The Spanish word “torre” means “tower,” an apt name for the trio of soaring granite pinnacles that form the centerpiece of Torres del Paine National Park in remote southern Chile. In Torres del Paine, mountains rise from the windswept Patagonian plains, creating some of the most dramatic scenery on earth. Majestic peaks, including the jagged Cuernos del Paine (Horns of Paine) and Paine Grande, the park’s highest point at 10,006 feet, loom over a wild landscape of glaciers, rushing rivers, and turquoise lakes. From the population centers of central and northern Chile, this isolated region is reachable only by air, sea, or road through Argentina.
No one knows for certain what the name “Paine” (pronounced “PIE-nay”) means, though some say it is an ancient Indian word meaning “blue,” referring to the color of the glacial lakes. Another theory holds that Paine was a Welshman who explored the area. The Welsh were among the early European settlers in the region, and their descendants still populate several communities in nearby Argentine Patagonia, though Spanish has been their first language for generations.
Torres del Paine was established as a national park in 1959 and named a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve in 1978. Before the Chilean government acquired it, much of the land now included in the national park was owned by ranchers. They hunted native wildlife to make room for cattle, burned forests to increase pasturage, and allowed their livestock to overgraze the fragile grasslands. Since being designated a national park, the overstressed land has been recovering well; other areas of the park were too remote for ranching and remain in pristine condition. Wildlife in the park includes the rhea (an ostrich-like bird known locally as the ñandú), the guanaco (a wild cousin of the llama and alpaca), the huemul (a type of deer found only in Chile), the gray fox, the puma, and the Andean condor.
For more info: Future articles will cover lodging options and hiking circuits within the park. For now, see TorresdelPaine.com or GoChile for additional information.
Photo: Pehoe Lake with the Cuernos de Paine (Horns of Paine) behind, by Annika S. Hipple
Comments
This is a fabulous article and amazing photos. Congratulations to the author Annika Hipple!!!
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