Patagonia on foot: Perito Moreno, Fitz Roy and Torres del Paine

Your Patagonian journey begins with a relaxed departure from Dublin, setting a patient, measured pace for the long transit south. You board the short flight across the Bay of Biscay to Madrid, a crossing of about two hours and forty minutes, before making your connection for the transatlantic leg. The midday light gives way to evening across the Iberian peninsula as you settle into the airport terminal, where we recommend taking time to walk the concourse, stretch your legs, and have a quiet meal before boarding the night flight.

The main journey begins as your Iberia flight departs Madrid for the roughly twelve-hour haul southwest across the Atlantic. From the window, the amber grid of the Spanish capital quickly recedes into the black expanse of the ocean. The flight carries you through the night, crossing the equator in darkness while you rest and prepare your legs for the mountain trails ahead. Traveling door to door takes roughly seventeen and a half hours, giving you ample quiet time to review your route notes, adjust your watches, and ease into the rhythm of travel.

(Please note: you land at Ezeiza International Airport early on the morning of day two, where local time is four hours behind Ireland in February.)

By the time first light breaks across the cabin windows, you will be descending over the broad, muddy curves of the Río de la Plata toward Buenos Aires. The flat green plain of the pampa spreads beneath you, signaling your arrival on the South American continent and the threshold of your onward journey to the glacial lakes and granite massifs of the deep south.

Good to know: Keep your hiking boots and essential windproof layers in your carry-on luggage so you have them immediately to hand when you land.

Your private driver meets you at Ezeiza for the 40-kilometre cross-town transfer to Aeroparque, taking roughly 45 to 60 minutes depending on morning traffic. That leaves time for an espresso and a medialuna in the domestic terminal before boarding your flight south. The Aerolíneas Argentinas departure takes about three hours and twenty minutes, tracking the Atlantic coastline before cutting inland across the Patagonian steppe. We recommend window seats on the right side of the aircraft, which reveal the glaciated peaks of the southern Andes rising over the arid plateaus as you descend toward the lake.

Arriving in El Calafate introduces the cool air and steady westerly wind characteristic of the region. You check in to your wooden lodge-style hotel set on the slope above the town. The rooms look directly out across the milky-blue water of Lago Argentino, providing a quiet base for unpacking gear, checking hiking boots, and resting after the transit.

In the late afternoon, walk down toward the lakeshore for an easy circuit through the Laguna Nimez nature reserve. The flat dirt path loops through low scrub along protected wetlands, where you will see Chilean flamingos, black-necked swans, and upland geese feeding in the shallows under the open sky. (Please note: while daylight lingers past 21:00 in February, the wind off Lago Argentino causes a sharp drop in temperature by late afternoon, so carry a windproof shell and an insulating layer even for this short walk.)

From the reserve, take the fifteen-minute walk into the main street of El Calafate for dinner. Traditional steakhouses line the central avenue, where beef cuts cook slowly over open grills. If you prefer to hike directly on the Perito Moreno glacier with crampons tomorrow rather than taking the boat along the ice front, you can confirm this optional mini-trekking tonight.

Good to know: Sunset in February occurs after 21:00, giving you ample evening daylight for both the reserve loop and dinner in town.

Your transfer picks you up from the hotel after breakfast for the ninety-minute drive west along the shore of Lago Argentino into Los Glaciares National Park. As the open, dry steppe transitions into sub-Antarctic beech forest, the southern arm of the lake narrows and the front of the Perito Moreno glacier comes into view between the trees. You take your packed lunch boxes from the hotel with you for a full day out on the trails and water.

At the peninsula opposite the glacier, you have several hours to explore the tiered metal boardwalks that face the sixty-metre wall of ice. The sound of deep groaning and sharp cracks carries across the water before large blocks calve from the front and crash into the Canal de los Témpanos. The wind off the Southern Patagonian Ice Field is persistent and cold, and the low Andean light shifts constantly across the white and deep-blue ice towers. We recommend exploring the lower walkways first to reach the edge of the water, then working your way up to the higher viewpoints to find a sheltered bench out of the wind for lunch.

During the afternoon, you join the Safari Náutico boat tour for an hour along the southern face, navigating past floating ice floes to view the vertical relief of the ice wall from water level. If you prefer to hike directly on the glacier, the optional two-hour guided minitrekking with crampons can replace the boat trip. (Please note: boat departures run to fixed timetables and wind conditions on the open balconies can drop the ambient temperature rapidly, so keep your windproof layers, warm hats, and gloves in your daypacks at all times.)

