Doug Tompkins’ vision developed an old sheep ranch into the spectacular Patagonia National Park that we see today. There is stunning scenery with exciting hiking and wildlife spotting possibilities.
Doug Tompkins did so much for Chile and one of his great visions was the Patagonia National Park. The North Face and Esprit founder was on a camping trip in the Aysén region with his wife Kristine in 1995 when they first saw the Chacabuco Valley and were overwhelmed by its beauty. In 2004 they were able to buy the huge 70,000 hectare Estancia Valle Chacabuco for US$10,000 and turn their vision into reality.
In doing so, it was finally possible to link it together with the Tamango National Reserve to the south and the Jeinimeni National Reserve to the north to create the new 304,527 hectare Parque Patagonia and a vast ecosystem which some have hailed ‘the Yellowstone of South America’.
Tompkins died after a kayaking accident in 2015 but the park lives on: its creation and the protection of 309,445 hectares was formally announced in an agreement between the then president Michelle Bachelet and Kristine Tompkins in January 2018.
Unfortunately, only two months later, a new right wing government headed by Sebastián Piñera was elected. When the creation of the park was announced officially in December 2018, 5000 hectares had been quietly lopped off it in the Jeinimeni sector due to the lobbying of mining companies seeking gold and silver reserves.
Tamango
This small section of the park is easily accessible just to the east of Cochrane.
We checked in with the ranger (park fee CLP 11,000 each) and then drove about 500 metres further to the park campsite.
This only had 9 sites in a spacious, leafy park setting (CLP 7000 each). We chose number 9 for its beautiful elevated view over Lago Cochrane, enhanced even further by our being the only ones in residence.
It was a hot day and the lakeside walk of Los Carpinteros was naturally attractive. This leaves from the Tamango Campsite and winds for 4.6 km above and along the lake to a lookout point.
Chile has an unusual knack of making a 5 km walk feel like 10 and this was no exception. The country was dry and stoney and the sun was unusually hot. The trail had the usual ups and downs with one very steep section.
However we were rewarded with our first huemal (Andean deer) sighting – there are only about 1,000 individuals left in the world and they are now protected. This one was obviously used to walkers and took no notice of us at all, browsing blithely on some grass within about 5 minutes walk of the campsite.
The lookout gave us a splendid view over Lago Cochrane. The lake was an incredibly deep blue and very clear in the sunshine. Had the canoes been available at the camp reception (CLP 25,000 for 3 hours but no one in residence when we arrived), it would have been an idyllic paddle up the lake, with a jetty where one could moor and then walk up to the lookout.
Nevertheless the jetty provided a nice spot for afternoon tea whilst we dangled our feet in the water – anything beyond feet would be just too painful – before wandering back.
Time for a welcome hot shower! Simon checked: it was working! He got undressed: it wasn’t working! It started, it was hot, he got under, it turned cold then hot again.
When my turn came I turned it on and it refused to work at all for about 10 minutes then it suddenly came to life and decided to deliver a super hot shower! The camp site host finally turned up and an hour later a new pump was fitted and all was working perfectly – nothing is ever straightforward in Chile and it is better not to have great expectations.
In the meantime, another huemal drifted past our campsite: an evening of perfect stillness and peace.
Annoyingly, the following day was cloudy and the blue of the lake had darkened, otherwise we might have taken a canoe out. After a leisurely breakfast we checked out and did some shopping in town. The Rojita supermarket had a good range of fresh bread and empanadas; the latter can be ordered hot for more immediate consumption.
We took ours to the Lago Cochrane playa (beach) area about 14 km out of town over a twisty, dusty dirt road whose hills gave our trusty Nissan a good workout.
The beach was pebble fringed with a riot of dog roses behind in full pink blossom. From the little jetty one could see the water weeds waving in the clear water as a boat bobbed offshore creating a vivid reflection. The empanadas were rapidly dispatched.
