{"id":199080,"date":"2016-03-15T14:20:08","date_gmt":"2016-03-15T14:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.swoop-patagonia.co.uk\/blog\/?p=199080"},"modified":"2020-04-01T15:13:01","modified_gmt":"2020-04-01T14:13:01","slug":"estancia-hopping-torres-del-paine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swoop-patagonia.com\/blog\/estancia-hopping-torres-del-paine\/","title":{"rendered":"Estancia hopping in Torres del Paine"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s not much that beats the thrill of <\/span>discovering Torres del Paine\u2019s rugged landscapes on horseback<\/a><\/span> – a method of travel that\u2019s been used in the region for hundreds of years and is still favoured today. <\/span><\/p>\n

In September of last year, I had the pleasure of staying at one of Chile\u2019s biggest ranches, the Estancia Cerro Guido and one of Swoop\u2019s customers, Barbara, recently visited another Chilean ranch for a similar getaway. Here, we both give a little insight of our experiences of life as a Patagonian <\/span>gaucho<\/span><\/i> (cowboy).\"SWOOP_3_LUKE-ERRINGTON_ALL_CERROGUIDOLANDSCAPE\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Luke:<\/strong><\/em><\/span> “For anyone who enjoys horse riding, the <\/span>Estancia Cerro Guido<\/span><\/a> is one of the top spots in the region and offers a true slice of Patagonian history. You can experience life on a real working estancia<\/em> (ranch), and head out with the gauchos to explore the surrounding pampas <\/em>(grasslands). You can also ascend the peak of Cerro Guido from which the the estancia takes its name. <\/span><\/p>\n

The ranch is the hub of a vast estate that reaches out some 100,000 hectares (that\u2019s more or the less the size of a small county in the UK). It\u2019s still a working estancia employing and housing a number of gauchos and their families. So, alongside the 100 year old house of its founders, you\u2019ll also find<\/span> more modern accommodation, a church and a school for this local community.\"SWOOP_3_LUKE-ERRINGTON_ALL_CERROGUIDOHORSE\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

If you book well in advance you can sleep in the old house, which is more museum than hotel, and will give you a wonderful sense of the lives of the people who originally owned and cultivated this land. There are some other rooms with ensuite bathrooms that are perfectly comfortable.<\/span><\/p>\n

You’ll eat well in the dining room here (most of the food is grown \/ reared on the estate) but it’s the views out to the Paine Massif that I’ll always remember. This is a very special spot from which to see the sun set behind the famous towers of <\/span>Torres del Paine<\/span><\/a>.\"SWOOP_3_LUKE-ERRINGTON_ALL_CERROGUIDOSKYLINE\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

So, there are a number of reasons I\u2019d recommend this particular ranch:<\/span><\/p>\n