Lace up your walking boots and pack light. Down in the far-flung latitudes of the Chilean Patagonia, Torres del Paine National Park’s ‘W’ trail offers hikers a challenging five-day, 45-mile circuit through crescendoing peaks and hanging glaciers. Words: Amelia Duggan
“Pick whichever you want, they’re all wild,” Camilo shouts into the wind, securing his beret with one hand and motioning to a lineup of stout, tethered ponies with the other. He and the other stable hands are in the process of coaxing a bucking stallion into a bridle. It’s a fantastic scene — one that, appropriately for our remote setting, seems to speak of the temerity of men in the face of unpredictable, unyielding nature.
Soon, Camilo is saddled up and all is clearly forgiven between him and the truculent horse: “I often feel like that in the morning,” he concedes, patting its mane as he leads our caravan of riders and packhorses away from the Las Torres stables. Our horse wrangler is a baqueano — a Patagonian cowboy — and is a commanding presence on horseback. He’s sporting a felt boina hat, high boots and a knife, sheathed in leather and tucked through his waistband. The earth tones of his woolen garbs chime with the landscape; he’s poetry in motion. My Chilean friend, Felipe, and I, on the other hand, cut less elegant figures in conical riding helmets and neon hiking jackets. Still, as white fog cascades off the foothills and drifts low across the yellow pampas, obscuring our route, I’m grateful for this gentle, trotting introduction to the circuit.
However, the path turns challenging, and my poor pony ploughs through icy torrents, hooves scrabbling for purchase on steep, pitted paths. And as we climb higher and higher, my Spanish vocabulary expands in unpleasant ways. Barranco, I learn after Camilo shouts it back at us through the mist, translates as ‘precipice’. And rachas? ‘Gusts’ — the wind, he says, can barrel through at 100mph.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Adventure January 2018: Wild ways to see the world-Ausgabe von National Geographic Traveller (UK).
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Adventure January 2018: Wild ways to see the world-Ausgabe von National Geographic Traveller (UK).
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
DIRECTORY
Lush Paul Valley, located at the foot of the COVA crater, is surrounded by rocky peaks, constituting one of the most spectacular landscapes of the island of Santo Antão.
CLIMBING KILIMANJARO
To summit Kilimanjaro is an expedition of a lifetime. Whether you're a seasoned mountaineer or a first-timer, there are key questions to consider before tackling the Tanzanian peak.
SEARCHING FOR BIGFOOT
TO VISIT OREGON IS TO EMBRACE THE ELEMENTAL POSSIBILITY OF BIGFOOT, THE HAIRY, HUMAN-LIKE MYTHICAL CREATURE. THE PROSPECT AND THRILL OF THE CHASE MAKES THE AREA'S THICK FORESTS, GURGLING CREEKS AND SCENIC HIKING TRAILS A TRUE WALK ON THE WILD SIDE.
FOR THE BIRDS
A visit to the Scottish Highlands offers one of the best bird- and wildlife-watching experiences in the UK, with the promise of rare encounters with unique species.
ON THE WATER
From swimming to standup paddleboarding, boating to biking, here's how to have the ultimate adventure on and around six of world's most beautiful lakes.
HOW I GOT THE SHOT
PHOTOGRAPHER MATT DUTILE ON SNAPPING THE FROZEN CONTINENT'S CHARISMATIC WILDLIFE FOR OUR MAY ISSUE
THE EVOLVING GAP YEAR
FROM ENHANCING A CV TO BENEFITTING A LOCAL COMMUNITY OR TRAVELLING WITH PURPOSE, THE MOTIVES FOR STUDENTS TO TAKE A GAP YEAR ARE INCREASINGLY NUANCED.
VALLETTA
In Malta’s harbour-framed capital, a rich and evolving art scene unfolds among honeyed baroque facades, echoing the global influences that have shaped the city over the centuries
A timeless city
Wander through artistic alleyways and along modern beachfronts in South Korea’s second city — a place where tradition and innovationgo hand in hand.
SANDS OF TIME
COVERING AROUND 800,000 SQUARE MILES, ALGERIA'S SHARE OF THE SAHARA TAKES UP OVER 80% OF THE COUNTRY - THE VOLCANIC PEAKS, CANYONS AND VAST SAND SEAS FORM A STRIKING BACKDROP TO OASIS CITIES AND UNIQUE NORTH AFRICAN CULTURES