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| The most compelling landmarks in Patagonia are undoubtedly the unearthly spires of the Fitzroy Massif and the great granite monoliths of Paine National park, yet there is much more wild beauty in this extreme southern land. our lodge-based Patagonian ramble includes extensive hiking exploration in the granite-and-glacier worlds of Paine and Fitzroy, and stay at an historic ranch on the Patagonian steppes, and a cruise into the Beagle Channel in wild and windswept Tierra del Fuego, "the uttermost end of the earth." In Fitzroy and Paine, our hikes are long but moderate and below 4,000 feet in altitude--and,of course, all hikes are amply rewarded by some of the best mountain scenery in the world.patagonian wildlife deserves mention, too: on our travels we should see herds of guanacos (cousins to llamas) and possibly pumas, as well as birdlife that includes rheas, parrots, soaring condors, and pink flamingos. |
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In the Patagonian outpost of Ushuaia on the tip of South America, we cruise along the beagle Channel, named for Darwin's H.M.S. Beagle, keeping an eye out for southern sea lion, fur seals, and many species of seabirds. The next day we hike along the bays of the Beagle Channel and into the native canelo. beech, and wild cherry forests of Lapataia National Park.
4 - 5: Estancia Helsingfors
On the Patagonian steppes, we stay at Estancia helsingfors, a spectacularly located homestead now converted to a wonderful lodge. Here we can hike, look for wildlife, watch activities at a local sheep ranch, and enjoy our first magnificent views of the Fitzroy Massif.
6 - 8: Hiking in Glacier National Park
We cross the pampas into Glacier National Park, with its towering granite mountains, long white glaciers, sparkling lakes, and southern beech forests. We stay in a comfortable lodge and take a new hike each day for stunning perspectives of Fitzroy (11,703') and the needle-like spike called Cerro Torre (10,280'), one of the world's fabled wall climbs.
9 - 10: Calafate / Moreno Glacier
From the village of Calafate on glacier-fed Lago Argentino, we enter a new district of Glacier National Park where trails lead out onto the ice of the breathtaking Moreno Glacier. The sounds here are as amazing as the sights of the glacier's ten-story-high icewall, with its ice chunks hurtling into Iceberg Channel below.
11 - 14: Hiking in Paine National Park
Just across the boarder in Chile we discover Paine National Park. We stay in different lodges to explore the park and enjoy hikes up to Grey Glacier, Logo Azul, and Ascension Valley. Paine's granite towers sweep straight up from the windswept pampas.
15 - 16: Punta Arenas / Return to US
We fly home from Punta Arenas on the Straits of Magellan.
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