February in South America: Patagonia in High Summer

February is the top of the southern summer and the only month in which Patagonia is comfortable rather than merely possible. There are sixteen hours of usable light, afternoons reach the high teens, and the Paine massif is clear often enough to plan around. What does not go away is the wind. The westerlies run hard across the steppe all summer and they are the single thing that shapes the day.

Twelve nights. Six on the Chilean side in and around Torres del Paine, four on the Argentine side between El Calafate and El Chalten, and two on an estancia in Santa Cruz where the pace drops to nothing. A night in Santiago or Buenos Aires at each end makes the long-haul sectors civilised rather than punishing.

The walking is graded to whoever is on the trip. The base of the Towers is a long day and a real one; the French Valley is longer. For members who would rather not, there is the Grey Glacier by boat, the ice field by helicopter, and the Perito Moreno face from the water, which is worth more than the photographs suggest. On the estancia days it is horses, baqueanos and an asado that starts at four and finishes when it finishes. Nights are cold and every house we use has hot water outside.

Punta Arenas and El Calafate both take business jets and are the two fields this itinerary turns on. Puerto Natales is closer to the park but short and wind-limited, so we treat it as a bonus rather than a plan. February is peak season down here and parking at El Calafate is genuinely scarce, so slots go in months ahead. The Chile to Argentina hop needs paperwork filed in advance; it is routine, but it is not same-day.

None of our preferred hotel partners operates inside Torres del Paine, and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise. In the park we use small independently held lodges taken on an exclusive-use basis. At the gateways, Mandarin Oriental Santiago and Park Hyatt Buenos Aires are the two we return to.

Ask your advisor about a private guide for the whole stay rather than joining a lodge group, helicopter time over the Southern Ice Field, and whether to run the trip Chile-first or Argentina-first given the forecast in your week.