---
type: "Article"
title: "El anhelo Patagonia – Torres del Paine, Glaciar Perito Moreno y pistas de tierra sin fin"
description: "Volamos a la Patagonia! Mencionada con emoción. De la que todos hablan con tanto anhelo. Fotografías del fin del mundo..."
resource: "https://travelmemo.com/chile/patagonia-torres-del-paine-glaciar-perito-moreno"
author: "Walter Schaerer"
publisher: "Travelmemo"
photo_count: 16
tags: ["Itinerary", "Landscape", "Nature", "Rural", "Tour", "Chile"]
entities:
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/places/chile"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/places/argentina"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/places/zuerich"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/itinerary"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/landscape"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/nature-tourism"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/rural-tourism"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/organizations/swiss-international-air-lines"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/author/walter-schaerer"
generated: { by: "human:https://travelmemo.com/author/walter-schaerer", at: 2026-07-04T13:56:57+00:00 }
verified:
  - { by: "human:https://travelmemo.com/author/katja-birrer", at: 2014-08-17T11:18:18+00:00 }
sources:
  - id: photos
    resource: patagonia-torres-del-paine-glaciar-perito-moreno.md#photos
    title: "Original photography by Walter Schaerer"
    author: "human:https://travelmemo.com/author/walter-schaerer"
timestamp: 2026-07-04T13:56:57+00:00
---

# El anhelo Patagonia – Torres del Paine, Glaciar Perito Moreno y pistas de tierra sin fin

> Patagonia — spanning Chilean Torres del Paine and Argentina's Perito Moreno glacier — rewards travelers who push past its bleak first impressions with colossal mountain scenery, floating icebergs, and one of the world's most accessible glaciers for trekking.

## Destination
Patagonia, covering southern Chile (Punta Arenas, Puerto Natales, Torres del Paine National Park) and southern Argentina (El Calafate, Perito Moreno glacier).

## Getting there
Fly into Punta Arenas (Chile) via Santiago de Chile. A 4x4 jeep is strongly recommended; roads between Puerto Natales and Torres del Paine and across into Argentina are largely unpaved gravel tracks full of potholes. Crossing into Argentina by car involves significant border paperwork and fees. The drive from Patagonia Camp to El Calafate takes around 8 hours.

## When to go
The authors visited in summer. Despite being far south, cold and rainy weather greeted them on arrival, so warm clothing is essential even in summer.

## Why visit
Once inside Torres del Paine the landscape turns wild and mystical — soaring granite towers, deep-blue iceberg-filled lakes, condors, and guanacos. The mini-trekking experience on Perito Moreno glacier, climbing with crampons onto the ice, is described as the single highlight of the whole trip.

## What to see
- **Torres del Paine National Park** — UNESCO World Heritage site with dramatic peaks, glaciers, rivers, lakes and forest; the Cuernos del Paine massif and Lago Gray with its floating blue icebergs are standout sights.
- **Glaciar Perito Moreno** — Massive glacier near El Calafate, viewable from walkway balconies and accessible for guided mini-trekking on the ice surface.
- **Lago Gray** — Lake inside Torres del Paine filled with deep-blue ice formations that have calved off Glacier Gray.
- **Cuernos del Paine** — Towering granite horns of the Paine massif that appear dramatically as you drive deeper into the national park.

## What to do
- **Mini-trekking on Perito Moreno glacier** — Guided excursion using crampons and climbing gear to walk on the glacier surface; described as the trip highlight.
- **4x4 road trip through Patagonia** — Self-drive journey across hundreds of kilometres of gravel tracks from Puerto Natales through Torres del Paine and on to El Calafate.
- **Wildlife spotting** — Guanacos, rheas (ñandú), chimango caracaras and a low-flying condor were observed in and around the park.

## Good to know
Fuel up completely in Puerto Natales before entering Torres del Paine — the park is vast and a tank may barely reach the Argentine border crossing. Google Maps does not show all roads in the area. The Relais & Châteaux hotel Eolo near El Calafate and the Hotel Remota in Puerto Natales are noted as high-end bases with spectacular views.

## Photos

```yaml
photos:
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/einsames-Haus-Patagonien.jpg"
    caption: "Secluded house in Patagonia"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Remota-Vans-Patagonia-Regen.jpg"
    caption: "Ruta Fin del Mundo, the name says it all..."
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Isla-Westhoff-Fischerboot-Puerto-Natales.jpg"
    caption: "Solitary fishing boat shortly before the apocalypse"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Remota-Hotel-Puerto-Natales.jpg"
    caption: "Design hotel Remota at the end of the world at Puerto Natales"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Yurten-Patagonia-Camp-Torres-del-Paine.jpg"
    caption: "Yurts tent camp of the Patagonia Camp at Lago de Toro"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Nandu.jpg"
    caption: "The common stooped rhea in Patagonia's steppe"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Cuernos-del-Paine-Torres-del-Paine-National-Park.jpg"
    caption: "Cuernos del Paine Torres del Paine National Park"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Eisberge-Lake-Grey-im-Torres-del-Paine-National-Park.jpg"
    caption: "Glaciers Lago Grey in Torres del Paine National Park"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Sonnenaufgang-Cuernos-del-Paine.jpg"
    caption: "Cuernos del Paine at Lago de Toro"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Katja-Birrer-Patagonia-Camp-terrace.jpg"
    caption: "Phew, that's that done! Now we can relax..."
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Perito-Moreno-Glacier-balcony.jpg"
    caption: "Perito Moreno Glacier seen from the Balconys"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Perito-Moreno-Glacier-ice-breaking.jpg"
    caption: "Calving Perito Moreno Glacier near El Calafate"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Eolo-Relais-Chateaux-Hotel.jpg"
    caption: "Eolo \"Patagonia Spirit\" luxury hotel"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/sunrise-grassland-Eolo-Hotel-Relais-Chateaux-El-Calafate.jpg"
    caption: "view from Eolo Hotel towards Anden"
```