Torres del Paine, Patagonia
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If you're aurora chasing, looking for a winter playground, like to get off the beaten track or just want to get back to basics and spend quality time enjoying simple pleasures, this is the spot for you!
Nord Lenangen in the Norwegian Alps is 70 degrees North, just 20 degrees south of the North Pole. At first glance, it might look like there's nothing to do. We were the only party around the first few nights staying in our fisherman’s cabin on remote shores in the Lyngen Alps. There’s one road in and the same road out. There are no nearby shops (make sure you have everything you’ll need before you leave Tromso), no restaurants, no theme parks, no tourist attractions. Just the fjord, a wild and rocky beach, forests, frozen streams and lakes, and snow. It took trains, planes, automobiles and a ferry to get there and we had the best week. We skated on our bottoms on frozen rivers, played in the snow, fished, star gazed from the hot tub under arctic skies (none of us was brave enough to alternate between the hot tub and the icy fjord), beach combed and sky watched. We saw star fish, sea urchins, wolverines and a moose. The icing on the cake came at 3.30am on our last day, driving through the night back to Tromso. The Aurora lit up the sky in a beautiful display of green waves, arches and dancing curtains. This is a remote adventure that will provide entertainment wherever you chose to find it and provide the opportunity to just hang out and play together. The kids were never bored. Most days we barely ventured a few feet from the cabin but they found great pleasure in simple pastimes, just watching the fish and star fish, fishing off the pontoon, scrabbling around in the snow. The girls discovered great colonies of mussels attached to the legs of the pontoon and spent a happy couple of hours with their sleeves rolled up, pulling them off and collecting them up in a plastic bag. They cooked them up and ate them for supper, thrilled with themselves for gathering their own food. |
Quick Facts
Flight Time: 13 hours GMT + 3 Currency = Argentian Peso, Chilean Peso, American Dollars |
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Make it happen:
Length of stay: 14 days Whichever way you arrive, it takes the best part of three days to get to and from Torres del Paine national park, and 8 to 10 days to complete the circuit comfortably. Add in some contingency time should you get held up, and a few days for relaxing afterwards or exploring the sites and you need at least two weeks. Getting there: Fly to Buenos Aires, then onwards to El Calafate £170 - £250 return per adult (11+) £150 - £215 return per child (2-11) Take a bus to TdP Alternatively, fly to Santiago, then onwards to Take a bus to xx then on to TdP Where to stay: We stayed at America del Sur hostel in El Calafate. Fantastico Sur run Vertice Patagonia run |
Sage Advice
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Buenos Aires
Things to do in Buenos Aires .... |
El Calafate
Things to do in El Calafate .... |
Puerto Natales
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We, Becks (41) and Sam (40) made this trip in November 2014. The prices indicated in this itinerary are based on November 2014 prices.