It was such a heavenly spot that we toyed with the idea of camping there but decided to head on to the Chacabuco Valley.
Chacabuco Valley
The Chacabuco Valley consists of steppe grassland, a mix of bunchgrasses and shrubs which extends into Argentina all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. It is an arid or semi arid environment whose young glacial soils support a rich diversity of wildlife including guanacos and rheas and the predators and scavengers, such as pumas, foxes and condors, which live upon them.
Much had to be done on buying the estancia in 2004. 20,000 sheep and 3000 cattle were sold off gradually so as not to flood the market and the employees were invited to remain in different capacities. A gaucho and ‘leonero’ (one employed to kill pumas) became a park warden. 640 km of fencing was removed to allow animals to roam freely.
Nevertheless, the purchase was a contentious issue with the locals, many of whom had lived and worked on the estancia and now saw all the buildings and their memories bulldozed. They resented rich Westerners disrupting their lifestyle and the mayor of Cochrane even refused to attend the funeral of Doug Tompkins.
We drove some 30 km north from Cochrane through grazing guanacos to the park headquarters of Parque Patagonia where Doug Tompkins’ philosophy of building good quality infrastructure so that people could see that the park was valued, could be clearly seen.
There were various stone buildings including an hotel and restaurant and the visitor information centre with an attached museum. Local woods had been used and everything was of solid, good quality construction. The map on the wall behind the rangers desk is actually the best one you will see of the park as nothing is handed out on paper.
The museum was clear, concise and thought provoking, revealing a potted history of the park and it’s denizens, both human and animal. Space was given to pointing out our present population explosion and the effect it is having on nature and the environment. I always find it strange that we go on about saving the planet but no one ever seems to state the obvious: that there are simply too many people in the world or do anything to stem their growth.
One display had a wall comprised of hundreds of photos of different wild animals and fish which were lit up or not depending on the date at which a lever was positioned. By the time one reached 2040, the entire wall was dark – dark signified extinction. It was a brutally effective and sobering way of getting the message across.
We checked in for 2 nights camping at Los West Winds (CLP 8000 each) and were dismayed to find that the park entry was CLP 5,500 had we bought it there rather than the CLP 11,000 at Tamango for some bizarre reason!
The track to the campsite was fairly rough but doable. There was a small car park containing about 10 camper vans in close proximity and a huge field with shelters for tents, so we schlepped in and got a spot in glorious isolation with an amphitheatre style view of the cliff face above us.
The ranger warned us that pumas had been seen in the area and that if we were to encounter one, the trick is to make oneself look larger – coat/arms above head or some such – and if the worse came to the worst, to fight back. DO NOT RUN! With our long experience of pussy cats, the logic was understandable.
Lagunas Altas Hike
It was with some trepidation that we embarked on this hike as it is 19.5 km long with 1.5 km on the road between the start and the end point. It climbs about 800 m and can be tackled in either direction, although we chose to do it anticlockwise which I would suggest as far the better option as all the climbing and hard work is over after 2½ hours/6 km, leaving the rest a straightforward walk.
The trail left from just above the Los West Winds campsite, initially following an old vehicle track which climbed gently for 3 km between open country and scattered trees. Having left at 7 am, we kept a cautious eye out for early morning pumas.
It then zigzagged up the mountainside and we got our first superb view back over the valley. Rather like Lamington National Park in Queensland, Australia, the path was sufficiently kind that one didn’t really notice the height that one was gaining and it was only a small stretch of some 300 m to the first mirador that was fairly steep.
This rewarded us with an all embracing valley view but it was such a cold, windy spot that we didn’t linger, walking on to the first lake of our circuit which was a reasonable size and a particularly deep blue.
This area had some of the most stunning scenery of the walk with an aerial view over the valley below the jagged cliff edges. We wound around the edge, over a rocky outcrop and into some contorted forest before emerging at another lookout point around the 11 km mark for lunch. The wind rattled through the ñire trees which clung in exposed positions – the park is apparently rather lovely in the autumn when the leaves turn.
