Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
390
WHERE TO DINE
For a casual to wn where everyone wears hiking boots, E l Chaltén has surprisingly good
dining options. Climbers gather during a stormy day at
Patagonicus,
Güemes at Andreas
Madsen (
&
02962/493025
). Patagonicus ser ves mostly pizza and enormous salads in
a woodsy dining ar ea with fair prices; no cr edit cards accepted. I t's a good spot for an
afternoon coffee.
Fuegia
, S an M artín 342 (
&
02962/493243
), has an eclectic,
global menu including coconut chicken with cashe ws and ex cellent salads. There ar e
also good v egetarian options. I n a ramshackle old house loaded with character ,
Ruca
Mahuida
, at Lionel Terray 55 (
&
02962/493018
), has the feel of an old alpine
hut. The food is pure Patagonian, with stews, trout, and hearty pastas to fill you up after
a day on the trail. D iners gather around a handful of tables, making this a gr eat spot to
make new friends. R eservations are recommended. For a funky scene with cool music
and cr eative food, head to
Estepa,
at the corner of Cerr o S olo and Antonio R ojo
(
&
02962/493069
). The lamb in soft mint sauce, pizzas, and pumpkin sorr entinos are
superb. The restaurant at the
Senderos Hostería
(see “Where to Stay,” above) is also
excellent, and often offers wine-tasting ev enings with a visiting sommelier.
9
TORRES DEL PAINE NATIONAL PARK,
CHILE
113km (70 miles) N of Puerto Natales; 360km (223 miles) NW of Punta Arenas
Across the border from Argentina's Los Glaciares National Park is Chile's prized jewel—
a national park so magnificent that few in the world can claim a rank in its class. Torres
del Paine is a major tourist destination whose popularity has grown tenfold over the past
5 years. Granite peaks and to wers soar fr om sea lev el to up ward of 2,800m (9,184 ft.).
Golden plains and the rolling steppes are home to llamalike guanacos and more than 100
species of colorful birds, such as parakeets, flamingos, and ostrichlike rheas. D uring the
spring, Chilean firebush blooms a riotous r ed, and during the autumn, the par k's beech
trees change to crimson, sunflo wer, and orange. A fier ce wind scr eams thr ough this
region during the spring and summer, yet flowers, such as the delicate por celain orchids
and lady-slippers, somehow weather the inhospitable terrain. Electric-blue icebergs cleave
from Glacier Grey. Resident gauchos ride atop sheepskin saddles. Condors float effor t-
lessly even on the windiest day. This park is not something you just visit; it is something
you experience.
Although it sits next to the Andes,
Parque Nacional Torres del P aine
is a separate
geologic formation cr eated r oughly 3 million y ears ago when bubbling magma began
growing and pushing its way up, taking a thick sedimentary layer with it. Glaciation and
severe climate w eathered away the softer r ock, leaving the spectacular P aine M assif,
whose prominent features are the
Cuernos
(which means “horns”) and the one-of-a-kind
Torres
—three salmon-color ed, spherical granite to wers. The black sedimentar y r ock is
visible on the upper r eaches of the elegant C uernos, named for the two spir es that rise
from the outer sides of its amphitheater .
Paine
is the Tehuelche Indian word for “blue,”
and it brings to mind the v arying shades found in the lakes that surr ound this massif—
among them the milky, turquoise waters of Lagos Nordenskjold and Pehoé. Backing the
Paine Massif are several glaciers that descend from the Southern Ice Field.
Torres del Paine was once a collection of
estancias
and small-time ranches; many were
forced out with the creation of the park in 1959. The park has since grown to its present
12
