BLACKBOOK UPDATE Rooms
BLACKBOOK UPDATE Rooms at Tierra Patagonia Hotel & Spa start at US,460 for four nights, including excursions. To book or for more details, call +56 2 207 8861 or go to tierra patagonia.com From the outside, it looks like a modern Noah’s Ark washed up on the shore. Cazú Zegers, one of three prominent Santiago-based architects who designed the hotel, took inspiration from the winds by integrating the undulating woodand-glass hotel into a long bank of low-rising hills. Zegers clad the exterior and interiors in local Lenga wood from a sustainably planted forest. The exterior appears malleable, as though the winds are responsible for the exaggerated curves. The wood inside will keep its honey-coloured hue, but over time the elements will cause the outside cladding to grey. The suites are done floor to ceiling in Lenga and embellished with only downy sheepskin throws and picture windows that frame the distant mountains. The restaurant, bar, lounge and library are all housed in one grand communal space. But Tierra Patagonia is more than just a pretty crash pad. Wilderness excursions depart several times a day, ranging from light hikes around turquoise lakes and soft grassy plains to challenging climbs (all excursions included). The Pingo valley is one of the greenest spots in Torres del Paine National Park, and Tierra Patagonia’s guided journey there includes the magnificent Grey Glacier, pounding waterfalls and rock formations like nothing else on earth. Tierra Patagonia continued ECOCAMP Patagonia A luxe tent city C amping in Patagonia is a romantic notion complicated by a reality that includes blistering winds and occasional torrential downpours. Javier López and Yerko Ivelic tackled the problem by creating EcoCamp Patagonia, a string of 25 tent-like geodesic domes that are waterproof, wind-resistant and easy on the eyes. This luxury encampment in Torres del Paine National Park looks like a futuristic hobbit village and was inspired by the dome-shaped huts typical of Patagonia’s nomadic Kawésqar people. The suite and loft domes are sealed in green and transparent coverings that keep the elements out but let in views of the Andes and the stars. Larger domes house the FROM TOP: © TIERRA PATAGONIA HOTEL & SPA (3); © ECOCAMP PATAGONIA 16 departures-international.com
