|
Day 1: Punta Arenas
(30 km / 19 mi)
Pick up your car at the airport or
downtown rental office. Punta Arenas
is the largest and most important
city of Chilean Patagonia. It is
located on the western side of the
Strait of Magellan and its inhabitants
come from a mix of cultural
backgrounds, English sheep
ranchers as well as Portuguese
sailors settled here. Overnight in
Punta Arenas.
Day 2: Punta Arenas –
Torres del Paine
(410 km / 255 mi)
It will be a rather long drive to Torres
del Paine National Park with
many interesting stops on the
way; you will be able to visit the
Penguin Colony on the Otway
Sound, for example. The main
road to Puerto Natales is paved
and in good conditions, sheep
farms are scattered along the
way. Torres del Paine Natio_nal
Park will welcome you from afar
with its gigantic granite towers.
Overnight in Torres del Paine
National Park. (B)
Day 3: Torres del Paine
The National Park Torres del Paine
is one of the most impressive parks
in Chile because of its unique
wildlife and dramatic scenery. The
park is best known for its steep
granite towers (torres), the unique
horns (cuernos) and the Big Paine
Mountains. The massif is crowned
by glaciers and surrounded by
cascading rivers and beautiful
emerald lakes. The park was designated
World Biosphere Reserve
by the UNESCO in 1978. There
are many hiking trails to choose
from to discover this gorgeous
park. Overnight in Torres del
Paine National Park. (B)
|
Day 4: Torres del Paine – El
Calafate (345 km / 214 mi)
Passing through Cerro Castillo, a
village and estancia near the border,
you will cross into Argentina.
From the border onwards, you will
mainly drive through the vast and
desolate Argentinean Pampa to El
Calafate. You may will spot a
sheep farm or occasionally
encounter wild animals along the
way. Your destination El Calafate
is located on the shores of Lago
Argentino that is surrounded by
impressive, snow-capped peaks.
Overnight in El Calafate. (B)
Day 5: Perito Moreno
Glacier (177 km / 110 mi)
The Los Glaciares National Park is
outstandingly beautiful and you
will be able to discover the park
on one of the numerous hiking
trails. The primary attraction is the
Perito Moreno Glacier stretching
over 200 km/124 mi with an
imposing front wall of 60 m/197
ft height and 4 km/2.5 mi length.
Enormous ice chunks occasionally
fall off the front wall and drop
into the Lake Argentino with a
thundering sound. Overnight in
El Calafate. (B)
Day 6: El Calafate – Puerto
Natales (360 km / 224 mi)
Start your return trip on the legendary
Argentinean Route 40 to
Puerto Natales in Chile. After
crossing the border, you will be
able to visit Puerto Natales or
sites in the region like the
Milodón Cave where scientists
discovered the remains of a
gigantic sloth. Overnight in Puerto
Natales. (B)
Day 7: Puerto Natales –
Punta Arenas
(250 km / 155 mi)
From Puerto Natales it will take 3
hours to return to Punta Arenas.
Drop off you car at the airport or
downtown rental office. (B)
|