From Castillo National Park to General Carrera Lake and Tierra del Fuego, Chile offers amazing landscapes and glaciers for travelers from all over the world looking for new adventures to explore.
Traveling through Patagonia will allow you to enjoy incredible destinations at your own pace, connecting yourself with nature and making new friends. Here we tell you about the hiking trips you can do in Patagonia.
Where can I go trekking in Patagonia?
Chilean Patagonia is an excellent option to undertake this kind of adventure. It has beautiful landscapes, peaceful, good hotel accommodations and much more. However, the extension of southern Chile is very large and if you have limited time for your trip, you probably won’t know which destination to decide on.
Here we are going to tell you some of the main places you have to take into account when you are planning this crossing.
Cerro Castillo Trek
Cerro Castillo is a national park which was long ago the hunting territory of the Tehuelche tribes of Patagonia, today is a province that preserves its natural heritage safe from environmental destruction. The extensive forests of lengas, ñirres and coigües are shown all the way, you also can appreciate steppes and scrub of calafate as well as the endemic chilco.
From the turquoise lagoon, the view encompasses the characteristic landscape of this area and basks in the hanging glaciers of the Castillo.From the viewpoint, it seems to be able to be touched with the hand, inviting to walk on the moraine. The Park protects huemules, pumas, chingues and foxes that with luck you will be able to see and photograph during the walk.
San Valentin Hill
The highest mountain in Chilean Patagonia, Mount San Valentín or San Clemente is the highest peak of the Northern Ice Field in Laguna San Rafael National Park and Biosphere Reserve.
The so-called White Roof of Patagonia was discovered only in 1920 from the top the view shows unforgettable landscapes of the lagoon and the San Rafael glacier with its 4,058 meters above sea level. The first ascent happened in 1952. From the summit there is an impressive view of the surrounding mountains that reaches up to General Carrera Lake and the San Lorenzo hill.
Including the binational border at the east and to the west the Patagonian channels and archipelagos. The San Valentine thus rewards those who dare.
Cerro San Lorenzo
From the summit of Cerro San Lorenzo, on a clear day you can see Mount San Valentín, in the North Ice Field, the Fitz Roy in the South Ice Field, the endless Argentine pampas as well as the wildest western rivers, glaciers and mountains of Chile. No must-see trekking destinations in the Andes!
Massif San Lorenzo
Also called Monte Cochrane in Chile, it is the second highest mountain of the Patagonian Andes, 3700 meters above sea level, after San Valentín and its summit marks the Chilean-Argentine border. It is located at the southern end of the North Ice field; it has permanent snow at its top while the slopes support abundant mountain vegetation.
General Carrera Lake
The wild north shore of the General Carrera Lake, the largest lake in Chile, is one of the most spectacular and recommended destinations. This massive extension of water is a beautiful turquoise color due to its glacial origin. The Tehuelche named Chelenco, “stormy waters”, before the political border existe between Chile and Argentina .
The lake shows the present and past confused in the landscape and builds traditions and local cultures as no one else on earth. Chelenco reminds us that in patagonia there is no time to die. There you can find authentic pioneers settled in unknown places, get to know an old lead and zinc mining operation in Puerto Cristal or wade the Avellano River on horseback.
You may be interested in: The essential elements that you should take for your trekking
Hazel Mountain Range
The small Avellano mountain range in the south of Coyhaique is a recent mountaineering Chilean location discovered in the remote Patagonian lands, that has so far been very little visited. It does not have shelters or support for hikers, there is no proper mapping and the old logging trails now used by Chilean and foreign visitors are not marked. This granite complex was sculpted by glaciers that created an unusual geography of needles, towers and walls ideal for highly technical climbing, similar to those found in Fitz Roy and Torres del Paine.
Navarro teeth
The trail that runs through the Dientes de Navarino mountain range in Tierra del Fuego is considered the southernmost trek in the world and one of the most challenging in Chile. Located in an area even more remote than Torres del Paine, it is a 6-day tour who passes through Magellan forests of coihues, lengas and ñirres; viewpoints with spectacular panoramic views of the Beagle Channel and the Darwin Mountain Range; this trek offers unique views of the sharp points that have given the trail its name.
On this high-level trek it is also possible to see small forests of mosses and lichens, some of which cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
If you want to be surprised and explore these amazing places where the connection with nature and adventure are extraordinary, at Tolhuin Expeditions we guide you to your next expeditions in South America. We offer you exploration to the different destinations through the Chilean Patagonia to live with you what you want to live as unforgettable experiences.
