Buenos Aires
My main goal for visiting South America for the first time was to get the most out of seeing Machu Picchu and Patagonia. I figured flying in and out of Buenos Aires would be the best idea, and most central location, to visit Peru to the North and Torres del Paine to the South. It turns out domestic flights in South America aren’t quite as affordable as they are in places like Europe or the USA. If you plan on traveling a bit throughout the continent, I’d recommend establishing Santiago as your hub rather than Buenos Aires. Through this experience, it seems flying in and out of SCL is the best option for those looking to move around a bit.
Buenos Aires is an awesome city with amazing food and delicious Malbec. Truth be told, when I travel alone, I don’t do so well in big cities like this. It was great to get out and explore Palermo and the surrounding areas but I treated my few days here as a time to adjust to the four hour time difference. It’s not much but I wanted to be well rested for the big adventures that lay ahead.
Santiago
As mentioned above, I wish I had known more about domestic travel throughout South America before booking my flight from LAX to Buenos Aires. Santiago is the place you want to be flying in and out of if you plan on traveling around a bit like I did. There is plenty to do in Santiago in terms of hiking, restaurants, and exploring but I didn’t have much more than 12 hours each time I visited the city because I was using it as a layover to get from one place to the next.
Looking at the cost of my round trip flight from BA to Santiago you might be curious as to why it was so expensive. I detail a bit more below as to why I had to arrive in Santiago on the 26th of November but there was a strike at the regional airport in Buenos Aires where my flight to Santiago was meant to leave from. Because of that I was forced to book a separate one-way ticket out of the other airport which inflated the cost of my airfare quite a bit. Needless to say, I was not happy about this but my entire trip would have been derailed had I not done it this way.
Next time I travel to South America I plan to spend more time in Santiago. My two quick stop overs in this city didn’t do it justice and I plan to experience it in a bit more depth another time. However, now that the logistical part of the trip is almost over, it’s time to get into the fun adventures that took me down here in the first place!
Torres del Paine
I’m going to start off by saying I got VERY lucky in regards to my experience in Southern Chile. Flights from Santiago to Puerto Natales leave and return only about once a week. Because of this, most travelers will fly into Punta Arenas and take a bus nine hours to Puerto Natales, the town at the base of Torres del Paine National Park. After an airport strike rendered my flight from Buenos Aires to Santiago canceled, I had to book a one way flight out of a separate airport to get me into Santiago in time to make my flight to Puerto Natales, otherwise the trip would have been ruined. Three hours on the phone and $500 later (ugh) I was able to book a one way ticket that would get me into Santiago the night before my flight to Puerto Natales. Despite the major inconvenience, I still consider myself very lucky.
The luck didn’t end there. I discovered the W Circuit about 3 weeks before leaving for my trip. I knew I wanted to see Torres del Paine, I knew I wanted to hike through Patagonia, but I wasn’t sure how I would handle it all logistically. The W Circuit is a multi-day trek from Grey’s Glacier to the base of the Torres del Paine stone fortress. It’s about 50 miles of hiking through potentially extreme conditions with insane views along the way. I tried booking my campsites ahead of time on the websites (plural because for some reason there are two separate companies that run critical campsites along the circuit) but I wasn’t able to land the dates that I needed. I knew there had to be another way. Upon arrival, I dropped my stuff off, walked around the town, sat down for a one hour informational meeting on Torres del Paine at Erratic Rock (very strongly encourage you do this), gathered myself and put together a game plan. I woke up early the next day and headed into Fantastico Sur, praying that they would have open campsites available for the dates I was looking for. Sure enough, much to my pleasant surprise, they had three nights available at the three campsites I needed to stay at in order to complete the circuit. However, the one campsite that allows you to sleep near and explore Grey’s Glacier was booked so I wasn’t able to get all the way up the Western part of the W (this campsite belongs to Vertice).
I went the route of purchasing the campsites with preset tents, pads, and sleeping bags and I purchased dinner to be prepared for me each of the three nights. All of this came to a grand total of $90/night. I walked over to the bus station, paid them $30 for my round trip + ferry ticket, and I was nearly good to go. I bought four days worth of various nuts and dried fruits for about another $40 and a few other miscellaneous items for the hike.
