The Other Spot

Torres del Paine National Park is a national park in southern Chile. It is the complex of mountains, glaciers, lakes and rivers. The park is located 112 km north of Puerto Natales, 312 km north of Punta Arenas. West lies the National Park Bernardo O’Higgens and in the north, the Los Glaciares National Park in Argentina.

The park was founded in 1959 as Parque Nacional de Turismo Lago Gray and got its present name in 1970. The park is designated in 1978 by UNESCO as World Biosphere Reserve.

Lady Florence Dixie said, in her book in 1880 a description of the environment and refers to the three towers as Cleopatra’s needle. She was one of the first visitors from Europe today National Park Torres del Plaine. In the following decades, several European scientists visited the area, including Otto Nordenskiöld, Carl Skottsberg and Alberto María de Agostini.

The landscape of the park is dominated by mountains with the Pain River on the east side of Gray Glacier strong rises above the Patagonian steppe. There are small valleys : Valle del Frances, Bader Valle, Valle Ascencio and Valle del Silencio.

Valle del Frances has a very impressive cliffs. To the east lie the tops Fortaleza, La Espada (sword), La Hoja (leaf), La Mascara, Cuerno Norte and Cuerno Principal.

A large part of the Pain Massif consists of the Cretaceous rocks settled. Various erosion processes were responsible for the current form in the past ten thousand years.

There are several lakes such as the Dicksonmeer, Nordenskjöldmeer, Pehoemeer, Gray Lake, Sarmientomeer and Del Toro Lake. The Pain River is the main river of the park.

The vegetation includes the plants Embothrium coccineum with red flowers and Calceolaria uniflora with a striking shape and color. The park has seven types ochideën including Cloraea magellanica. In the park, 85 non-native plant species, including 75 of European origin. The park has four vegetation zones: Patagonian steppe, Pre-Andean scrub ecosystems, Magellanic sheet verliezend Andean forest and desert.

The national park covers an area of about 2400 km² and is a popular hiking destination. There are clearly marked footpaths and many refugios. There is the more popular “W” route of about five days or a full haul of 8-9 days. Hikers should not rely on the paths. Camping is allowed only on certain sites. Wood burning is prohibited.

Don’t forget to come to this heavenly spot whenever you have a time in South America…