I first visited San Martín de los Andes in the Argentinean Lake District 15 years ago when I backpacked around Patagonia and had much longer hair than I do today. When I finally returned recently for a trekking adventure, I was overjoyed to find that not a lot seemed to have changed in the intervening […]

Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park has the largest concentration of pumas anywhere on earth. For many people they’re as much of a draw as the towering granite peaks that give the park its name. Pumas are the most widely distributed large predators in the Americas. Their range covers large chunks of Canada and the […]

I first visited the Argentine Lake District as a backpacker in 2004. Sitting in a small bar, drinking a Quilmes beer, I missed my flight home to the UK where I was due to begin a Masters degree. Instead, I chose the region’s verdant forests and snowy mountain peaks – and Patagonia’s wide-open spaces for […]

We have a joke in Argentina that when God was creating the nations of the world he gave them all two virtues. France, for example, got wonderful food and avant-garde fashion. Italy received historic monuments and fast motorcars. Saudi Arabia was gifted oil and sand, and so he rattled through the countries. However, when it came […]

I’m lucky enough to have spent eight years of my life travelling in the Andes and Himalayas. Between my trips, I worked in an outdoor shop in Covent Garden, London. I loved it and quickly became one of the top boot fitters in the branch, relishing the chance to chat about trekking and get people […]

There is no wrong way to experience Torres del Paine. Certain people are looking for the classic backpacking experience of an Original W Trek, with four nights spent out at the campsites and refugios along the trail. Others are seeking the amenities of a traditional luxury hotel and will feel most at home with Explora or Tierra as their base. […]