South America is -amazing- I've spent 18 months of my 2.5 year (and counting...) gap...erm...year out there
Patagonia
Obviously make sure you're there in -their- summer
The W or the Circuit in Torres is nice. When they ask you to get off the bus to buy tickets at the NP office, go take a slash instead and get back on the bus. Chances are they won't check (and don't check later)....play the fool if they catch you.
The Dientes del Diablo circuit south of Ushuaia often has bad weather and is expensive to get to. Apparently nice, but i didn't go.
I personally preferred trekking around Fitzroy/Cerro Torre to Torres further south. Lots to do there.
Pucon and its volcano climb is one of the things i wish i'd gone to.
Others
Huaraz in mid/northern Peru is my fav trekking/climbing spot anywhere, even including the Himalayas. You could spend months there, it is an outdoor guy's paradise.
Ecuador has some good treks and climbs, but the popular climbs are expensive. The region around the crater lake (i forget the name) is worth the effort.
Bolivia has probably the cheapest 6000m summit on the continent (Huayna Potosi), but you won't have it to yourself. Make sure you see the salt flats too.
Colombia is a great (safe!) place. Most people seem to enjoy the Lost City Trek. I'd rather do that than pay through the nose for the Inca 'effin Trail (again, you can sneak into MP...)
General
Take all your toys from the UK. It's expensive and/or crap out there. In trekking hubs you can rent everything at reasonable prices (we were paying $25 each a day for gear rental for our bumble around Huaraz's 6000ers, and we essentially walked into the agency naked. They were 'Andean Kingdom')
On the less touristy/popular treks/climbs, consider at least a local guide. Not because you might get lost, but the Latino's display less qualms about robbing white folk than the Asians do. I never had a problem but there have been a few incidents.
Learning even basic Spanish will pay HUGE dividends though you can obviously survive without. Unfortunately learning cheaply and starting in Patagonia are mutually exclusive...
It's obviously a personal preference, but you can trek the piss out of the place with trail runners and save the weight, space and faff that boots involve.
If you do anything with an agency, and the prices seems to be the lowest in town, ask who else is in the group. Many people prefer to pay $15 more and not be in a group of 20 Israelis...
If you get robbed, there's a great black market in Quito. Lots of obviously stolen cameras and other electronics for very fair prices....you might even get someone's holiday pics included free...
So many trekking possibilities down here...are you sure a years enough?
I would suggest popping across to the Falklands but being honest with myself there's nothing here that's not bigger and better in Patagonia (from a trekking point of veiw that is I hasten to add)
Me and the wife spent a few days in Ushuaia ten years ago and did some trekking. With the exception of the Martial Glacier I don't recall te names of where to be honest but I was blown away and am very, very jealous. Have a great time.
If you don't learn Spanish first , at least learn "Disculpe senor, no hablo mucho espanol!"
Worked wonders for me.
Oh, and if you fly into Ushuaia, keep you eyes closed for the landing, it helps not to see the runway unless you're the pilot.
BTW don't expect to understand the Chileans too well even if you do have a bit of Spanish, they are renowned for speaking very fast and having a pretty fiendish accent. Fortunately many of them involved in the tourist industry speak English anyway.
Lucky you. Bolivia/ians are wonderful. Peru bit more commercial. Chile expensive. Venezuela friendly + interesting and rarely visited by anyone - trekking in some remote places if you do some research.
Hi. We're in the early stages of planning 4 - 5 weeks in Patagonia, to return before Christmas, so perhaps head out early - mid Nov. The Paine circuit is a def, not sure what else yet.
I've never been in that area before, but we have done a fair amount of wandering around the N Hemisphere. I appreciate that going that early we'll have windier conditions and the vestiges of snow/fresh snow to entertain us. Can anyone suggest how bad the wind might be, and how likely the snow will be a hindrance? I know that's a bit of a piece of string question - and not kowing exactly where we might go doesn't help! May go to the Fitzroy area, too? We'll have a Nallo 2 - pretty good but now approaching 10 years old, I think, so will be possibly a bit less strong than it was - tho well looked after. May double pole, too, but not that keen to increase pack weight.
Any suggestions and advice will be much appreciated - thanks.
we are planning to go in November for Patagonia then the Andes. We have a 6 year old Nallo 2. I emailed Hilleberg and Petra Hilleberg replied, double pole, taut pitch, maybe double guy was her advice. We have double poled it, added some extra rear guys (not her advice), some elastic shock absorbers on some guys and rock loops throughout. Apparently in the High Andes pegs are useless, holding your tent with rocks is the way. For the low Andes we put in a rear zip vent like modern Nallos do. We intend like you to do The Torres Del Paine circuit and some other things. You were doing the Pyrenean Haute route like we did, before.
I was in South America 4 years ago, no long treks but ...
I did a couple of good day walks from Ushuaia , there is a minibus service into the National park(5 miles?) in the morning returns in the evening pick up at different points so can do a linear walk, the park was quite good for bird watching, Or you can walk straight from the centre of Ushuaia up the Mountains behind the town.
Did the same thing at Bariloche , bus into the National Park(10 miles?) for day walk, back for tea , or bus to Carro Catedral ski resort amongst other possibilities. If you are visiting the Bariloche area there are hotels etc. within the National park.
Tip 3 , Visit Bolivia its beautiful and strange(By far the cheapest country to visit in SA ). Two of the best trips I did while in SA were in Bolivia. A 3 day trip in 4*4 though the Salar de Uyuni and Atacama desert. And a 4 day trip to the Amazon, both extremely good value for money.
Tip 4 , Finding guide books/Maps for local walks when there can be difficult so get as much research in as you can.
Make sure you read 'Biggles at World's End' before you go.
(My son-in-law is Chileño, but that's totally irrelevant. On the other hand, no-one should go to any far-flung spot without reading the appropriate Biggles story first)
