Our Patagonia adventure would extend for 2 weeks on both sides of the Chilean and Argentinian border. First in Torres Del Paine then later around El Chalten. Both areas are famed for their rugged landscapes and at times inhospitable climate, fortunately we were travelling in late January. Which meant decent weather, but also peak season costs and low availability. 

Patagonia with kids – Chile or Argentina?

To cut a long story short, both national parks are spectacular. Although one is significantly easier and better catered for travel with children, particularly if you are on any kind of budget. El Chalten is well served by buses, the small town has everything you need, and all day walks start and end in the town. Torres del Paine on the other hand is about 2 hours from the nearest town of Puerto Natales. As such to spend any more than one day in Torres Del Paine you will need your own transportation, and be prepared to either camp or spend a small fortune on the largely luxury accommodation within the park. We opted to spend a small fortune to essentially camp, but more on that later.

Puerto Natales : The Gateway to Torres Del Paine

Looking the part with our recently acquired winter attire (picked up in Decathlon in Bangkok of all places), the Price Family headed down to the southern tip of the world. We would first be spending a week in Torres Del Paine, however, given its remoteness our indirect route from the Chilean Lakes required us to take a flight to Punta Arenas and then a 3 hour bus ride back up north to Puerto Natales. This was our first experience of South American buses and we were all super impressed at the comfort, cost and timeliness. We booked-ended our trip with a night either side of the park in Puerto Natales, a gateway town you would otherwise skip.

After a fortnight of self catering and the prospect of a week in the National Park, we all jumped at the chance to dine out in Puerto Natales. We would thoroughly recommend the delicious meal we had at Restaurant Artimana, the cheap eat at Base Camp and even in colder climates the kids welcomed the unexpected opportunity to devour the super tasty ice creams from Artisan Gelateria Aluen Patagonia. While the restaurants exceeded our expectations, the same couldn’t be said for the main supermarket. With an upcoming week in the Park we had to stock up on supplies. Unimarc felt like a step back in time to super long queues, limited selection and many bare shelves. Fortunately, on the morning of departure we stumbled on the smaller Supermercardo Superfrut with a surprisingly larger range and edible-looking fresh produce.

Posh camping with wheels

Jennie and I had kept our accommodation a surprise for the kids. Luckily after struggling to find apartments or hotels in the park, we stumbled upon an unusual Airbnb listing…a motor home and 4wd pick up truck. Our kids love the idea of camping, and we love the luxury of walls and warm running water so this felt like a decent compromise. What we hadn’t fully acknowledged was the size of the vehicle…it was a Beast! Together the trailer and truck were arguably longer than a coach, and we would be pulling it across windy potholed dirt roads. 

With nerves shredded from pulling the Beast we arrived at Pehoe campsite. Folks had told us you can experience all 4 seasons in 1 day, and at that moment summer turned to a grim winter day with strong winds and rain, the perfect mix for parking. Carlos had reliably told us the campsite was well set up for his motor homes, and indeed it would have been if the majority of RV suitable plots weren’t already occupied by tents and other camper vans. So we found a perfect spot on an incline tucked away required a parking manoeuvre the most seasoned of HGV drivers would have struggled to access. Needless to say Jennie and I remained calm throughout, and the expletives and obscenities thrown in each others direction were purely for support and a sign of our endearing love. 

Once parked and stabilised we had amazing views out across the piercing blue lake to the famed towers. On the negative side the trailer was certainly showing its age and the lack of water tight seal meant we faced two issues…first the entire interior, we’re talking everything, was caked in several millimetres of dust sucked in as we had driven up in the good weather, and now this was being mixed with rain water that was pouring in from behind the pull out kitchen. Oh the joys of camping! And did I mention we forgot to stock up on alcohol…there would be no drowning of these sorrows. For all its elderly faults, once clean, the trailer was comfortable and had ample space for everyone. And most importantly we were in the heart of Torres del Paine and ready to explore.

Trekking with kids in Torres Del Paine

Many intrepid explorers sign up for the O or W multi day hikes, but with 3 young kids this was never going to be an option. Internet is a scarcity in the Park, but fortunately we had planned several walks ahead of arriving. Over the course of the next 5 days we spent time traversing the Park in our pick up truck, experiencing every weather imaginably, breathtaking scenery and abundant wildlife. With kids we loved:

• Salto Grande Falls and Salto Falls are impressive falls entering and exiting Pehoe Lake. We attempted to extend the walk from Salto Grande Fall to reach the famed Cuernos lookout which by all accounts is an easy walk, but with the kids being buffeted by increasingly gale force winds we reluctantly aborted. 
• Laguna Azul and Salto Paine Falls are in the north east of the park about an hours drive from the Lake Pehoe. The waterfalls are powerful and the limited fencing frayed our nerves, fortunately Rory was asleep and safe in the truck. Laguna Azul was another picture perfect setting and apparently a good place to spot pumas. You’ve heard it before but our kids and wildlife don’t mix…so no pumas on this trip.
• Grey Glacier can be seen up close by boat, however, we decided to view from afar given an upcoming trip to the Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina. The 8km round trip walk to the viewpoint from the Hotel Lago Grey came with the obligatory whinging, but the kids loved the pebble beach, rope bridge and spotting the icebergs floating in the lake. 
• Perched up above our campsite Condor Mirador offered spectacular views of the park stretching to Grey Glacier and the towers. And as its name would suggest we saw glimpses of condors nesting on the rock face. Once again the wind picked up and at times was literally lifting the kids off their feet. Without the wind this was a walk that could easily be extended.

The iconic Mirador Las Torres trek

While the multi day hikes were off limits, there was one day hike that tempted. The iconic hike to Mirador Las Torres is a 20km round trip from the Torres Hotel. Preparation took the form of sleep deprivation, due to gale force wind rocking the trailer throughout the night. By 6am the wind had dropped and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I tried one last time to persuade Molly to join, but left for my second Chilean solo adventure.

Walking alone and early meant the paths were empty heading in the direction of the Mirador. Without the kids I covered the round trip in less than 5 hours. The hike gains almost 1000m of elevation, but the majority is packed into an energy sapping last kilometre where you scramble over rocks and up small streams. The reward for the efforts were incredible, a turquoise lake with three imposing granite peaks. After eating a second breakfast and experimenting unsuccessfully with time lapse videos, I descended past the hordes of coach tours of folks that had arrived from Puerto Natales for a very long day trip. This is one hike that favours the early bird.

The Price Family had earned their first Patagonia outdoor stripes. The kids braved the seasons, they did posh camping and they walked further than ever before. All good preparation for the next leg in Argentina.