BLACKBOOK THE HANDBOOK
BLACKBOOK THE HANDBOOK Kid. People fantasise about travelling to Patagonia to chase grandeur, to face the unknown and to take on Mother Nature. Patagonia, in other words, has a spiritual pull because it tests the limits of what it means to be human. T raditionally, a trip has involved starting in Santiago, Chile, then flying four hours south to Punta Arenas, followed by driving five hours to Torres del Paine National Park. From here, travellers drive at least six hours into Argentine Patagonia to the Perito Moreno Glacier near El Calafate, drive another four and a half hours to Mount Fitz Roy, and then drive four hours back to El Calafate to catch a three-hour flight to Buenos Aires. (The trip can be reversed, flying into Buenos Aires first.) But a spate of recently finished high-end lodges and hotels, especially in Chilean Patagonia, has upended the travel circuit, opening up new regions and upping the ante in the more established areas to visit. Still, the trip isn’t for everyone. Before going, it’s helpful to learn exactly what a trip entails (see What to Expect, page 36). Something as seemingly straightforward as where Patagonia is can confuse travellers. The first thing to know is that Chile is narrow and Argentina is wide, but both are long: they share a 5,300km border, only about 300km shorter than the distance between New York City and London. Patagonia is probably best defined as anything below Buenos Aires on the east side and Puerto Montt (1,000km south of Santiago) in the west. This means the region is about twothirds of Argentina and one-third of Chile. But even in Patagonia, there is no consensus as to the region’s boundaries. I was snowshoeing up a volcano in Pucón, Chile, 340km north of Puerto Montt, when I heard the best definition of all. My guide Mario from Vira Vira hotel said, “Patagonia is not a place; it’s not a clothing brand. Patagonia is a connection to the land, water and air. It’s a clearing of the mind and an opening of the soul. Patagonia is your heart pounding in your chest, sweat dripping down your neck and your body gasping for breath. Patagonia is a way of life.” So if you, dear reader, want to have a soul-awakening experience, if you want to feel the wind rattle your bones, then read on for all the advice you need for seeing Patagonia now, as luxuriously as appropriately possible. Patagonia Park is home to 2,500 guanacos, a relative of the llama PATAGONIA PARK’S CONSERVATION VISION In Chile’s remote Aysén region, one of the world’s biggest grasslands restoration projects is an ideal secluded base camp for travellers comfortable with do-it-yourself adventure Patagonia Park, located in a transitional zone between the temperate beech forests of Chile and the arid steppes of Argentina, is the region’s latest mustvisit destination. The park is the endeavour of former Patagonia clothing brand CEO Kristine McDivitt Tompkins and her late husband, Doug Tompkins, cofounder of The North Face and Esprit. Over the past two decades, the American couple had bought and conserved more than 890 hectares in Chile and Argentina. Patagonia Park, which opened to the public in June 2014, is their crown jewel. “Beyond the beauty, there are practical reasons to create a very big and long-lasting park here,” Kristine told me. PHOTO © TOMPKINS CONSERVATION 30 CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM
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