Climb past wind-gnarled cypresses and through lush groves of southern beeches on the slopes of Cerro Benitez for an introduction to the vast vistas of Patagonia • Settle into a rustic-chic working estancia (ranch) built on the sweeping range by 19th-century English homesteaders • A local hiking guide points out marine fossils and traces of ancient human inhabitants as we wander the volcanic Sierra de Baguales, the natural border between Chile and Argentina • Walk rugged routes that few outsiders see among the 86-square-mile property of our estancia • Watch out for wild horses, guanacos (the llama’s wild ancestor) and the massive wingspan of soaring Andean condors. 

Set off on trails into Torres del Paine National Park, hiking through high-mountain rain forest and across spindly suspension bridges • Climb to a viewpoint of imposing Lago Grey, whose waters are filled with drifting icebergs that have calved from the glacier looming above it • Embark on a boat tour of Lago Grey to get up close and personal with its floating icy icons • Feeling like a speck at the feet of some of nature’s most super-sized scenery is a unique sensation of awe • Hike sections of the park’s most renowned backpacking circuit, the W Trek, along soaring trails suspended above Grey Glacier. 

Get close-up views of the Torres del Paine from the lookout at Lake Nordenskjöld • Check out the Salto Grande waterfall where it thunders through a cut of black volcanic rock among the sage-covered pampas • Grab a massage treatment or simply relax in the inviting hot pools of our serene spa hotel • Twisted beech trees around us, rock faces lined with ice overhead and grand vistas of turquoise lakes spread below—the famed Valle del Francés hike is a worthy grand finale • Toast to the hiking trip of a lifetime with a view and perhaps a local vintage • Say goodbye to this larger-than-life land with one last morning ramble alongside the vast braid of the Serrano River.