Your transfer returns you to your hotel on the slopes above El Calafate by late afternoon, leaving the evening free to rest, unpack gear, and prepare for tomorrow morning's bus journey north toward the trails of El Chaltén.

Good to know: Los Glaciares National Park entry and your boat tour tickets are included in your arrangements and validated at the park gates.

You board the morning bus from El Calafate with your reserved seats, traveling north across the open Patagonian steppe along Ruta 40 and Ruta 23. The journey takes about two hours and forty minutes, skirting the turquoise expanse of Lago Viedma across gravel plains and low tussock grass. For the final hour, the sheer granite spires of the Fitz Roy massif grow steadily in the front windscreen as the road draws closer to the mountain range. On arrival in El Chaltén, you check into your hostería at the northern edge of the village, located directly by the trailhead for Laguna de los Tres.

In the afternoon, you set out on foot for an easy two-hour warm-up circuit to Mirador de los Cóndores and Mirador de las Águilas. We recommend stopping first at the national park ranger station at the entrance to the village to register your upcoming hikes and check trail updates. The path climbs gently along stepped earth and low scrub, leading to the first crest where Andean condors frequently soar on thermal updrafts above the valley. From Mirador de los Cóndores, you look out across the village roofs toward the entire Fitz Roy wall in the changing afternoon light, while the extension to Mirador de las Águilas opens views south across the windswept expanse of Lago Viedma.

(Please note: sudden gusts of Patagonian wind on the exposed ridge can test your balance, so pack your windproof layers and secure loose gear before climbing.) Back in the village, the gravel streets offer a variety of small bistros and steak houses for an early dinner. If you like, carry cash for the evening, as the local ATMs are notoriously unreliable and often out of money. You can organize your trail packs and dry any damp clothing in the hostería's drying room before an early night.

Good to know: The hostería provides early breakfast and packed lunches on hiking days, allowing you to get onto the mountain trails before first light.

You start early from the northern edge of El Chaltén, setting off just after breakfast with packed lunches in your daypacks to catch the clear morning light and the calmest hours of the day. The first two hours climb steadily through open slopes of scrub before entering shaded lenga forest, contouring above the valley with broad views back over the steppe. The trail is well trodden and straightforward underfoot as it passes the river flats around Campamento Poincenot, where the trees thin out and the granite peaks begin to dominate the skyline.

Beyond the campground, the character of the walk changes completely. The final kilometre tackles around 400 metres of vertical ascent over an exposed moraine ridge, climbing steep switchbacks across loose scree and granite boulders. We recommend keeping trekking poles ready for stability here, especially as the Patagonian wind sweeps down from the icefield. At the crest, the path levels out onto the shoreline of Laguna de los Tres. The milky turquoise water sits directly beneath the vertical granite walls and hanging glaciers of Mount Fitz Roy, which rise more than a thousand metres above the shore. If you like, find a sheltered boulder along the lake to unpack lunch while the sun sharpens the ridgelines.

(Please note: the final climb is closed by rangers in strong wind, and you must turn back if the ranger at Poincenot says so.) The descent requires steady footing over the loose gravel until you re-enter the shelter of the woodland. In total, this is a demanding outing of 20 to 25 kilometres with roughly 1,000 metres of ascent, taking between 8 and 10 hours. Returning to the village in the late afternoon, the wind often rolls off the steppe, making an early dinner on the main street a fitting end to the hike.

Good to know: Entry to the trail is free with no permit required, but you should set off at dawn to allow ample time at the lake before the descent.

After yesterday's climb, your morning begins at a calmer pace. Collect your packed lunch from the hostería and walk out directly from the western edge of El Chaltén. The hike to Laguna Torre is 18 kilometres there and back, taking between 6 and 8 hours over terrain that involves far less ascent than the Fitz Roy route. The trail follows the valley of the Río Fitz Roy upstream, tracing the north bank as the pale morning light hits the canyon walls and illuminates the grey, sediment-laden river rushing over gravel flats below.

