Hiking in Patagonia - Glaciers & Torres del Paine

Our tour of Patagonia starts in Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires, on the southern shores of the Rio de la Plata. Since its founding by Pedro de Mendoza in 1536, the city has thrived on trade and its vibrant streets are a tapestry of European architectural styles, with Spanish, French and Italian classicism rubbing shoulders with the remnants of Victorian grandeur. For those arriving in time, our tour leader will meet you in the hotel reception at 6pm for a welcome meeting followed by dinner for those who wish. There are no activities today, so you're free to arrive in Buenos Aires at any time. If you'd like an airport transfer today, you'll need to arrive into either Aeroparque Internacional Jorge Newbery (AEP) or Ezeiza International Airport (EZE), a 20-minute or a one-hour drive respectively from our hotel. If you miss the welcome meeting, our tour leader will catch you up ASAP. If your flight arrives earlier in the day, you might like to take in the atmosphere of the San Telmo district, with its impressive architecture, or head to one of the leafy parks in Palermo. Alternatively, you could enjoy a spot of people-watching at one of the sidewalk cafes in Porteno.

Say goodbye to civilisation this morning, as we leave the city behind, heading south to Patagonia and the town of El Calafate, the gateway to Los Glaciares National Park. From here, we'll travel approximately three hours to El Chalten, stopping for an easy, one-kilometre (0.7 mile) hike to the Chorrillo del Salto Waterfall, a great little walk that is the perfect introduction to Patagonia's native forest and natural landscapes. Our accommodation for the next two nights is at a small, simple hosteria just a short walk from spectacular Lago del Desierto. It has a mixture of twin and triple rooms, and depending on the group size, it may be necessary to room some group members in triple-share rooms. All rooms have en suite bathrooms. Depending on the time of our arrival we may be able to take a walk along the shore of the lake.

We hike directly out of our accommodation this morning, taking a slow, short ascent through beech forest to a mountain refuge located along the route. From the refuge, we continue ascending for another kilometre until the forest opens out onto the moraine ridge, with spectacular views of the glacier and the Cerro Creston peak. Here we begin the most challenging part of the day; a two-hour hike across a boulder field, with a slight elevation, to reach the face of the Creston Glacier. On a clear day, the Patagonian scenery is simply spectacular. At the glacial face, we'll don crampons with our experienced local guide, and take a walk on the glacier. No previous experience is necessary - this is an incredible opportunity to see the might of nature close up. We return back to the refuge across the boulder field, and take the same forest trail back to the hosteria. Todays challenging 16 kilometre / 9.9 mile trek is expected to take around 6 hours with 900m/2,952ft of ascent and descent

From our hosteria we'll take a drive of around 45 minutes to the Los Huemules Natural Reserve Visitor Centre. There are only 100 permits per day to visit the reserve, which gives us the opportunity to experience Patagonia in all its tranquil beauty, with the added privilege of sleeping here overnight. After a look around the Visitors Centre, we'll take an easy walk through native lenga forest, past the Rio Diablo and the Diablo Valley. The forest will open out to the Laguna Diablo and our refuge, in the shadow of the stunning Cagliero Glacier. The rest of the afternoon is free to enjoy this magical place. After day hikers leave the reserve, the refuge guests have the glacier all to themselves. There is no other way to reach this refuge other than on foot, and we won't see our vehicle again until Day 6. We'll need to pack what we need to a two-night expedition into our daysacks. The rest of our luggage will be transferred by vehicle to the hotel in Chalten. Todays leisurely 7.5 kilometre / 4.5 mile hike is expected to take around 3.5 hours, with 350m/1,148ft of ascent and descent.

After an early breakfast this morning, we'll hike out of the refuge back to the road, walking along Route 23 a short way, with views of the north face of Fitz Roy, until the bridge at Rio Electrico, the starting point for the classic trek to Laguna de los Tres. We'll ascend for 3 hours up a gentle slope with views over the Fitzroy Massif and Piedras Blancas Glacier. On reaching the Poincenot area, we'll stop briefly at our campsite (at 750 metres/2,460ft). We have the chance to drop some of our belongings here. Our aim is to continue from our campsite, up the additional steep ascent to the base of Mt Fitz Roy and the Laguna de los Tres. At this emerald lagoon, one of the most iconic hiking sites in Patagonia, we'll be able to appreciate the enormous granite walls of Fitzroy and its nearby peaks, Poincenot, Saint Exupery and Guillaumet. We'll descend back to our campsite to spend the evening inside the forest. If the weather is poor, we may not make the ascent to Laguna de los Tres today, instead stopping at the campsite and making the ascent tomorrow morning instead. Our base for tonight is Poincenot Camp. It's a simple campsite with all sleeping bags and mats provided. The camp crew have a kitchen tent and dining tent, where hearty hot meals are served to hungry hikers. A toilet tent is on site and water will be provided. Today's challenging 21 kilometre/13 mile trek is expected to take around 9.5 hours with 750m/2,460ft of ascent and 400m/1,312ft descent.