The path passed more lakes and led down from the mountain through open grassland with yet more views – it was one of the best walks I had done in Patagonia. The 19.5 kilometres passed painlessly due to our distraction and we arrived back at the car after a very leisurely 9½ hours, rewarding ourselves with an expensive and not very good coffee at the park cafe.
We had one final call to make at West Winds: just around the back of the lodges there is a pioneer cemetery and it was there that Doug Tompkins was buried.
A simple shard of rock marks his grave, which faces towards the escarpment where we had just been walking. ‘Birdie & Lolo’ refers to his and his wife’s pet names for each other – he was Lolo.
Camino Paso Roballos
A rest day was in order after our exertions of the previous one so we packed up and headed east on the X-83 Camino Paso Roballos which runs 55 km to the Argentinian border.
The road threads its way through the park which continues nearly to the border with a couple of obvious exceptions. We passed a beautiful picnic area on Lago Cisnes complete with toilets (unheard of in Chile) and then a small lake with about 10 flamingos in residence.
The road was slow and rough and by lunchtime we had only reached the Casa de Piedra campsite, another walk in one – this time via a footbridge over the Chacabuco – where we picniced beside the river.
As we continued further we got pulled up by another curious but friendly pair of carabineri who wondered where we were going – we imagined them telling their friends in Villa O’Higgins “We found them!” Reassured that we weren’t making a break for the border with forbidden fruit, they left us in their dust and carried on.
The scenery was spectacular with rugged mountains and wide river valley, especially as one got closer to the border. It is a release area for rheas but we didn’t see any. Earlier we had asked a ranger what the chances were of seeing an armadillo and he said they were very hard to spot.
“If you see a rock moving, it is probably an armadillo! ” he laughed. Needless to say the rocks stayed put.
We eventually found Lucas Bridge’s house about 500 m before the Chilean border post, marked out by a verdant clump of trees and tall poplars.
Lucas was a son of Thomas Bridges, the first missionary in Ushuia. Born there in 1874, he later fought for England in WW1, visited South Africa and spent almost two decades leading the Sociedad Explotadora del Baker which developed infrastructure at Puero Bertrand, Caleta Tortel and Cochrane as well as roads, fencing and housing to support the estancias of the region. He established the Valle Chacabuco estancia in 1915.
He died in Buenos Aires in 1949, a year after publishing Uttermost Part of the Earth, a memoir of his early years in Tierra del Fuego. He had an enlightened attitude towards the native races, having been raised amongst the Ona whose language he spoke fluently, but in our more modern times it can be seen that he also embodied a colonial development model which had profoundly negative consequences for the native cultures and wildlife of Patagonia.
When overseeing the estancias he lived in the modest house which is now superbly restored at the head of the Chacabuco Valley – in fact, the Tompkins Foundation have renovated it so beautifully that it looks like something out of Little House on the Prairie, and I am sure far removed from whatever it looked like at the time.
However, they have done a wonderful job, with recreated drawing room, bedroom and bathroom, kitchen and even a general store to one side. The place has a lot of big windows – it must have been a nightmare to heat – and from the verandah there are fabulous views over the valley, including the distinctive dark peak of Cerro Bridges, named in his honour.
The toilet block was closed due to covid which must have provided a convenient excuse as the place is now open only to the extent of ‘you can look through the windows’ and I don’t think any dusting has been done for a while.
There are two other unrestored sheds and a nice view from the hills above, but sadly I don’t think many people stop by – it is a very quiet border post – but I found it quite interesting and worth the considerable detour.
We drove back to camp at Casa de Piedra, named after its central house which has three separate cooking rooms as well as all the facilities (including wonderful hot showers!). There are three tent shelters and we claimed the one with the best view, looking straight up Valle Avilés. I can’t quite work out who all these places were designed for as they are virtually empty. Most people are in camper vans and are not going to walk in so are relegated to a tiny car park. Perhaps the locals come out to party in January but they were certainly not around in December.
