About Hosterias Las Torres

TORRES DEL PAINE, CHILE

ABOUT HOSTERIA LAS TORRES

Las Torres rests in the heart of the Chilean Patagonia in mythical Torres del Paine National Park. The charmingly rustic hotel provides a comfortable home base from which to explore the park’s towering mountains, turquoise lakes, glaciers, ice fields and steppes. Las Torres is located 120 kilometers from the town of Puerto Natales and 375 kilometers from the larger city of Punta Arenas and is accessible by bus or car.

With 84 cozy rooms with incredible mountains and hills views, and a few kilometers distance from the Towers of the Paine themselves, it is the last bastion of civilization opposite to the virgin nature, a beautiful place at the end of the world to enjoy in a comfortable and sure way of the beauty and force of the National Park Torres del Paine.

Inside its facilities you will find:
82 rooms (single, double and triple rooms, rustic style)
2 Suites
Bar-Lounge "Arboleda"
Restaurants "Coirón"
Conference Center (150 people)
Two sitting areas
Boutique Spa
Stables (150 horses)

ROOMS:
The rooms of the hotel provide a cozy atmosphere, being the perfect setting to relax and enjoy after a long days excursion. Central heating, box spring beds, telephones and private bathrooms in a rustic yet elegant decoration provide the ideal ambience in our superior rooms for resting and preparing the next days activities.
Several services are available in the relaxing environment of your room, with a simple call you have the possibility of enjoying massages, food, wine and drinks.
Las Torres offers single, double twin, matrimonial and triple rooms in categories standard and superior.

SERVICES:
Despite the long distance from civilization, there are a variety of services that could be expected in any city. Inside the hotel there is laundry service, satellite telephone, Internet, 24hrs of electricity(*), concierge, guided excursions, transport, horse rides and a restaurant that serves american breakfast, and you have dinner with a variety of Chilean wines.
(*) in winter the electricity is cut during the night.

SPA:
After a day of adventure, the Las Torres Spa invites you to treat yourself right. In the rustic-chic spa located in a two-story log cabin beside the hotel, you can soak in an herb- or salt-infused bath, relax your muscles with a massage or Jacuzzi sit, cleanse your pores in a sauna, or renew your skin with mud therapy treatments. Treatments incorporate local ingredients, including salts harvested from Laguna Azul and traditional Chilean herbs, including canelo, salvia, altamisa and barraco. Choose between packages like the “Trekker’s Cure,” “Full Massage” and “Honeymoon Suite.”

ORGANIC FOOD:
The majority of the meat and vegetables served at the Las Torres restaurant meets organic food production standards and is raised on the hotel farm just minutes from your tabletop. No conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers or food additives are used to produce the vegetables, and no regular antibiotics or growth hormones are used to produce the meats. Enjoy dishes like vegetable lasagna, breaded chicken with mustard sauce and potatoes and gnocchi soufflé with peace of mind.

EXPEDITIONS & TOURS:

Full Paine: (7-10 hrs.)
We visit the main features on the south side of the park, including the major lakes, Glaciar Grey and the Paine Massif, the granite and sedimentary rock towers that give the park its name. We are likely to see the flora and fauna characteristic of the park as well.
Type of excursion: Vehicle and trekking
Difficulty: Easy
Experience required: None
Time: 7-11 hours
Vehicle: 7 hours
Trekking: 2-4 hours

Mirador Nordenskjöld:

On this three-hour trek we will learn about the plants, mammals and birds living close to the place where the Río Paine enters Lago Nordenskjöld. We will see views of the southern section of Lago Nordenskjöld, as well as Monte Almirante Nieto and the Torres.

Type of excursion: Trekking and vehicle
Difficulty: Medium
Experience required: None
Time: 4 hours
Vehicle: 1 hour
Trekking: 3 hours


Sendero de los Lagos: (8-10 hrs.). (Vehicle y trekking)
We take a vehicle to the Estancia Lazo at the Hostería Mirador del Paine, a ranch about an hour and a half southeast of the park. From the ranch, we can see rivers feed into the Señoret Canal on their way to the Fiordo Ultima Esperanza. We begin trekking toward Lago del Toro, enjoying views of the Paine Massif and several lakes and lagoons in the area. The chances are good of seeing the water birds and condors.

Type of excursion: Trekking and vehicle
Difficulty: Medium
Experience Required: None
Time: 7-8 hours
Vehicle: 3 hours
Trekking: 4 hours

Lago Nordenskjöld
We leave Las Torres and skirt the base of the nearby Monte Almirante Nieto either on horseback or foot. We will enjoy expansive views of Lago Nordenskjöld and the Andes Mountain range as we make our way over the gently rolling terrain. The higher vantage point of the horse’s back enhances our view.

Type of excursion: Trekking or horseback
Difficulty: Medium
Experience Required: Some
Time: 2-3 hours
Horseback: 3 hours
Trekking: 3 hours


Los Cuernos, Arriero Path
We leave Las Torres on horseback or foot and skirt the south face of the glacier-capped Monte Almirante Nieto, which will provide us a spectacular view of both the mountain and Lago Nordenskjöld in the distance. We end the hike at the base of the Cuernos del Paine, or the Paine Horns. In the walls of these three peaks, we can see geology at work: layers of light-colored granite rock sandwiched between two layers of darker sedimentary rock.

