Torres del Paine had been high on our list for a long time. What particularly attracted us was the combination of extraordinary mountain scenery and the opportunity to explore it on relatively short day walks. For photography, it was almost ideal: dramatic granite peaks, turquoise lakes and glaciers, with Patagonia’s constantly changing light and weather transforming the landscape from one hour to the next.
At the heart of the park are the unmistakable granite peaks of the Paine Massif, rising abruptly above lakes, glaciers and the open Patagonian steppe. A network of trails and viewpoints makes much of this remarkable landscape surprisingly accessible, while guanacos, condors and other wildlife add another dimension to a visit.
The Paine Massif seen from the Serrano area on the southern side of the park.
The first light of sunrise catches the peaks of the Paine Massif as cloud drifts across the mountains.
Dramatic light on the Cuernos del Paine, Patagonia
Exploring Torres del Paine
Torres del Paine is a large park, but many of its most impressive landscapes can be explored on relatively short walks or from viewpoints reached by road. We concentrated on a number of locations around the park that offered a mixture of walking, wildlife and photography, each revealing a different side of the landscape.
Where to Stay
If you want to stay inside Torres del Paine, it is worth booking well in advance, particularly during the summer months. There are, however, good options just outside the park that avoid having to drive back to Puerto Natales each day. We spent two nights near the southern entrance at Serrano and another two nights at Cerro Castillo, around 40 minutes from the eastern entrance. Splitting our stay between the two worked very well and gave us easy access to different parts of the park.
Grey Glacier Viewpoints
The walk from the Lago Grey visitor centre to Isla de los Hielos is an easy round trip of around two hours. However, with numerous stops for photography, the walk took us considerably longer. During our visit, the weather was bitterly cold, with the wind howling down from Grey Glacier and across the lake. The walk along the beach towards the viewpoint felt incredibly atmospheric, with Grey Glacier visible across the lake beneath the surrounding mountains.
Grey Glacier seen across Lago Grey, around three kilometres from the viewpoint.
The walk falls naturally into three quite different sections. It begins on an easy path through the forest before emerging onto the shore of Lago Grey. From there, the route crosses the broad shingle beach towards Isla de los Hielos, before becoming a little more technical as it climbs along the side of the small island to the viewpoint at its far end.
Salto Grande and the Cuernos Walk
The area around Salto Grande offers one of the best combinations of short walks and mountain views in Torres del Paine. From Lago Pehoé, the route takes in Salto Grande before continuing towards Mirador Los Cuernos, with views across Lago Nordenskjöld towards the Cuernos del Paine. It is an easy area to explore on foot and offers an extraordinary variety of landscapes over a relatively short distance.
Lago Pehoé
Lago Pehoé and Hostería Pehoé, with the Cuernos del Paine rising beyond the turquoise waters of the lake.
Lago Pehoé provides one of the classic views of the Paine Massif, with its turquoise water and the Cuernos rising beyond the lake. Hostería Pehoé sits on a small island reached by the footbridge visible in the photograph and is well worth a visit. We stopped there on our way back after completing the walk, and the excellent hot chocolate and food made it a very welcome place to warm up after a day outside.
Salto Grande
Salto Grande is a short walk from the upper car park, following a good path to viewpoints overlooking the waterfall. It was one of the busier places we visited in Torres del Paine, with several coach parties arriving while we were there, but there was still plenty of space around the viewpoints. The path is straightforward and should make the waterfall accessible to most visitors.
The powerful turquoise waters of Salto Grande as they plunge over the falls.
Salto Grande and the Río Paine flowing through the surrounding Patagonian landscape.
Looking down into the churning water and spray at Salto Grande.
Lago Nordenskjöld
Beyond Salto Grande, the path continues towards Mirador Los Cuernos. The trail becomes a little rougher but is noticeably quieter, with lovely views across the bays and small islands of Lago Nordenskjöld along the way. As the path approaches the viewpoint, the Cuernos del Paine increasingly dominate the landscape, culminating in a spectacular view across Lago Nordenskjöld towards the mountains.
Water draining from Lago Nordenskjöld through the cascades above Salto Grande, with the Paine Massif rising beyond.
The trail towards Mirador Los Cuernos, with mountain views opening up along the way.
Looking across Lago Nordenskjöld towards the Cuernos del Paine.
Lago Nordenskjöld forms an impressive divide through this part of the park. From the relatively accessible paths along its southern shore, you look across the water towards the much wilder terrain along its northern shore, crossed by some of Torres del Paine's longer trekking routes.
Looking across Lago Nordenskjöld towards the Cuernos del Paine from Mirador Los Cuernos.
Mirador Los Cuernos
Mirador Los Cuernos is the natural destination for the walk from Salto Grande. By the time you reach the viewpoint, the Cuernos del Paine feel remarkably close, their sheer granite faces rising above the surrounding ridges. We stopped here for lunch and spent quite a while with the cameras, watching the constantly changing cloud and light move across the mountains. An Andean condor soaring overhead and various other birds around the viewpoint gave us even more reason to linger before eventually retracing our route to Salto Grande.
Lenticular clouds forming above the Cuernos del Paine.
The Cuernos del Paine rising dramatically from the surrounding ridges.
A closer view of the distinctive granite peaks of the Cuernos del Paine.
Glaciers and snowfields high in the Paine Massif.
Lago del Toro Lookout
Just a short way beyond Puente Weber is the start of the walk to the Lago del Toro lookout. It makes a lovely half-day hike, climbing steadily above the Serrano River valley, with increasingly impressive views towards the Cuernos del Paine for much of the way. Higher up, the route crosses some steep and challenging scree slopes, which made the climb more exciting but still very enjoyable. From the top, the panorama opens out across the Serrano River valley and surrounding lakes, with the mountains of Torres del Paine stretching away in the opposite direction. There appear to be several other trails in this area, although we didn't have time to explore them.
Cascada del Rio Paine
Cascada del Río Paine is an easy stop from the road and requires very little walking to reach the viewpoints. Rather than a single large waterfall, the Río Paine tumbles over a series of broad rocky ledges, with the mountains rising behind it. The combination of rushing water and the distant Torres makes this a particularly good location for photography, and it is well worth the short detour while exploring this part of the park.
Cascada del Río Paine, with the Torres del Paine rising in the distance.
Laguna Azul
Laguna Azul was the main destination for our last full day in Torres del Paine. On the quieter eastern side of the park, it feels noticeably removed from the busier areas around the main sights. The drive from the main road is quite long, and once there we found the paths less obvious than elsewhere in the park, never quite finding the route we had intended to follow. Even so, the trip was well worthwhile. From the lakeshore there are beautiful views across Laguna Azul towards the distant Torres del Paine, and the relative solitude made it a very different experience from the more frequently visited parts of the park.
The quiet shoreline of Laguna Azul on the eastern side of Torres del Paine.
Looking across Laguna Azul towards the distant Torres del Paine.
The Torres del Paine seen from Laguna Azul, partly disappearing into the cloud.
Guanacos of Torres del Paine
When we saw our first guanacos in Torres del Paine, we felt incredibly lucky. Over the next four days, however, we encountered many different groups and soon realised just how common they are throughout the park. They quickly became a familiar part of the landscape, often seen grazing on the open steppe or beside the road.
A guanaco among the Patagonian vegetation in Torres del Paine.
Guanacos are a common sight across the open landscapes of Torres del Paine.
A group of guanacos grazing on the Patagonian steppe.
