A 181,414-hectare Biosphere Reserve of wind-pummelled steppe and crystalline lakes, by the often-snowy Paine Massif mountain range, Torres del Paine is Chile’s most visited national park. This sublime stretch of the wider Patagonia region ‒ a magnet for nature lovers ‒ harbours some of Earth’s most dramatic mountain landscapes.
However, this sublime stretch of Patagonian wilderness is fragile and within the park, trails originally designed for horses now feel the weight of thousands of pairs of walking boots each day. As the park reopened this month for its first full tourism season since the start of the pandemic, annual visitor numbers look set to return to their 2019 peak of 304,000; if you’re planning to be one of them, a focus on low-impact, sustainable travel is a must. Here’s how to do it.