The trail alternates between open scrubland and groves of native lenga forest, offering intermittent shelter from the Patagonian wind. The path underfoot is mostly gradual and dirt-packed, contouring along the river valley with steady, moderate rises. We recommend taking a brief break at the designated canyon viewpoint to observe the rapids cutting deep into the bedrock. As you move deeper west, the trees thin out and the route leads across open moraines of pale granite gravel and scree, where gusts often accelerate directly off the Southern Patagonian Icefield.

Cresting the terminal moraine brings Laguna Torre into view. Cold, slate-coloured water fills the basin, dotted with blue icebergs that have calved from the Grande glacier and drifted across to the shoreline. If the cloud lifts, the vertical granite spire of Cerro Torre stands exposed behind the ice. If you prefer a lighter day after yesterday's physical effort, you can opt instead for the short, level walk out to the Chorrillo del Salto waterfall on the edge of the village. (Please note: the moraine ridge above the lake is highly exposed to sudden westerly gales; step down toward the tree line to rest and turn back if high winds make walking across the gravel unstable.)

The return hike retraces the river path with the afternoon wind at your back, descending gradually as the late sun casts long shadows over the beech canopy. You return to El Chaltén by late afternoon with time to rest before packing your gear for tomorrow's bus journey to Chile.

Good to know: The Laguna Torre trail is far gentler than Laguna de los Tres, but the valley acts as a natural wind corridor, so windproof layers remain essential throughout the day.

Your travel day begins with an early departure from El Chaltén, boarding the bus back across the open Patagonian steppe. Morning light strikes the gravel plains and dry tussock grass as you skirt the edge of Lago Viedma, watching the granite spires of Mount Fitz Roy recede through the rear window. The first leg takes about two hours and forty minutes on reserved seats to the El Calafate bus terminal, where you change directly to the coach bound for Chile.

The second journey covers roughly five and a half hours across vast, pale plateaus where grazing guanacos and isolated sheep stations punctuate the arid landscape. The highway leads south toward the border crossing at Cerro Castillo, where you step off the bus into the persistent Andean wind to clear Argentine exit stamps and Chilean customs. (Please note: Chile enforces strict biosecurity rules prohibiting any fresh fruit, vegetables, seeds, or meat products; submit your SAG declaration the day before and discard any leftover trail food before the border.)

Crossing into Chilean Patagonia, the gravel steppe gives way to rolling green pastures as the road descends toward the waters of Seno Última Esperanza. You arrive in Puerto Natales in the late afternoon and check in to your guesthouse on the waterfront, looking directly out over the fjord. The cold, grey sound stretches west toward glaciated ridges, with black-necked swans drifting along the shore under the long evening twilight. We recommend walking the few minutes up from the water to the main plaza, where small timber bistros offer local king crab and slow-cooked lamb. An easy evening stroll along the shoreline path allows you to stretch your hiking legs and organize your gear before tomorrow's journey into the national park.

Good to know: Your bus seats are reserved in advance for both legs, and the luggage transfer between coaches in El Calafate is handled directly at the terminal bays.

You set out on foot directly from the lodge door at first light, collecting your packed lunch after breakfast to make the most of the calm morning air. The trail begins with an immediate, steady climb up the bare flank of the Valle Ascencio. As dawn breaks across the Patagonian steppe behind you, the path winds high above the rushing Río Ascencio, cutting along dry earth and loose gravel where the valley channels strong westerly winds. We recommend pacing your ascent carefully over this first section, securing your gear and keeping a windproof shell close at hand.

After contouring along the lip of the valley, the trail descends gently to cross the river near the Chileno refuge. Here the landscape changes as you enter the shelter of native lenga forest, where shaded dirt paths follow the riverbank and mountain streams cross the way. The tree canopy offers welcome relief from the wind and sun as you steadily gain height along the valley floor. The trail climbs moderately through the woodland until the trees thin out at the edge of the exposed moraine.

The final section tackles a steep field of giant granite boulders and loose scree, climbing through the moraine to the high basin. (Please note: rangers close the last section above Chileno in gales, and start times are checked at the trailhead.) At the crest, the path opens onto the glacial lake beneath the three granite towers, which rise straight above the water into the sky. If you like, find a sheltered spot among the shoreline boulders to eat your packed lunch out of the wind while taking in the sheer rock walls.

