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| Hiking | 5.08 Miles |
630 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.08 Miles | 2 Hrs 59 Mns | | 2.29 mph |
| 630 ft AEG | 46 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | If you only have time for one hike in Torres del Paine NP and are not up for one of the more challenging/iconic hikes (Base Torres or the French Valley), this is the hike to do.
It was the last of our 4 hikes on our one-day tour of trails that are not part of the W Trek, which we would be embarking on the following day. And, as anticipated, the previous trails on the day built in excitement up to this point.
The trailhead is at Pudeto, on the shore of Lago Pehoe, which is the jumping off point for catamaran trips to Paine Grande--the traditional start of west-to-east W treks and long day hikes to the French Valley and the Grey Refugio.
There is a restaurant and bathroom facilities, as well as a good-sized parking area for visitors using their own cars.
The first stop on the hike is a dramatic overlook of the Salto Grande waterfall and cascades, which connect Lago Nordenskjold with Lago Pehoe. The striking color of the water adds to the natural attraction of the waterfall and is an easy stroll from the parking area.
Beyond the waterfall, the trail meanders along the southern shore of Lake Nordenskjold, even skirting a nice beach area before making a final climb around a knoll to the impressive Cuernos viewpoint, framed by the turquoise lake below.
When we arrived at the viewpoint, the Cuernos were covered in clouds, and it began to rain. We were a bit disappointed that we would not be able to enjoy the impressive views of these unique mountains, but we decided to wait it out a bit, while chatting with a few solo female hikers from the US and Switzerland, who had just met and decided to share costs for camping and a rental car.
After 20 minutes of rain and chatting, we decided to throw in the towel, and started our return. After getting about a half mile from the viewpoint, we turned around and saw that the weather appeared to be breaking. So ... we reversed course and hustled back in hopes of better views.
Our efforts were rewarded--and we had the viewpoint all to ourselves! The sun even popped through, and the remaining clouds made for nice photos. We were glad to have made the second effort!
Looking across the lake, we thought we spotted one of the campgrounds we would be staying at in the coming days on the W Trek. It turned out to be the Frances campground (rather than the Cuernos campground, which is where we would stay and is a bit further east).
The return hike was enjoyable, and we took in another view of the impressive Salto Grande before returning to the TH.
With a full day of hiking under our belts, we drove back to Puerto Natales in time for a late drop off of our rental car and time to make final preparations for our 5-day, 4-night backpacking trip through TDP on the famous W Trek! |
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