One week from today, I'll be on a flight to Buenos Aires before my trip to Patagonia with G Adventures!
In my initial announcement, I touched on some of the highlights from the two-week End of the Earth trip.
However, I wanted to delve further into what's in store for me and anyone else planning a trip to the region.
End of the Earth Tour: Discover South America's most beautiful scenery, including majestic mountains and massive glaciers. Click here for the full itinerary.
Table of Contents
Day 1 - Buenos Aires
The first day is when everyone is due to arrive. I'm flying in a day early to be safe but will save the serious sightseeing until after returning from Patagonia.
I'm looking forward to getting to know the city in every way -- from fine dining to crazy soccer matches, learning the sophisticated tango to partying at the late-night discotecas.
Let's see how Buenos Aires stacks up with my other favorite Latin cities, Medellin and Lima.
Days 2 & 3 - El Chalten / Glacier National Park
I imagine our first travel day will start early, as we fly from Buenos Aires to El Calafate and then transfer by bus to El Chalten.
This sets us up for a full day of hiking in Glacier National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, on Day 3.
The park features the world's 3rd largest ice field (after Antarctica and Greenland).
We'll be hiking to Laguna de Los Tres for a view of Cerro Fitzroy & Chalten (3,441 meters).
Days 4 & 5 - El Calafate / Perito Moreno Glacier
We return to El Calafate on Day 4 and drive to Perito Moreno Glacier, still within Glacier National Park.
Photos of this 60-meter high, half-mile-wide glacier are probably the images I most associate with Patagonia.
I love glaciers, and I'm super excited to see this massive one for myself.
Days 6, 7, 8 & 9 - Puerto Natales / Torres del Paine National Park
Day 6 is another travel day, and we'll be spending the evening in Puerto Natales, which sets us up for three days and two nights of camping in Torres del Paine National Park.
Hiking is estimated at 5-8 hours per day, but thankfully, altitude won't play much of a factor since the base elevation is relatively low. And I'm going to cross my fingers for great weather too!
As you might recall, quite a few large fires were burning in the park as of January.
These have been extinguished, and I recently received an update on our hiking plans from G Adventures.
Day 7: Trek as per usual to Las Torres del Paine (Towers). The group will overnight in the private Laguna Amarga campsite.
Day 8: Start this day with a catamaran to Pehoe Lake. Trek to Valle Frances (French Valley) and finish off with a catamaran back from Pehoe. Overnight in the Pehoe Ruta campsite.
Day 9: Trek along the coastline of Lake Grey to a peninsula with a viewpoint of Glacier Grey. Today will consist of a light 3-hour walk with an option of an extra 1.5-hour tough climb.
Day 10 - Punta Arenas
Chile's southernmost city boasts 100,000 people and is also the jumping-off point for our day trip to the Otway Sound penguin colony.
Days 11, 12 & 13 - Ushuaia / Beagle Channel
From Punto Arenas, we'll return to Argentina with a visit to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world and the primary jumping-off point for cruises to Antarctica.
While I didn't make it to Antarctica this year, I wanted to make sure I got a taste for the experience by visiting Ushuaia.
The primary highlight will be a cruise through the Beagle Channel to observe the unique wildlife down there.
Days 14 & 15 - Buenos Aires
The tour wraps up back in Buenos Aires, where I expect the whole group to go out together for one last night on the town.
As I mentioned at the top, I'll spend additional time in Buenos Aires -- at least four weeks. More if I love it.
End of the Earth Tour: The adventure of a lifetime awaits in Patagonia. Click here for the full itinerary.
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Disclosure: This Patagonia tour is in partnership with G Adventures. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.
Nepal Guide says
Thank you dave for posting
Heather says
Hey Brock!
