Chile (Patagonia)
Torres del Paine National Park
This famous national park in the far south of Chile is best accessed from Punta Arenas by road or from Puerto Natales ( which is much closer) . 

Once you actually enter the park you will find a park road that acts as a self guided tour . It can boast of some of the most beautiful mountain scenery in the world. Most noted are the group of mountains known as the Cuernos (Horns) whose dramatic rise into the clear southern skies is truly breathtaking.

The first inhabitants, called Tehuelches or Aonikenk, named the mountain "paine" which means bluish. The site was only discovered by white men in 1870 and, since then, it has been increasingly visited by people from every corner of the globe attracted by Chile's showpiece: a world biosphere reserve with all the diverse scenery of Alaska in only 180,000 hectares. 

 wpe29.jpg (8059 bytes)

wpe2A.jpg (6443 bytes)

wpe2D.jpg (15896 bytes)
The Torres del Paine are spectacular granite pillars which soar almost vertically for more than 2000 metres above the Patagonian steppe. Cascading waterfalls, sprawling glaciers and dense forests make it a truly awesome experience. Glaciers, lakes of fascinating colors, dense Magellanic forests, and pampas where guanacos and nandus run free are a few of Paine's attractions for all kinds of visitors. 

Sailing trekking, climbing, horse riding, mountain shelters, camps or comfortable tours and a five star hotel, everything is possible in this park patrolled by high-flying condors.