Torres del Paine Yoga & Hiking Retreat: 7 Days Trekking in Patagonia's Wilds

Day one is a travel day. You fly to Punta Arenas, meet the group, and take a five-hour drive north with a lunch stop in Puerto Natales. The road starts flat and empty and gradually fills with mountains as you get closer to the park. You arrive at EcoCamp in the evening, with the peaks right there in front of you.

From day two the format settles into a rhythm: buffet breakfast in the Community Dome, packed lunches assembled from a spread of bread, cheese, fruit, trail mix and hard-boiled eggs, then a hike, then cocktail hour with wine and cheese, then a three-course dinner. Day two heads toward Refugio Grey, crossing two suspension bridges over Grey Lake where icebergs float and you can hear ice cracking off the glacier. A boat trip out onto the lake is part of the day. Day three is the big one — the climb into the Ascencio Valley, through beech forest, over the loose boulder moraine, to the Base of the Towers, where three granite spires rise out of a turquoise lake. Anyone who's fit enough should do it; the moraine section is genuinely tough.

Day four is deliberately left open. You can ride horses through Paine Hill or go mountain biking, or you can stay at camp and do very little. There's a massage dome on site, a restaurant a short walk away, and plenty of spots to sit with coffee and look at the mountains. Day five takes you onto the Cuernos Trail, part of the W Trek — about 13 km of rolling forested trail along Lake Nordenskjöld to Refugio Los Cuernos, where you overnight in a communal bunkhouse. Day six continues into the French Valley, past glaciers and rock formations named La Espada, La Catedral and El Tiburón, then to Refugio Paine Grande and a catamaran across Lake Pehoé back to camp. Day seven is departure.

The guides are what hold it together. This trip runs with three guides who stay with the group the whole week, which means the group can split on the trail and faster hikers aren't held back while slower ones aren't pushed. On the French Valley day especially, that flexibility is what lets a group of mixed abilities all finish the route. Guides also handle the logistics — pack transfers, boat tickets, refugio bookings — so you're not thinking about any of it.

Different from a standard Patagonia trek: you're based at EcoCamp the whole week rather than carrying a pack between refugios, and yoga is built into the day rather than bolted on. It's a hiking trip with a proper camp to come back to, not a backpacking expedition.

What's included

- 6 nights accommodation at EcoCamp Patagonia (dome of your chosen category) - 1 night in a communal bunkhouse at Refugio Los Cuernos - All meals: buffet breakfast, packed lunch, cocktail hour and three-course dinner daily - Vegetarian and vegan meal options - Daily yoga sessions in the EcoCamp yoga dome - Trekking to the Base of the Towers - Cuernos Trail hike along Lake Nordenskjöld - French Valley hike - Grey Lake hike and suspension bridge crossings - Boat trip on Grey Lake to the glacier area - Catamaran crossing on Lake Pehoé - Three mountain guides with the group throughout the week - Ground transfers from Punta Arenas to EcoCamp and back - National park entrance and permits - Luggage transfer between camp and refugio

What's not included

- International flights - Domestic flights to and from Punta Arenas - Travel insurance - Personal gear and hiking equipment hire - Optional activities on the free day (horseback riding, mountain biking) - Spa and massage treatments - Alcoholic drinks beyond the included cocktail hour and refugio purchases - Tips for guides and drivers - Personal expenses