I had a day to kill between booking my campsites and setting out on the journey so I decided to rent a car and explore the area. The rental car ran me $120 ($70 for the rental $50 to repair the dent in the hood the mechanic put in it when he jumped the car after I left the headlights on. Ugh). I met a friendly traveler in my hostel who decided to come along and we set off. We checked out the historical Milodon museum, drove to Rio Serrano, and paid a visit to Lago Sofia. It was a fun day but by no means would I suggest going out of your way to see any of it if you’re short on time.
Patagonia is difficult to prepare for because you can experience all four seasons in an hour. Since I didn’t have to carry a tent or sleeping bag, I brought a day bag with a rain jacket, shorts and t shirt to sleep in, flip flops, camera equipment, and a warm fleece. I got lucky with weather; no rain, mostly sunny days, just a lot of gale force wind. My only dire mistake was made on the first day when I didn’t tighten my hiking shoes enough and the 20 kilometer hike decided to rip all of my heel skin off (Ugh…again).
I’ve truly never been more proud of myself than when I completed this hike on the third day (my initial plan was to summit Torres del Paine on the forth day but it was expected to rain in the morning so I combined days three and four into one excruciatingly long hike. Again, very very happy I did this, it worked out perfectly). There’s something to be said about putting your fate in your own hands, setting a goal for yourself, and achieving it exactly like you had envisioned. I know 11 year old Dean would look at this accomplishment with wide-eyed awe and think it was the coolest thing ever. 27 year old Dean feels exactly the same way.
PERU
Machu Picchu - Inca Trail
I remember being a middle schooler and having to find ways to kill time in the classroom. One thing I remember constantly doing is browsing through the seemingly endless collection of National Geographic magazines my school had. One edition I remember vividly is the one focused on Machu Picchu. The concept of a stone citadel sitting atop a crazy steep mountain blew me away. I always knew it was a place I had to see for myself.
About 3 weeks before my trip to South America I had the chance to sit down with my friend Ben who told me about his experience living in Peru for three months after college and how much he loved it. He highly encouraged me to undertake the Inca Trail which, up until he mentioned it, I hadn’t really considered. The first thing I did when I got home was jump online and Google search ‘Inca Trail hike’ and one of the first hits that came up was a guided tour through Inca Trail Reservations. I figured with a name like that, they must be about as legit as they come. I coughed up the required $691 for a 4 day, 3 night excursion, added a night stay at the Wiracocha Inn in Machu Picchu City ($80), a day pass to get me to the top of Huayna Picchu ($85), and the included train ticket back to Cuzco (all of which I highly recommend). Full disclosure: Looking back, I overpaid a bit and you could probably save some money shopping around for a better price.
I met my tour guide the night before my trek because I landed in Cuzco later than expected. There I had a chance to discuss logistics of the hike like distance (43 km), elevation change (1,800 m), weather, etc. We were preceded by four porters who carry cooking supplies, providing three meals each day (they are actually delicious), and a tent to sleep in at night. I rented a sleeping pad and a sleeping bag through Inca Trail Reservations for an extra $25. Both were adequate but I’d recommend using your own if possible for maximum comfort. I was picked up the morning of the hike at 5am from Loki Hostel ($10/night) and we began the two hour drive to the trailhead in Aguas Calientes. Along the way we stopped for breakfast and had the chance to grab some last minute supplies so I bought a bag of beef jerky and four protein bars to hold me over between meals. I was fortunate to have just one other person in my group, a 22 year old German who was traveling through South America for a few months which, by the end of the trek, we became good friends.
The hike itself isn’t especially challenging. However, the second day of the four day hike is by far the most difficult. You hike 12 km and gain ~1,200 meters in elevation over a short distance to reach Dead Woman’s Pass. The wonderful thing about hiking outdoors is that no one is timing you. It’s not a race. On this trail I encountered people of all shapes and sizes, old and young, and on the last day, when my group finally reached Machu Picchu, I saw all the same people I wandered past along the way. So I would advise to move at a pace you’re comfortable with and enjoy the incredible views along the way.
Standing at the base of the Sun Gate, overlooking Machu Picchu at 5:34am
On the final day of the trek, my German friend and I were eager to be the first ones to arrive at the Sun Gate so we urged our tour guide to let us start as early as possible. Entry isn’t permitted on the trail until 5am so we woke up at 3am, packed everything up one last time, and headed to the trail head where we were to wait for the next couple of hours until we were able to rock and roll. As we waited, other trekkers started to file into the queue behind us, making me very glad that we got there as early as we did. The trail opened for the day and we moved at a very brisk pace to be the first to the Sun Gate and eventually make it in time to see the sun rise over Machu Picchu. An unforgettable experience.
