A -Z Challenge - P is for Patagonia

Where is PATAGONIA you ask? It's in Chile. It's fascinated me ever since I read a novel (and I can't remember its name, but I remember its story) where the characters were flying over Patagonia. The descriptions were so vivid and intriguing it immediately came to mind when I had to decide on a P.

In PATAGONIA, the Southernmost part of Chile, the geography and nature emerge from the most extreme and spectacular forms that it is possible to imagine, adorned with breathtaking landscapes: a pristine concert of native forests, pampas, islands, fjords, channels, fast flowing rivers, lakes and lagoons, hot springs, majestic millenary ice fields and snowdrifts.


The Chilean Patagonia lies between the 41.5 º and 56 º latitude south. It is one of the most extensive areas of the country and yet the least populated: 1.3 inhabitants per square mile. The natural surroundings are practically virginal.

There are two sub-regions; the northern Aysen Region and to its south, the Magallanes Region. Aysen is home to Laguna San Rafael National Park and the Austral Road (Carretera Austral). The Carretera Austral has become one of the most important attractions in Patagonia because it allows you to enter into a territory that still is open to discoveries: Northern Patagonia with its large extensions of cold forests, national parks, glaciers, gigantic ice fields, lagoons, fiords, rivers, and lakes. It is an ideal territory for adventure tourism, fishing, trekking, hiking, kayaking, rafting, and observing flora and fauna in its most natural state.

The history of the southernmost point of the continent has always been linked to seamen and adventurers, frontiersmen and mythical native inhabitants such as the Patagones or “Patagonian Giants”. The Portuguese seaman Hernando de Magallanes (Ferdinand Magellan) arrived at the area in 1520 and baptized it with the name Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire), after observing the bonfires the Onas or Selknam natives kept burning in their canoes to navigate by night and keep themselves warm. This is an area of vast indomitable landscapes, islands and channels that maintain their legendary characteristics of old.

So pack your Gore-tex, sub-zero-degree sleeping bag and head to chilly Patagonia. You'll see glacial peaks, active volcanoes, icy tundra. The Chilean side is Patagonia's lesser-visited: places such as Tierra del Fuego and the Torres del Paine promise adventure - imagine downing a Pisco Sour (grape-brandy cocktail) shaken with glacier ice. Something to dream of...This isa great blog site dedicated to the region should you be inspired to go or to read more...

Put yourself in the picture...