Wildlife of Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

Danny Catt — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 10:18:04 -0800

Guanaco, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

Torres del Paine National Park is most famous for its glaciers, lakes and mountains but within its boundaries this diverse national park has a great variety of both flora and fauna.

Guanacos in Chile's Patagonia, Torres del Paine National Park

The most abundant large mammal is the guanaco, a wild relative of the Llama and Alpaca found further north in the Andes of northern Chile, Peru and Ecuador.

Grey Fox, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

In terms of carnivores there are two species of fox and I had some great views of one species, the Gray Fox, on a couple of occasions. The most feared predator in the park though, at least by the Guanacos, is the Cougar (Puma concolor). The Cougar of Patagonia, also known as the Mountain Lion, is the very same species that is found in British Columbia.

In fact, the Puma has the widest distribution of any carnivore in the western hemisphere!

Buff-necked Ibis, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

There are more than one hundred species of bird in the park ranging from the flightless Lesser Rhea, to Flamingos, to the largest flying bird in the world, the Andean Condor.

Andean Condor, Patagonia, Chile

Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia

Danny Catt — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 12:02:49 -0800

The Towers, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

If you were to mention the words Chile and Patagonia in the same sentence the image that immediately pops to mind for me would be the three towers (torres) in Torres del Paine National Park in Chile’s Patagonia.

Torres del Paine, Patagonia

The first time I saw a photo of the three towers was when I received a postcard from an Italian friend of mine, Fabio Stedile. I met Fabio, and his climbing partner, Fabrizio many years ago in the Bugaboos, a provincial park in the south-eastern corner of British Columbia. Fabio and Fabrizio were world-class mountain climbers and they were in the Bugaboos planning a first ascent (or a new route) up one of the granite spires that draw climbers from around the world to Bugaboos every summer.

We became friends and a year or two later I had the great pleasure of visiting Fabio and his family in the Dolomite Mountains of northern Italy. Every year or two after my visit, I would receive a postcard from Fabio, from some exotic locale with a photo of Fabio and Fabrizio’s latest summit. Unfortunately though, the same mountains that Fabio loved to climb, took his life. Ironically, it was on one of the peaks of Patagonia that Fabio lost his fight with the mountain.

So it was for personal reasons that I had a strong desire to gaze upon the three towers in Torres del Paine National Park. And, luckily for me, the weather cooperated wonderfully during the time of our visit.

Torres del Paine was declared a national Park in 1959 and in 1978 was recognized by the United Nations as a Biosphere Reserve. It is recognized for its amazing landscapes and diverse flora and fauna.

Eco-Camp, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

The wind can howl during the summer months in Patagonia and the first night that we were there was no exception. We were staying in an ‘Eco-Camp’, strategically located with a fabulous view of the towers. This camp is a great example of a sustainable tourism operation. Rather than providing fixed roof accommodation, the camp guests sleep in large domed tents. They are very solid though… and they effectively withstood the gale force winds that seemed to want to lift our tent into orbit during the night! The camp is also very environmentally friendly. They use solar power, composting toilets and the place is spotless. I have to thank Trish from BikeHike Adventures for arranging our stay at the Eco-Camp.

Eco-Camp, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

The winds had died down a fair bit by morning and our guide Cem decided to make a quick change

of plans and do a hike up to the lookout point below the Torres, rather than our planned general tour of the park. It was a fabulous walk! We climbed up onto a plateau and down the valley before turning ‘up’ to reach the viewpoint. We passed other hikers from at least a dozen countries… including Canada, the US, Israel, Germany, England, Switzerland… and many others. In fact Torres del Paine National Park is one of Chile’s most popular tourist destinations… at least for the active traveler.

I love to hike but I admit that there are two things that will give me that extra incentive to make the final push to the top or the end of the trail… one is a lake with fish (I love to fish) and the other is a view worth photographing (I am a keen photographer).

Trish & Cem and the Three Towers, Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia

I was huffing and puffing as we made our way up along the trail and around the boulders on the last stretch up to the lookout. But when we finally reached the ridge, my oh my it was worth it! Directly above us the towers stood in all of their glory! Although my view was from the bottom, I could see how these magnificent spires and the landscape in general would draw climbers like Fabio to this part of the world. I can just imagine what the view from the top would be like!! I said a quick prayer for Fabio, then turned and headed down the mountain.

Catt-Trax 2 - Torres Del Paine National Park

Wildlife of Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia