Sounds fun! Patagonia is an awesome place.fleetmack wrote:Thinking of heading down to Patagonia in March for 10 days or so. Pretty ignorant on the entire area. For those of you who have been there:
1) What would you do if you had 8-10 days in Patagonia?
2) Lodging options? (camp vs. cheap hotel vs. luxury hotel)
3) Anything else you can think of, as I said, I'm quite ignorant here and am just starting the education process...
Assuming your 8-10 days mean once you're there (Calafate/Chalen/Punta Arenas, etc) -as mentioned, it takes a while to GET there and Back from the US; I don't have a map handy, but with that timeframe you might be able to do all three of the below items, though might have enough time for the Glacier.
1. W Circuit around Torres del Paine - (a bit shorter than the Full Circuit, but hits all the same main highlights and is ideal for shorter trips): do it backpacking, either camping or staying in one of the refugios if you can get a spot (rent a tent to save on packing weight while traveling).
2. Fitz Roy/Chalten: The mini hiking circuit (one long day) up to Fitz Roy (stay in Chalten) - I hear the road is paved now which will make driving a better transport option.
3. Perito Merino Glacier is a must see in my opinion and if you have a day, spend it trekking on the glacier (you can rent homemade crampons to save on packing weight).
Bring rain gear that actually works and extra waterproof sacks for stuff for stuff in your pack you don't want wet. It can also get freakishly windy there, so be prepared for that and generally bad weather.
