Torres del Paine

The three granite spires that give Torres del Paine National Park its name formed over roughly 12 million years, pushed upward as magma cooled beneath the Earth's surface, then exposed and sculpted into their current shape by advancing and retreating glaciers. What's left is a cluster of towers rising more than 2,500 meters above the surrounding steppe, visible from miles away on a clear day and often wrapped in cloud on the many days that aren't.

Wind defines the experience of hiking here as much as the scenery does. Patagonia sits in the path of near-constant westerly winds that pick up speed crossing the open ocean and steppe with nothing to slow them down, and gusts in the park regularly reach speeds strong enough to make walking difficult, occasionally forcing trail closures. Hikers plan around it rather than against it, timing exposed sections for calmer parts of the day where possible.

The W Trek, named for the shape it traces on a map, covers the park's core highlights over four to five days: the towers themselves, the French Valley with views of hanging glaciers on both sides, and Grey Glacier at the trek's far end, where icebergs calve directly into Lake Grey. The longer O Circuit adds a remote, less-trafficked back side of the massif, extending the full loop to eight or ten days and requiring more self-sufficient camping.

Puma sightings in the park have increased noticeably over the past decade, a shift tied partly to conservation efforts across Chilean Patagonia and partly to the animals growing more accustomed to the presence of hikers and specialized tracking guides. Torres del Paine is now one of the more reliable places in the world to see wild pumas, alongside guanacos, Andean condors, and, in the park's wetter corners, the occasional huemul, an endangered native deer.

Puerto Natales, a small town about two hours from the park entrance, functions as the practical base for almost everyone visiting, with buses running into the park most mornings during the summer season and a growing number of gear rental shops catering to trekkers arriving without their own equipment.