Any ideas for what to do during a 3-week trip to the Patagonia?

I'm flying into Santiago and then into Punta Arenas. Then have plans to spend some time in Torres del Paine.

I won't be doing any serious climbing this trip but I am looking for any good hikes to do, villages to visit, pubs to frequent, etc.......

Deb and I had previous plans to trek Torres Del Paines but decided on the Fitzroy Massif area instead because we wanted to enjoy it's proximity to El Chalten (easy to get to and from excursions). There is a guide service that enabled us to customize our trip at a decent price (one of the those services involved doing a 6 pitch 5.9 route on the Sword and over the shoulder of Fitzroy and rap 10 pitches to the glacier on the other side). Unfortunately, we had to postpone our trip till 2008.

Torres del Paine is nice, but for my money I'd go to El Chalten. If you can do both, even better. El Califate is a necessary stop on the way to El Chalten, but I wouldn't plan to spend much time there, as it is really touristy. The area glaciers are worth seeing (esp. Moreno) but they too are heavily touristed.

The other benefit is that the prices in Argentina are much better than in Chile.

Dave Daly wrote:Deb and I had previous plans to trek Torres Del Paines but decided on the Fitzroy Massif area instead because we wanted to enjoy it's proximity to El Chalten (easy to get to and from excursions). There is a guide service that enabled us to customize our trip at a decent price (one of the those services involved doing a 6 pitch 5.9 route on the Sword and over the shoulder of Fitzroy and rap 10 pitches to the glacier on the other side). Unfortunately, we had to postpone our trip till 2008.

Any recommondations on a guiding outfit down there? How about cost?

What you describe above sounds pretty darn appealing. Maybe I will have to bring along some gear afterall.

Mick -

sent you an email on your SP email.

Cheers,
Dave

I'm glad this topic came up. My wife and I are actually considering a trip to Patagonia as well. We're mostly looking for some good hikes, pubs, etc. like Mick B. Right now we're considering the Torres del Paine region or the Fitzroy Massif area, but from Dave said it looks like the Fitzroy area is the better choice. We'll probably stay away from the guiding services and just wing it ourselves. Any info/experiences about traveling in Patagonia would be great.

Just to set the record straight, Deb and I wanted a trip that was a step up above just trekking.....more technical.

Ryan -

I'd chat with JD if that's what you'd like for an itinerary.

Dave Daly wrote:Just to set the record straight, Deb and I wanted a trip that was a step up above just trekking.....more technical.

Ryan -

I'd chat with JD if that's what you'd like for an itinerary.

Thanks Dave. I think what we'd like to do is spend about 70% of our time trekking around in the backcountry (sleeping in tents), and the other 30% of our time staying in motels and exploring the local communities. Our trip will be at least 2 weeks long; we're saving our vacation time and will hopefully make it to Patagonia around January 2008. I don't think were up for any big wall climbing, although it would be great to hike in some high elevations.

On another note, how safe is it to trek in Fitzroy region and camp? I haven't heard any stories about thieves or violence, so I'm assuming it's pretty safe.

The population of El Chalten is about 400 only.
I have never seen any thief there, perhaps some tourists.
I have many tracks and waypoints from this area to use with Mapsource.
If somebody needs them I will send the file.

poice2004 wrote:The population of El Chalten is about 400 only.
I have never seen any thief there, perhaps some tourists.
I have many tracks and waypoints from this area to use with Mapsource.
If somebody needs them I will send the file.

Poice2004,

If you could pass along that Mapsource file, that would be great. Any extra resources are helpful.

I would say that Fitzroy and Cerro Torre are the most spectacular mountains down there. However, the Torres and Cuernos del Paine are worth visiting. I had only two weeks and was able to go to both places. I think for trekking, the Torres loop is hard to beat. As of 5 years ago when I was down there, there wasnt really a multi-day trek in Fitzroy- better for dayhikes. I actually rented a car in Puerto Natales and crossed into Argentina- there was a bit of a hassle crossing the border but I didnt have to rely on bus service. Glacier Moreno is very impressive but not much else there after a very long drive on dirt roads. I would say thay El Chalten was my least favorite place I went- maybe the worst hotel Ive ever stayed in and very unfriendly. I'd definitely camp instead if I were around El Chalten. A couple of pizza places in El Chalten were good. I had some great seafood in Punta Arenas and Puerto Natales.

I'm not I technical climber so I cant comment on climbing other that to say they have notoriously bad weather and many people wait weeks or even months to do climbs. These mountains are much more difficult than anything in the US, thats for sure.

morrison_ryan wrote:

poice2004 wrote:The population of El Chalten is about 400 only.
I have never seen any thief there, perhaps some tourists.
I have many tracks and waypoints from this area to use with Mapsource.
If somebody needs them I will send the file.

Poice2004,

If you could pass along that Mapsource file, that would be great. Any extra resources are helpful.

Me too. Garmin has nothing in the form of map data for SA. Hook a brother up!

Argentina is the country of the cow, and they sure do prepare it well, yum my mouth is watering thinking about the amazing meat I ate there.

I'll take mine medium rare with a glass of Argentine Malbec!!!!!!