Patagonia & South America

Torres del Paine @ Sunrise

Patagonia, Chile
South America

I have always wanted to visit Patagonia and in particular Torres del Paine National Park. One of the most spectacular and iconic sights within the park are the three Towers of Paine, gigantic granite monoliths shaped by the forces of glacial ice and soaring almost vertically more than 2000 meters above the Patagonian steppe. However, there is never any guarantee they will reveal themselves and many visitors leave disappointed. When the weather is clear, panoramas are everywhere. However, unpredictable weather systems can sheath the peaks in clouds for hours or days.

Patagonia is a 490,000-square-mile area at the southern end of South America shared between Chile and Argentina with Torres del Paine as one of the most visited parks in Chilean Patagonia. Declared a biosphere reserve in UNESCO in 1978, it is internationally recognized as one of the most beautiful, unique and uncontaminated places on the planet. The park encompasses ancient forests, glaciers, lakes, rivers and fjords, and fauna including guanacos, foxes, pumas and a diverse array of birds. Before its creation in 1959, the park was part of a large sheep estancia, and it is still recovering from nearly a century of over exploitation of its pasture, forests and wildlife.

Although only in the park for two days, I was very lucky to have this beautiful, early morning glimpse of the towers and surrounding landscape as it was bathed in glorious, golden early morning light.

ArgentinaCheesemans Ecology SafarisChileFloraGraniteLandscapeMountainsNatureScenerySouth AmericaSunriseTorres del Paine