Type of excursion: Trekking or horseback
Difficulty: Medium
Experience required: Medium
Time: 6-8 hours
Horseback: 6 hours
Trekking: 8 hours

Las Torres, el sendero de Ascencio:
(7-9 hrs.) (Trekking ó trekking y caballo)

Leaving from Las Torres on foot or horseback, we make our way through Valle Ascencio to Refugio Chileno, about two hours away. From there, we continue our journey through a forest of beech trees. After about an hour, we will reach a moraine, which we will ascend to a view of the three towers, the north face of Monte Almirante Nieto and Cerro Nido de Condor.

Type of excursion: Trekking or trekking and horseback
Difficulty: Hard
Experience required: Some
Time: 7-9 hours
Horseback: 4 hours
Trekking: 4-5 hours


Mirador Grey: (12 hrs.) (Vehículo, catamarán y trekking)
We ride the catamaran half-an-hour from Refugio Pudeto to Refugio Pehoe. From there, we walk around Lago Grey to a refugio of the same name. We get a close view of Glaciar Grey, a 26 kilometer-long glacier that is part of one of the largest ice fields in the world.

Type of excursion: Vehicle, catamaran (Nov. – March), trekking
Difficulty: Medium
Experience required: Some
Time: 12 hours
Vehicle: 2 hours
Trekking: 8 hours
Catamarán: 1 hour


Valle del Frances
As in the Mirador Grey excursion, we ride the catamaran from Refugio Pudeto to Refugio Pehoe. We pass Lago Skottsberg, then ascend Valle del Frances, where we will see a good view of Paine Grande, Glaciar Frances and Los Cuernos. We are likely to see avalanches on the snowy mountains above us.

Type of excursion: Vehicle, catamaran (Nov. – March), trekking
Difficulty: Medium
Experience required: Some
Time: 12 hours
Vehicle: 2 hours
Trekking: 8 hours
Catamaran: 1 hour


Valle del Silencio:
We ride on horseback into the Valle de Ascencio, following the route most rock climbers use to approach the Torres. We leave the horses at Refugio Chileno to trek through lenga forests to Campamento Japones. There, we enter Valle de Silencio and pass over rocky terrain for about six hours. Ultimately, we will see views of Glaciar Oggioni, Cerro Escudo and Cerro Fortaleza.

Type of excursion: Horseback, trekking
Difficulty: High
Experience required: Some-A lot
Time: 10-12 hours
Horseback: 3 hours
Trekking: 6-8 hours

Bosques de Lenga:
This excursion is designed for people interested in learning about the ecosystem of the Patagonian lenga forests. As we explore old lenga forests in the land surrounding Las Torres, we look for Magellanic woodpeckers, Austral parakeets and flickers as well as the scat of various members of the cat family, including the puma.

Type of excursion: Trekking
Difficulty: Medium
Experience required: None
Time: 3 hours

La Huella Del Puma: (8 hrs.) (Trekking O trekking y caballo).
This trek leaves from Las Torres and rounds the west face of the Cerro Paine. From the highest point of the mountain, we enjoy a spectacular view to the south and east. We should be able to see the Torres del Paine and trace the route the rivers take as they descend from mountaintops to the lakes below.

Type of excursion: Trekking or trekking and horseback
Difficulty: Medium
Experience required: Some
Time: 7 hours
Horseback: 3 hours and
Trekking: 4 hours


Glaciar Nieto:
On this intense, Stairmaster-style trek, we scale the steep side of the approximately 2,670-meter/8,760-foot Monte Almirante Nieto, the glacier-capped mountain in the backyard of Las Torres. After about 2.5 hours of climbing, we will reach the Glaciar Nieto on its north face.

Type of excursion: Trekking
Difficulty: Hard
Experience required: A lot
Time: 6 to 8 hours

* This excursion is available only to guests who are participating in the Las Torres programs.


INTERPRETATIVE TRAIL:
This trail gives you a glimpse of the biodiversity present in Torres del Paine National Park. In its 2.5 kilometers, you will encounter marshes, forests, streams and lakes, exploring some of the habitats most characteristic of Patagonia. Around 45 species of birds, trees, lichens, fungi and geologic intrusions are among the items you can study during your walk.
The following is a list of the birds you might see during your walk. Can you find them all.

Common name     Scientific name

Pimpollo                Rollandia rolland
Banduria               Theristicus melanopis
Canquen               Chlophaga picta
Caiquen                Chlophaga poliocephala
Pato anteojillo       Anas speculiaris
Pato jergon chico   Anas flavoristis
Pato real               Anas sibilatrox
Pato jergon grande  Anas georgica
Carancho                Polyborus planeus
Cernicalo                Falco sparveirus
Tiuque                   Mivalgo Chimango
Tagua comun          Fulica armillata
Queltehue              Vanellus chilensis
Pilpilen austral         Haematopus leucopodus
Becacina                 Ganillago paraguaiae
Gaviota cahuil          Larus maculipennis
Cachaña                 Enicognathus ferrogineas
Tucúquere               Bubo magallanicus
Chuncho                 Glacidiora nanun
Pitio                       Colaptes pitio
Carpinterito             Picoides lignarius
Churrete acanalado   Cinclodes Fuscus
Rayadito                 Asfratura spinicauda
Diucon                    Xolmis pyrope
Colegial                   Lessonia rufa
Fio Fio                    Elania abiceps