Doug Tompkins Lookout
The Alto Valle campsite was closed for some unknown reason. In a stunning location towards the head of the Chacabuco Valley it also has access to some of the best walking in the park.
Thus we had to park on the road and walk in 6.8 km to the Doug Tompkins lookout. The gravel road actually ascends to within 500 m of it if you have a 4 x 4 (2WD cars have to park after about 3 km). It was a fairly easy walk and we covered the 310 m ascent in 1½ hours. Bizarrely, the stone blocks at the parking area were missing their poles – were they never placed there or has someone nicked them?!
The story goes that the lookout was the spot where Doug Tompkins and his wife Kristine gazed out and thought ‘This would make a wonderful National Park!’
The view is indeed fabulous as it covers the blue waters of Lago Cochrane and extends to the glaciers on Monte San Lorenzo with the mountain range in its entirety on the skyline.
There is a solidly built shelter with picnic tables and benches, but as is common with any mirador in Patagonia there was a howling gale which was blowing straight in. We had to picnic around the side to escape it.
Lago Chico
The Lago Chico walk has its stunning climax at the lookout, although having just had lunch there, we decided to do it in reverse. It is a gentle 12 km loop around rolling hills to a lake nestled in a valley from whose end is another great view of Lago Cochrane.
Sentinel guanacos stood on guard on high points like Indians watching our incursion and we saw a Magellanic woodpecker in the forest where contorted beeches spoke of the heavy winds in the area.
There was a lot of variety in the landscape and a balcony track at the end was breathtaking. If the road were open to traffic this could be an immensely popular walk. I fear that CONAF is not going to maintain the infrastructure it has been given as well as the Americans might have done. Even if one only visited the lookout it would showcase the park, but few people are sadly going to bother walking in from the road. We had all the fabulous scenery to ourselves.
Valle Avilés
Having done two long hikes in the previous three days, we debated whether we should do this one, but were finally glad that we did.
It had the advantage of leaving directly from the campsite and was only 16 km in total. It started off quite gently with two kilometres over the flat valley floor, before we crossed a swing bridge and started climbing up a huge moraine bank.
Wide Chacabuco Valley views opened behind us. A bunch of horses grazed on the flat which we suspected came from a small hacienda across the road. It’s owner had obviously refused to sell to Doug Tompkins – maybe he was one of those bull headed characters who would say he had always grazed his horses there and he wasn’t stopping now – and it didn’t look as if the park was doing anything to prevent it.
The path climbed gently some 6 km up the valley, crossing small streams, patches of forest and little valleys. At one point a river crossed our path and we had to take off shoes and socks and wade through the icy waters.
We seized the opportunity for lunch whilst our feet dried out. Simon sluiced out the bowl and knife, remarking that it was the quickest Christmas lunch washing up he had ever done. It was nice to be removed from all the hectic superfluous commercialism of the day!
Shortly afterwards we arrived at a long and rather wobbly suspension bridge over the Avilés River gorge which lay dark and narrow under the bridge. We both hung on to the sides as we crossed to the left bank and started wending our way back again.
The head of the valley was a rather dramatic affair with high spikey peaks, one a brilliantly deep volcanic red. It is possible to continue walking up the valley (some 30 km in total) then cross a pass down to the lakes of the Jeinimeni sector. Having enjoyed the scenery so far, it was a very enticing prospect.
The track wove up and down gullies with a few grazing guanacos. We passed a ruined shingle hut which must have once been used by a gaucho guarding the sheep. The roof was falling in but enough remained to see all the handiwork that had been involved in its original construction – it seemed rather a shame that it should be allowed to fall into a wreck.
We finally walked along a narrow ridge between the gorges of two rivers, and dropped down to the valley floor and the final stretch back to our campsite. It had been a great way to spend Christmas day: we had briefly spoken to two hikers and the warden.
