Few destinations in the world are as unique and awe-inspiring as the southern tip of the South American continent. The Chilean and Argentinian regions of Patagonia are nothing short of breathtaking. Today, we decided to share a few glimpses and information about this stunning region via Instagram.
Chile’s most famous national park, Torres del Pain, has been dubbed the “Eighth Wonder of the World” by various magazines, tourism guides, and websites. A UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, the park covers more than 227,000 hectares and is located between the Andes Mountains and the Patagonian steppe.
Torres del Paine is one of Chile’s most important protected wilderness areas, attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists worldwide each year. The remote and totally unspoiled nature of this park is remarkable.
Flowing through the Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park, the Petrohué River leaves its source, Todos los Santos Lake, and cascades through fantastic rapids and waterfalls into the Estuario Reloncaví. It then continues onward to the Pacific Ocean, an amazing archipelago of Islands, and the Patagonia Fjords of South Central Chile.
El Chaltén is a remote mountain village in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. These mountains overlook the Rio de las Vueltas inside the fantastic Los Glaciares National Park. El Chaltén is a small mountain village in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina, which overlooks the Rio de las Vueltas inside the fantastic Los Glaciares National Park. The Rio de las Vueltas eventually flows into Viedma Lake, the larger Argentino Lake, and the breathtaking glaciers surrounding it.
A protected area and UNESCO World Heritage Site, Los Alerces National Park is a place of phenomenal beauty. The park was created to protect the lahuán or larch forests, where some of the oldest living trees on Earth grow. The trees were once in danger of extinction, but the creation of the park and preserve have kept them safe for all future generations of explorers.
The park has numerous river systems, lakes, waterfalls, glaciers and unbelievable forests. This area is home to some of the oldest and most dense forests in the World, with some species being 4,000 years old. Many of these trees reach 75 meters in height and 3.5 meters in diameter. Some of the larch or lahuá trees have diameters 5 meters. It is said that the legendary Charles Darwin recorded a specimen with a 12.5 meter diameter.
In the foothills of the Andes, the Río Negro Province of Argentina is an unworldly nature feast for the eyes. This is especially true within the borders of Nahuel Huapi National Park. The park is the oldest in Argentina and surrounds Nahuel Huapi Lake.
This part of Patagonia varies in altitude from 720–3,574 metres (2,362–11,726 ft). Visitors will be spellbound by the contrast of the high mountains of the Andes, contrasted against countless high lakes, rapid rivers, waterfalls, glaciers and extensive forests.
The capital of the Tierra del Fuego region, Ushuaia, is set in a stunning environmental wonder. The world’s southernmost city is only 1,100 kilometres (680 mi) from the Antarctic continent. First inhabited by the Selk’nam people about 10,000 years ago, the picturesque city has about 90,000 permanent residents today.
Although Ushuaia has a tundra climate, the surroundings are mountainous but heavily forested. Summers here are surprisingly mild with temperatures during the day averaging 14 °C (57 °F). Interestingly, the record low there is “only” −21.0 °C (−5.8 °F). The main tourist attractions include the Tierra del Fuego National Park and Lapataia Bay.
For more information on Patagonia or to investigate trips there, we recommend Pura Aventura.
Photo credit: Feature image courtesy Shriram Rajagopalan