The descent retraces your steps down across the boulder field and through the lenga woodland, joining the windy trail along the Río Ascencio as late afternoon light casts long shadows across the valley. In total, this demanding outing covers 19 to 21 kilometres with approximately 900 metres of vertical ascent, requiring 8 to 10 hours of sustained effort. You return to the lodge in time to rest your legs before dinner is served in the evening.

Good to know: Trekking poles are particularly helpful on this trail for maintaining stability through the steep moraine boulders and scree on the descent.

After yesterday’s climb to the towers, your morning begins at a calmer pace. Collect your packed lunch from the lodge and board your private transfer for the ninety-minute drive west across Torres del Paine toward Hotel Lago Grey. The gravel road winds through open tussock grasslands under changing Patagonian light, passing herds of guanacos and offering wide views of the Paine massif and turquoise lakes across the park.

On arrival, you walk through a grove of native lenga trees and follow the wide pebble spit across the water to the boat embarkation point. Your three- to four-hour navigation takes you along the length of Lago Grey, weaving among pale and deep-blue icebergs that have drifted down from the glacier. As the vessel draws close to the ice front, you stand before the massive vertical wall of Glacier Grey, where crevassed seracs calve into the grey lake directly off the Southern Patagonian Ice Field.

We recommend standing on the open deck as the boat maneuvers along the ice face, taking in the scale of the glacier while keeping warm layers and windproof shells zipped against the cold downdrafts. (Please note: boat departures on Lago Grey are governed by strict wind limits and can be delayed or adjusted if severe gales sweep down the valley.) If your legs feel strong and you prefer another long trail over a day on the water, you can choose the optional full-day trek into the French Valley via the Pudeto catamaran instead. Your transfer brings you back across the park in the late afternoon, returning you to the lodge in time to rest before dinner.

Good to know: Tickets for your Lago Grey glacier boat excursion are included in your itinerary, and sturdy footwear is useful for the walk across the gravel beach to the boat.

Your private transfer collects you from the lodge after breakfast, beginning the journey south out of Torres del Paine National Park. The first leg takes about two hours along gravel roads that wind through the golden grasslands of the Patagonian steppe, where herds of guanacos graze beside the road and the granite towers gradually shrink in your rear-view mirror under the morning sun. You arrive in Puerto Natales around midday for a scheduled lunch stop. If you like, take a relaxed stroll through the quiet grid of streets or pause at a waterfront café overlooking the cold waters of the Seno Última Esperanza to sample local seafood before continuing south.

Boarding the vehicle after lunch, the second stretch of the transfer carries you roughly three and a half hours across the vast, treeless expanse of the southern steppe toward the Strait of Magellan. The horizon stretches flat and wide under shifting skies, shaped by the unrelenting westerly wind that bends the occasional stands of wind-sculpted beech trees. By late afternoon, you arrive in Punta Arenas and check in to your townhouse hotel set directly on the Plaza de Armas, just ten minutes on foot from the shoreline.

In the evening, walk down to the costanera to stretch your legs along the waterfront promenade. The brisk wind sweeps in off the Strait of Magellan as cargo ships and fishing vessels ride at anchor in the cold, slate-grey channel between the mainland and Tierra del Fuego. For dinner, we recommend seeking out a traditional seafood restaurant near the center to enjoy fresh Magellan king crab, a regional specialty. (Please note: the maritime wind off the strait can be biting in the evening, so keep an insulating fleece and a windproof jacket with you on your walk.) If tomorrow's flight schedule permits before departure, you can make a brief morning detour to the municipal cemetery to wander among its tall, sculpted cypress hedges.

Good to know: Your hotel is situated directly on the Plaza de Armas, placing central restaurants and the waterfront costanera within easy walking distance.

The last morning belongs to Punta Arenas: breakfast at the hotel, and if the flight allows, the ten-minute walk to the municipal cemetery with its avenues of clipped cypress, then the short taxi to the airport. LATAM or Sky take you to Santiago in about three and a half hours, with the Andes on the left for most of the way. In Santiago you change to the overnight Iberia flight to Madrid and the morning connection to Dublin, landing the following day.

We recommend keeping the windproof layers out of the checked bag one last time: Punta Arenas airport sits on the open strait and the walk to the aircraft can be the windiest moment of the trip. (Please note: Chile's airport security still asks about fresh produce on domestic departures; finish any fruit before you fly.)

Good to know: The flights home are booked as one ticket, so a late arrival in Santiago is the airline's problem, not yours.