Once you make it to Machu Picchu you quickly realize just how much of a tourist attraction this place is. Our group set foot atop the citadel right around 6am and by then there were already bus-fulls of tourists rushing in. We were fortunate to get beautiful blue bird weather to explore the small town that has yet to be fully understood. After the 43 km hike, the ascent of Huayna Picchu proved to be a bit more challenging than expected but absolutely worth the view. They let two groups in each morning, one at 8am and one at 10am. Having just done the Inca Trail I figured the 10am group made the most sense. After about an hour of drudging up the steep steps you are rewarded with an opposing view of Machu Picchu from what you saw earlier that same morning. Enjoy the view and take it all in because you never know when you’ll get to see something so unbelievable ever again.
Because I had such limited time between my flight landing in Cuzco and beginning my Inca Trail hike, I wasn’t able to coordinate a tour to take me to Rainbow Mountain. And I’m so happy it worked out this way. Tour busses typically begin the three hour drive from Cuzco at around 5am. This was too late for me. I read horror stories online about how crowded the trail becomes because tourists (like me) come in by the droves.
On the way back to my hostel from Machu Picchu I met a cab driver and, through my broken Spanish, we became friends. I inquired about how much it would cost to drive me the three hours from Cuzco to Machu Picchu and she quoted me a price of roughly $100 USD. After asking around a bit more I decided to take her up on the offer and boy am I glad I did. She met me at my hostel the following morning at 2am and we set off for the colorful mountains. I would strongly encourage anyone considering this to be sure they have everything they’ll need for the day before setting off. Nothing will be open on your drive to the mountain and you don’t want to be caught up there without food and water.
I arrived at the mountain at 5am and set off. Entirely alone at 5,000 meters. Even my cab driver was a bit awe struck by the fact that no vendors had even set up for the day (they are usually ready to go by 8am). This is when things went a bit awry. I remember reading online that it was a two hour hike to the rainbow mountain so I kept a mental note of how long I was hiking. Since the sun wasn’t fully in the sky, I wasn’t able to fully appreciate the incredible colors around me. And because of that I actually walked right by the rainbow mountain itself. As I continued down the valley, eager to see the most beautifully colored mountains I could imagine, I started to get a bit concerned. Two hours came and went until I finally came across another hiker. I asked which direction he thought the rainbow mountain was and he pointed in the direction I had just came from (oops). It’s 7am at this point and I’ve walked about 70 minutes PAST the rainbow mountain. I knew the tour busses would be arriving soon so I had no choice but to turn around a more or less jog back the mountain I so foolishly walked right on by. As I gained the summit of the rainbow mountain mirador (for a second time) there were two Peruvian sherpas boiling water for tea. This made me a bit upset because part of the reason I wanted to get there so early was so I could have the area to myself. However, after a few words, they were willing to late me fly my drone over the now beautifully saturated hills right in front of me.
I hiked up a bit further to the valley mirador and I saw the first few waves of hikers approaching the summit. Despite my confusion early on, I’m very happy I was able to beat the masses to the spectacle. From there I noticed a trail veering off, up, and over a hill along the rainbow mountain trail. I descended down and began the journey off to see where it might lead. As I summited here, I noticed it was the entry point to the Red Valley. I paid the park ranger at the front $5 to let me through and I had the sprawling valley of intense red and greens all to myself for the next two hours as I hiked around. If you have the time (an added benefit of hiring a car for the day because you WILL have time), I strongly encourage you to check this area out. It’s absolutely breath taking.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I chose to write about this trip first for the simple fact that it was one of my all time favorite experiences and it left me feeling more proud of myself than almost anything I’d ever done. If I could go back and do things differently I think I would be able to save about 25% of my money by booking flights earlier, having better luck with a few unfortunate situations, and simply knowing the area a bit better. All that said, I’m grateful for the experiences I had - good and bad!
I hope this quick write-up is able to help you if you’re planning a trip to South America and are interested in seeing Torres del Paine, Machu Picchu, and/or Rainbow Mountain.
I’d really appreciate your feedback! Leave a comment below about what you liked and didn’t like and I will continue to try to mold this site into a valuable tool for the prospective traveler.
Thanks for reading!