So happy for you visiting Patagonia! We loved it! We were there this time last year. We did the 5-day Torres del Paine 'W' trek! One of our favorite places of our year long trip in Latin America. I hope the park is ok - heard about the devastating fires there. If you at all have time & resources, this is THE time to do a last minute trip to Antarctica. We got on a last minute boat (you have plenty of time) from Ushuaia. We left port on the Plancius on March 15th and it was by far and beyond the most beautiful, awe-inspiring, magnificent place on this earth. You must go! It's the perfect time. Have a look online - there are definitely deals to be had. We saw tons of animals and there are less ships around at the end of the season. We saw tons of penguins, humpbacks, minke whales, seals, and even a pod of 20 orcas. It's worth searching around for some deals. Best thing we have EVER done!
Heather says
Oops! Sorry, Dave. It's late here and my mind isn't quite working, but all of that stuff still holds true! Antarctica or bust!
Dave says
Thanks Heather. This is actually Dave :) and I would love to get to Antarctica in March, but I doubt there's a good enough deal to get me there this time around. I'm going to give it some consideration for early 2013.
Kevin Post says
I doubt you'll be able to leave after four weeks. Buenos Aires is a very difficult city to leave :)
Kevin Post says
By the way, what's the deadline for trips to Antarctica?
Dave says
I think the main season for Antarctica cruises is November through February, with possibly a few extra weeks on either end of that range.
Lissie says
The boat trip through Canal Beagle is incredible - worth going to to Harberton as well! You realise just how amazing it was that sailing ships got through that channel at all.
Punta Arenas I found dull - but I like Ushuaia - it really has an "end of the world" feeling to it.
Audrey says
We didn't take a boat trip through the Beagle Canal, but heard great things about this excursion. I'd also vote for ice trekking at El Chalten. There's a great micro-brew place in El Chalten that is perfect for relaxing after a day of hiking. Sounds like a great itinerary - fitting a lot of incredible places into a nice loop. Enjoy!
Dave says
Thanks Audrey. I'm all for ice trekking, but I've always wanted to try ice climbing. They had day trips out of Huaraz, but I heard the ice quality was not too good (sandy/dirty) so I didn't go.
Ian [EagerExistence] says
Only one vote?
Dave says
Hey Ian, you can only vote once, but you can select up to 3 activities in the poll -- sorry I didn't make that more clear.
Aaron @ Aaron's Worldwide Adventures says
This sounds pretty amazing! I'm just itching to go to Patagonia!
Dave says
After one week it has been amazing. Now into week #2 :)
Alex says
How did you get to Ushuaia from Punta Arenas? Do you know the best way? I'm trying to minimize travel costs through Patagonia, taking lots of buses if possible.
Dave says
Alex, we took a bus from Punto Arenas (which was flooded the day we arrived) to Ushuaia, but I don't know the cost as it was included in the tour price.
Zaid says
I'm SO JEALOUS Dave (in a good way)! It's been a long time dream for me to visit Patagonia.
Have a WICKED adventure with G Adventures. I'll be following your posts closely - I may just hop onto a plane for Buenos Aires in December and visit Patagonia as well.
Dave says
Thanks Zaid. I went to Patagonia in 2012, and had an amazing time. I highly recommend visiting the region if you can.
Zaid says
Booked! I'm in Buenos Aires 22 Dec Ushuaia 25 Dec. Got 4 nights booked in Ushuaia - will try to find a ship to Antarctica, then trek north through Patagonia until 29 Jan (my trip home). I'll be making up my trip on the go, and use blogs like yours for advice on what to see / do
Dave says
Have a great time Zaid. I still hope to get to Antarctica one of these years.
MaryAnn says
Hi,
For you trip did you do tours or hike around on your own? If you did hike around on your own was it pretty clear how to get from A to B? thank you!
Dave says
I was on a 2-week group tour, so our hikes were with our tour guide. But for the major treks, like around Torres del Paine, it seemed like the trails were well marked.
MaryAnn says
Thanks for the reply! How did you like G adeventure, thinking of doing just the glacier portion with the G adventures? Then Refugio-ing it up in Torres del Paine. Pics look amazing!