After a camp breakfast, we'll set out for another day's hiking through the unique landscape of Los Glaciares National Park. If we were unable to make the ascent up to Laguna de los Tres on Day 5, we will rise early and ascend this morning. Otherwise, we take the Madre e Hija Trail, which links the Fitzroy and Torre Valleys between Argentina and Chile. We'll walk past the clear glacial waters of the Madre (Mother) and Hija (Daughter) lagoons, and through Lenga Forest, on our way to Torre Lagoon. From here, weather permitting, we'll be rewarded with stunning views of Torre Massif and the surrounding glaciers as we enjoy a picnic lunch. Later, we'll continue our trek along Torre Trail back to El Chalten. We are reunited with our bags at our hotel this evening. Today's moderate 19 kilometre/11.8 mile trek is expected to take around 7 hours with approximately 340m/1,115ft of descent.

We'll drive the three hours from Chalten to El Calafate today, and in the afternoon we have a visit to the awe-inspiring Perito Moreno Glacier, one of South America's most magnificent sights. Fed by the vast expanse of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, the glacier covers some 250 square kilometres (larger than the footprint of Buenos Aires). At its deepest point, the ice is over 700 metres thick. There are a series of walkways at the glacier, which stretch for around 3-5 kilometres in length and cover both the north and south ends of the terminal face. Our Tour Leader will give us some of the key points, and then leave us to have some free time here to explore and wander as much or as little as we like - the magic here is in finding a quiet place to simply sit and take it all in.

Today we have a long journey of approximately six hours, as we cross the border from Argentina to Chile. Our destination is Torres del Paine, one of the world's most impressive national parks, situated amidst a region of ice-capped peaks, silent blue glacial lakes and wild hills. One of the highlights of our time here will be the views of the Torres, imposing pinnacles of sharp granite that are surrounded by glacial lakes and craggy ranges, formed millions of years ago. This is a place to keep an eye out for condors, rheas and guanacos - wildlife surviving in a bleak, but beautiful, landscape.

We'll undertake two different hikes today in Torres del Paine, each one geared to giving us the best overview of different sides of the park. In the morning, we will hike to the viewpoint of Mt Ferrier, a steep hike that sees us ascending to an elevation of 600m (1,970ft), hiking through beech forest, which thins out as we ascend until views of lakes and jagged peaks start poking through the greenery. At the overlook point, the full majesty of Torres del Paine will be spread before us, with the Paine Massif and Grey Glacier taking pride of place. We then descend the way we came. The morning's moderate 5 kilometre/3 mile hike is expected to take around 4.5 hours with approximately 600m/1,969ft of ascent and descent. In the afternoon, an easier walk awaits. We'll travel to the icebergs and grey waters of Lake Grey, with a predominantly flat walk across the Pingo River, through forest and skirting the coast of the lake. This leisurely 6 kilometre/3.75 mile hike is expected to take around 2 hours.

Today we take a full day trek to Base Torres, the viewpoint in the park that offers the most famous view of the distinct granite rock towers that give the park their name. The entire hike is full of breath-taking panoramas, as we cross glacial lakes, passing through river valleys and mountain forest, culminating in one of the most impressive lookouts in the park, over the spectacular Torres - imposing pinnacles of sharp granite that rise up over 2,600 metres to pierce the sky. The paths are well marked, though rocky in places. It's a long ascent from the valley floor, with little shade or coverage for the first couple of hours. We'll reach a mountain refuge and campsite just prior to the final push, where we can have a quick drink and a snack. For the final ascent, we hike along the Asencio River and clamber over steep terminal moraine deposited by a glacier, centuries ago. This final climb across the boulder-field is the most challenging part of the trek, but the sight of the Torres spires as they start poking above the rocks is just astounding. We'll take some time at the spires and their glacial lagoon to enjoy the views and reflect on the climb, before the long hike back down. On returning to Torres, we drive back to our hotel. Todays challenging 21.5 kilometre/ 13 mile hike is expected to take 9 hours, with a total ascent and descent of approximately 800m/2,624ft.

We make our way back into Argentina today, heading towards El Calafate Airport. The drive and border crossing will take approximately 6 hours, in time for our afternoon flight to Buenos Aires. We will arrive reasonably late into Buenos Aires today - this city never sleeps, and there will still be time to have a final meal together, for those who wish.

Our Patagonia hiking holiday ends at our hotel in Buenos Aires. There are no activities planned today, so you're free to depart at any time. If your flight is departing later in the day, luggage storage facilities are available at our hotel. If you'd like an airport transfer, you need to depart from either Aeroparque Internacional Jorge Newbery (AEP) or Ezeiza International Airport (EZE).