Spring in Patagonia – best time to travel

Spring in Patagonia – best time to travel

What makes spring one of the best times of year to visit Patagonia is that most people don’t know that it is so special.

Here are some reasons that you should get planning your Patagonia tour for the southern spring:

Torres del Paine – blaze a trail

Many of Patagonia’s more challenging multi-day hikes – such as the Paine Circuit in Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park – are either closed completely or simply inaccessible during Patagonia’s wild winter months.

So if you time your trip to visit Patagonia in early September for the start of spring, you could well be one of the first hikers on the trail that season. The allure of the untamed wilderness at the end of the world is at its height when you know you’re breaking out across dormant paths that haven’t seen human footfall in months.

Barbecue – celebrate with the locals

The 18th and 19th of September in Chile means Fiestas Patrias, a country wide celebratory splurge of Chilean Independence and all things Chilean.

Read Alan’s blog about it here.

It’s a great excuse to head down to Patagonia with a stopover in Santiago to savour the vibrant parties, parades and feasts on the streets of Chile’s capital.

Patagonia open road – savour the silence

The southern summer months bring the highest concentration of visitors to the national parks of Chilean and Argentinean Patagonia.

Even then, it never gets crowded exactly – Patagonia remains one of the world’s final wild frontiers after all – but you’ve got more chance of running into people out on the trails and finding busy campsites or booked-up refugios during the summer.

If you prefer your wilderness a little wilder, head to Patagonia in spring.

Skiing in chile – Get your skis on

By heading to Patagonia in early spring you’ll make the very best of Chile’s adventure sports crossover season.

September is your last opportunity of the year to take a skiing stopover in Santiago, which boasts world-class ski resorts in the nearby Andes Mountains. When you’re done skiing to your heart’s content, carry on down to Patagonia for hiking, biking, or a range of other activities just as the season is getting underway.

Nordenskjold view, Chile

Puma in Patagonia – boost your fauna spotting chances

During the busy summer months, many of Patagonia’s more reclusive animals like the endangered huemul deer and the ever popular puma retreat deep into the forests or up into the mountains and keep well out of the way of visitors, preferring to return only during the quiet winter months.

That makes spring a great time to catch sight of an animal that you might not otherwise see, before they head back out of sight for the summer.

Puma, Patagonia, Chile

Eco-camp Patagonia – snag a bargain

Because fewer people tend to visit Patagonia during the early spring months, you can often snag some really great bargains on hotels, tours and flights to Patagonia.

Spring in Patagonia is also known as ‘shoulder season’ a travel industry term to describe the time between low season and high season.

Many people don’t realise that by travelling in shoulder season they have access to all of the same services and experiences as those travelling during high season, the only difference is that they pay less.

Chilean Fire tree – see things differently

If you still need convincing, it might interest you to know that many people consider that spring is when Patagonia is at her most radiant. Whilst the worst of the weather is over, the mountains still glitter in their cloaks of winter snow that are just beginning to melt.

Meanwhile, Patagonia’s forests and flora begin to wake from their long slumber and burst forth in a riot of spring colours. The sight of the blazing flowers of the Chilean firebush framed against the white mountains and the new shoots of lemon-green grass is a Patagonian experience not to be missed!

Now’s the time to book your Patagonia tour.

Contact us for more.