There are special places in the world that are a must for the outdoor lover, its our passion to explore these beautiful environments and share our experiences with others.
Patagonia is no exception, the southern Andes mountains with its huge glaciers, lakes & fjords, the end of the world, wild and wonderful, an explorers dream bound by the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. It has long been my ambition to visit this part of the world and this month that dream will come true.
Alex Langdon and I plan to make the three week recce of Chilean & Argentinian Patagonia. Our journey starts from Chamonix on the 16th March as we travel to Madrid, Santiago and to Puerto Natales in the south of Chile, from here our adventure begins as we explore two stunningly beautiful UNESCO regions in that area of the world.
We start by heading to the Torres del Paine National Park to take a look at the Painey Trail or the O as its now more commonly known. The Circuit includes the world famous “W” trek, but also, it goes around the Massif exploring some of the wildest areas on the park; an adventure for the brave and the nature lovers! Paine Towers, Paine Horns, French Valley, Grey Glacier, Dickson Lake, Los Perros Glacier, and, the southern Patagonian Ice field are some of the incredible highlights.
We plan to return to Puerto Natales after nine days in the Torres del Paine NP and then head into Argentinian Patagonia and the Santa Cruz province. Our visit will include Perito Moreno National Park, El Calafate, Glacier Moreno and the Los Glaciares National Park, El Chalten with hiking around the base of Cerro Torre & Fitzroy.
We thought long and hard about the environmental impact of planning this trip. Patagonia is an incredibly environmentally sensitive area of the world and we appreciate that tourism is one element that threatens this impressive landscape. It is an important factor that can’t be overlooked and responsible tourism is the only way forward. Important objectives for Mont Blanc Treks is to look into ways in which we can minimise our impact, alongside researching and supporting local environmental projects. We are committed to giving financial support to organisations worldwide that do invaluable work to protect and restore wildlife, promote regenerative agriculture, support local communities and develop existing and new national parks. One organisation that caught our eye is the Tompkins Foundation based in Patagonia, Chile and Argentina with a mission to 'Get Wild…. In ways large and small, as individuals and groups, we have the power to reorient the trajectory of life on Earth toward beauty, diversity, wildness, and health'. Tompkins Foundation, 2020.
On our return to Chamonix we will put together our Patagonia itinerary for 2024, as we have done for our treks in Nepal and Morocco. If this sounds of interest to you and you fancy joining us on our next worldwide adventure please contact me sara@montblanctreks.com
