Author: Paul

It’s a story as old as humanity itself: the conflict between farm and wilderness, between those raising livestock and predators looking for an easy lunch. Whether it’s ranchers and coyotes on the American plains, Maasai herders and lions, or shepherds versus wolves in the mountains of Europe, the question always remains: can people, livestock and […]

In July 2024 the Chilean authorities announced that the Las Guardas Bridge, a key crossing point along the O Circuit trail in Torres del Paine National Park, had been seriously damaged by winter avalanches. The O Circuit is the most popular trek in the national park after the W Trek and a challenging undertaking.  Today, […]

The trees outside my window were bent double by the wind, a permanent reminder of what a tough place Patagonia can sometimes be to make a home. I was on Navarino Island in Chilean Tierra del Fuego, and I was waiting to see the dentist.  Not just any dentist – my teeth were actually just […]

At Swoop, we like to think that no one knows Patagonia better than us. Every year we send our team out across the region to experience the best of Patagonia – and that’s on top of the many members of our team who already live there, from Bariloche and Pucon in the north down to […]

Torres del Paine National Park in Chile is one of Patagonia’s great banner destinations, and its breathtaking granite towers offer up one of the region’s most iconic views. There are many ways to experience the park, its mountains and glaciers, but the classic way is to hike the multi-day W Trek,  At Swoop Patagonia, many […]

While Patagonia is often at the forefront of people’s minds as a hiking destination, its attraction for wildlife watchers shouldn’t be overlooked. The region offers some tremendous opportunities for wildlife encounters. And just like an African safari, it comes with its very own list of the ‘Big 5’ species to see. Here’s our guide to […]

Two of Patagonia’s greatest national parks lie a short distance from each other, separated by an international border. Torres del Paine National Park, with its sheer granite towers and iconic W Trek, sits up close to the Chilean border. On the other side in Argentina, you’ll find Los Glaciares National Park, home to Perito Moreno […]

There are certain buzzwords that come up time and again when people start talking about Aysen in Chile: wilderness, untouched, epic and raw.  These are all great ways of describing the landscapes you can encounter in this little-visited part of Patagonia, but one thing they don’t capture is just how diverse this region is. Aysen […]