pointy mountain peaks. It is a beautiful sight to see the three towers throne towards the sky with the ice blue lake below, where glacier water accumulates. The South, North and Central Towers, as they are called, are about 2200-2500 metres high, made of granite and created by glacial ice. There are fairly good hiking trails in the area, while the last path to the towers is somewhat more impracticable. But the view from there is really worth it!

Just a short distance from San Pedro de Atacama is the Vale de la Luna. Its name comes from the moon-like landscape of this part of the Atacama desert. In the valley of the moon are narrow canyons to explore and amazing rock formations in all kind of shapes. One of such valleys is the canyon de sal where, when there aren’t any people around, it is extremely quiet except for the crackling sounds of the salt deposits in the rocks. One of the prettiest rock formations is called the amphitheatre, which looks like the name it has been given and is especially pretty with the Licancabur volcano in the background.
When visiting just before sunset, the colours of the desert are even more striking. Just try to avoid going to the same spot as hundreds of other visitors to se the sun set.