After a coffee we had a final hot shower and departed, enjoying all the browsing guanacos with their leggy young as we gradually left the park. They gather the youngsters together in the centre of the grazing herd, obviously to better protect them from predators.
Guanacos form 80% of the puma diet in the park. Having previously been thought a solitary animal, pumas have been seen feeding together in larger numbers in the park – in fact there is a great video on the Doug Tompkins Foundation page of seven of them walking above his grave. The foundation has encouraged the use of guard dogs to protect sheep herds from attack, a method which has a long history in Europe and Asia, but strangely not in South America.
We drove some 50 km to camp at a lookout area above the confluence of the Baker and Nef rivers – one of the advantages of going back the same way is that it allowed us to scope out suitable camp spots on our trip down.
Chile Chico
A perfect night and breakfast spot! We visited the confluence again and drove north of Puerto Bertrand to branch off on the 265 to Chile Chico.
Once again we underestimated the time it would take to drive the 113 km to Chile Chico. There wasn’t too much to delay us en route: we filled up at the charming old frontier town of Puerto Guadal which has a wonderful location on Lago General Carrera and a view of impressive glaciated mountain tops.
A quick wander to the los Maquis waterfall revealed a fine torrent, although we didn’t do the scramble to the top for the rumored infinity pool. We stopped for lunch at a scenic overlook where we looked across little islets in the blue of the lake to the Marble Caves beyond, and later had a coffee stop at the wilder eastern end.
Other than that we drove – and drove – and drove. It was probably the worse road we had driven to date in Chile, with huge corrugations that reduced our progress to a juddering crawl. At least the scenery compensated with the emerald lake a constant distraction, although one particular 18 km stretch demanded alertness as the road roller coastered along the side of the hillside, precariously bulldozed out of the rock.
Chile Chico is a pleasant little border town which has a direct and subsidised 2 hour boat link to Puerto Ibáñez, so cutting out the long drive on horrible roads. We thought about it for our return but it was booked up, maybe because adults are only CLP 2,400 each and a car CLP 20,350. I was amused to see that cattle or horses are CLP 3,150 – I am not sure whether that is each or per load?!
We got some groceries at an alarming supermarket which displayed no prices whatsoever, although it seemed to come out about right in the end, then headed on towards the Jeinimeni sector of Parque Patagonia, a mere 54 km away.
We were late leaving town and we gave up after an hour, fed up with the rough roads, camping in a nice spot above the Río Jeinimeni. We had an apero overlooking the river towards the Argentinian side where cars seemed to be positively zipping along on Ruta 41. A strange rock formation on the hillside reminded me of Stonehenge.
Cueva de las Manos
Just 2 km on from our campsite, a walk left through the Piedra Clavada sector of the park.
Unfortunately the gate was locked when we arrived at 8 am – we were an hour early – so we decided to walk up the 2.2 km access road which gained nothing as we arrived at the car park at roughly the same time as if we had waited and then driven up!
The circuit is 7.2 km long and leaves deceptively gently in a clockwise direction. After about a kilometre it started to climb and did so steadily, following a small river upstream under tall cliffs, passing a small cave with some hand paintings and a distinctive giant isolated rock pillar, the Piedra Clavada (nail).
After about 4 km with 400 m of climbing, we reached the Portezuelo pass at 1,145 m. Grassy hills stretched away; in the distance some guanacos were grazing, accompanied by one black cow.
A short descent led to the Cueva de las Manos, a small cave once used by native Tehuelche Indians for shelter. It contains paintings up to 7000 years old, mostly of hands in a red pigment but also the odd guanaco and other scribbling rendered unrecognisable by time.
The trail continued as a balcony one with a superb overview of the final delight of the route : the Valle Luna, an area of ancient sculptured rock and mountains in vivid shapes and colours.
We hiked back down the hill, retrieved the car and set off for the final 27 km to the Jeinimeni section of Parque Patagonia. We paused at a lake about half way with a bunch of happy flamingos, as well as ducks, geese with numerous goslings, white black-headed swans and even a hare. The sheep on the edges seemed almost an afterthought.
