Generational Adventures at Las Torres Patagonia | News
Las Torres Patagonia, a family-owned natural and cultural Reserve in Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park, may be best-known as a destination for intrepid explorers wishing to tackle the Park’s iconic hiking circuits. However, the Reserve offers a variety of thoughtful, enriching, age-appropriate experiences for children, teens and young adults allowing each member of the family to explore Patagonia in ways that inspire curiosity, confidence and a lifelong appreciation for nature.
Little Explorers: For the youngest pre-school adventurers, Las Torres Patagonia offers gentle, engaging experiences designed to spark wonder in the natural world. Using the full-service Hotel Las Torres as a base, the views from the huge picture windows and short nature walks around the hotel introduce Patagonia’s flora and fauna in a playful, interactive way with environments varying from forests, to lakes and pampas. The Azul Lagoon Half Day Tour travels by van to a lake buzzing with wildlife, waterfalls and tales of intrepid female Victorian explorers. The reserve’s bio-intensive garden, founded in the 1950s and one of the world’s southern-most regenerative gardens, is open to guests and grows native fruits and vegetables alongside culinary herbs. Meanwhile, a visit to the estancia allows children to watch the horses come in from pasture, before interacting with them and the dynamic Patagonian cowboys.
Young Discovers: Families with children of primary school age can dive deeper into exploring the epic landscape with real-life learning that supports many of the topics covered in Key Stages 1 and 2. The Reserve’s Welcome Center provides information on the importance of environmental stewardship and serves as the starting point for a 2.2km Interpretative Trail that showcases specimens from four biotic provinces, native plants and wetlands. Half-day excursions like the 6km Los Cuernos Viewpoint Half Day Tour take in the sweeping landscapes of the Paine Massif while others include hikes through native lenga forests and past puma caves and Aonikenk cave paintings, with the chance to spot wildlife like condor and guanaco along the way. Venturing further into the Park, the full-day Grey Glacier Tour takes in waterfalls, icebergs and a boat trip across the lake to the face of the glacier. Back at the estancia, beginner-friendly horse riding helps children build confidence and experience traditional baqueano culture. The Lake Nordenskjöld Half Day Tour is also ideal for beginner riders, following private trails to the lake’s shores.
Teen Adventurers: Teenagers are ready to take on some of the National Park’s more challenging adventures. Full-day hikes include the 19km Base Torres Viewpoint Tour, where the hike ascends through the Ascenio Valley to reveal the iconic Las Torres Mountains – three granite towers that soar up to 9,350ft into the sky. For a real sense of family adventure, branching out from Hotel Las Torres to overnight in one of the Park’s other accommodation sectors provides a memorable taste of hut-to-hut backpacking. Accommodation options include sleeping in Fully-Equipped Camps – canvas tents elevated 5ft off the ground – or in Mountain Stays which offer a hostel-like communal experience. All are equipped with washrooms, catered meals and relaxation areas stocked with board games. For those comfortable in the saddle, full-day horseback experiences include the Enchanted Valley Tour, galloping across the pampas and following the O Circuit into the valley of the Paine River. For deeper insight into the heritage of Patagonian cowboys, the Baqueano Cultural Experience spends a morning working alongside the cowboys, learning skills, sharing traditional food and the mate gourd.
Young adults: Older teens and grown-up children travelling with their parents move into expedition territory, with the option for longer, more challenging and technical trekking routes. The full five-day W Circuit takes in the Towers, French Valley and Grey Glacier and requires a level of general fitness. The more demanding eight-day O Circuit, pioneered 50 years ago by British mountaineer John Garner, requires extensive pre-planning, preparation and endurance training. Las Torres Patagonia’s All-Inclusive Program allows guests travelling together to individually customise their days from a menu of 15 exclusive day and half-day tours. One of these is the full-day Las Torres Base Viewpoint Horseback Riding + Hiking combining horse riding and hiking to climb up to the Las Torres Base Viewpoint and see the granite towers soaring over the ice blue lagoon. Reconvening by the fireside at Galpón Restaurant in the evening is the perfect spot to regale each other with stories of the days’ adventures, over craft cocktails by master-mixologist Federico Gil. Hotel Las Torres provides further opportunities to unwind after a strenuous day’s activity either in the sauna or with a massage – ‘Tired Legs’ is one of the most requested treatments!
“Las Torres Patagonia has always been about creating meaningful connections – not only with nature, but between generations,” says Juan Lopez, Marketing & Sales Director at Las Torres Patagonia. “What makes Patagonia so special for families is that every age group experiences it differently, but no less profoundly. Young children discover wonder in the wildlife and horses, teenagers build confidence through adventure and adults reconnect with both nature and each other. These are the kinds of shared experiences that become family stories for years to come.”
Las Torres Patagonia reopens for the 2026/27 season on 1st October 2026. Rates start from £1,755pp for a two night all-inclusive package, based on two people sharing a double room. For more information visit www.lastorres.com/en
