Patagonia: Turquoise Lakes & Torres del Paine

Land in Patagonia, get yourself to Puerto Natales, and drop your bags at the hostel. This is the gateway town for Torres del Paine, so if you need to rent any hiking gear, do it tonight—shops close around 8 or 9pm. You'll meet the rest of the crew in the evening, usually around 6pm at the hostel, before the real adventure kicks off tomorrow.

The trip starts for real today with a drive into Torres del Paine National Park. Your first taste of the park's scale is a 14km trek to the Serrano River Lookout, a solid four-to-five-hour hike with views across the plains to the mountain range. You'll see the landscape shift from grassy steppe to the jagged peaks the park is famous for. The day ends at Serrano Campsite, where you'll have dinner with the group and crash in your tent.

Today is the big one: the 22km trek to the base of Las Torres. It's a full-day effort, climbing through the scenic Ascencio Valley to the three iconic granite towers and the turquoise lake at their feet. The final section is a steep push up a rocky moraine, but the view is the reason you're here. You'll eat a packed lunch on the trail before hiking back down the same path. Afterwards, a short drive takes you to Laguna Azul Campsite for another night in a tent.

One last morning in the park. You'll do a short, one-hour hike to the Sierra Masle lookout for a final view of the granite towers before packing up. From there, it's a 90-minute drive back to Puerto Natales. The afternoon is yours to recover, wander the town's corrugated-tin streets, or find a bar. Puerto Natales has a decent craft beer scene, and it's a good chance to grab a drink with your hostel mates.

This is a full-on travel day. You'll grab a cab to the bus station in Puerto Natales for the public bus across the border into Argentina. The ride to El Calafate takes about five or six hours, mostly across flat plains with mountains in the distance. You'll get stamped out of Chile and into Argentina along the way. Arrive in the late afternoon, check into the hostel, and the rest of the evening is free to explore the town or find a spot for a sunset walk to Laguna Nimez.

Today is all about ice. A morning drive takes you into Los Glaciares National Park to see the Perito Moreno Glacier, a massive, advancing river of ice. You'll spend a few hours walking the network of boardwalks that face the glacier's 70-meter-high wall, listening for the crack and crash of it calving into the lake below. There's an optional boat trip if you want to get closer. The evening is free back in El Calafate to find dinner and a bar with the rest of the crew.

Another bus journey takes you deeper into Patagonia, heading north to El Chaltén, Argentina’s self-proclaimed trekking capital. The town sits right at the base of the Fitz Roy massif. After checking into the hostel, the afternoon is yours. You can stretch your legs on a short warm-up hike to a viewpoint like Mirador de los Cóndores or the Chorrillo del Salto waterfall, or just find a bar and start planning tomorrow's big trek.

Today is a full free day for hiking out of El Chaltén, and the trails start right from the edge of town. The main event for anyone with the energy is the challenging, full-day trek to Laguna de los Tres for the classic postcard view of Mount Fitz Roy. If you're looking for something shorter or did the warm-ups yesterday, there are plenty of other trails. The whole point of being here is to be on the trails, so pick one that fits your level. Everyone usually finds a bar for a celebratory post-hike beer.

One last bus ride. After breakfast, you'll pack up and take the public bus from El Chaltén back to El Calafate. A morning airport transfer from the hotel brings the trip to a close in El Calafate around noon. If you're flying out of El Calafate today, don't book anything before 4pm to give yourself a safe buffer to get to the airport.