The hills became more colourful the closer we got to Jeinimeni although there was no improvement to the road. We were going so slowly our dust overtook us so we had to keep the windows closed.
Jeinimeni
Protecting the birthplace of five rivers and with the stunning 451 hectare Lago Jeinimeni at its centre, this reserve was created in 1998 before been incorporated into Parque Patagonia in 2018. Glaciers have created the forested valleys and rosy hued mountain tops which enclose the lake in a dramatic embrace.
Although we had to pay another CLP 11,000 each to enter the park as apparently the tickets only last 3 days, the friendly ranger, who had shaken our hands on arrival, let us off the CLP 3000 each for camping.
The campsite has about 7 shelters nestled in the heavily forested foreshore providing much needed wind protection. We chose number 4, which was closest to the lake and had a nice flat area in front for the tent.
Having been rather spoiled at Chacabuco, we found things a bit ragged around the edges although functional – the showers were cold if you were brave enough!
However the setting was fabulous and it was beautifully quiet, a gang of 3 backpackers in a van being the only other people there.
Sendero del Silencio
It was likely our last chance to spot a puma. The ranger told us that there were muchos pumas in the area. Signs warned us that it was a puma zone.
Even so one didn’t actually expect to see one! We thought we would do the 1.2 km Sendero del Silencio trail at about 5 pm in the forlorn hope of spotting one. The track rises 200 m via 3 excellent lookouts over the lake.
It initially left the campsite on a path through dense trees – and suddenly after only 150 m Simon was clicking away frantically with his camera: he had seen a puma moving down through the trees towards the campsite. It paused long enough for us to see it’s beautiful head and fine ears and then moved away easily through the forest.
We continued and 5 minutes later it reappeared again on the path above us. It came to a bridge over the river and paused, then looking distinctly nervous, it crossed and headed up the grassy hill on the far side.
We saw it a third time, resting on a log further along and again it disappeared gracefully with a flick of a long black tipped tail. It was to be our final glimpse but what a sighting – I felt quite privileged to have seen it and it suddenly made all those rough roads worth the effort!
As we reached the final look out, with a superb view over the lake and colourful volcanic mountains, we found 3 loud backpackers in residence posing for their social media shots – maybe it was their approach behind us which had sent him skedaddling back up the hill when we saw him for the second time on the bridge.
As a final treat on the way down we found no less than 4 Magellanic woodpeckers with their vivid red heads tapping away. Our evening sundowner beside the lake seemed very well deserved after all our excitement.
Mirador del Lago Trail
Our time in Patagonian Chile was drawing to an end and all that remained was the drive back to Puerto Montt.
We did one last walk in the park, ambling for a gentle 3 km around the lake and then ascending 1 km on the Mirador del Lago trail, which had plenty of benches en route as it wound up to its uppermost viewpoint.
We were surrounded by unspoilt wilderness with an expansive view over the entire lake. To the west we glimpsed the little Laguna Esmeralda and then the larger form of Lago Verde. From there the trail runs up the valley which leads through to Avilés and the Casa de Piedra campsite. Icy glaciers were interspersed with bare red volcanic peaks. Somewhere our puma walked in the forest, a tawny blur of supple beauty.
As we had left the cemetery at West Winds a quote on the archway had caught my eye: ‘No hay sinonimo para Dios mas perfecta que la Belleza’.
By John Muir, and put in place by Doug Tompkins, it translates as: ‘There is no synonym for God more perfect than Beauty.’
The ‘God’ bit is very American but I can see where Tompkins was coming from: a man who early on had been motivated chiefly by the beauty of nature, his legacy can be seen all around us today in Patagonia National Park.
NOTES
The closest airport to Patagonia Park is Chile’s Coyhaique /Balmaceda airport, served by LAN Chile and Sky Airline.
