Traveller FAQs EcoCamp

• Low Season: September 7 to 30, 2024, and May 1 to 4, 2025.
• Shoulder Season: October 1 to 31, 2024,  and April 1 to 30, 2025.
• High Season:  November 1 - December 14, 2024, and  January 15 -March 31, 2025.
• Peak Season: December 15, 2024 - January 14, 2025.

It depends on the type of trip you want to take. To give you an indication of the difficulty of our trips we have sorted them into five categories. Some trips are classified as strenuous and should only be undertaken by those with plenty of experience and a high level of fitness. However, the vast majority of our tours are well within the capability of any healthy individual leading a normal, active life. Our “Nature Tours” - usually classified as 1 or 2 - need very little physical effort and can be undertaken by almost anyone. On many tours, an open mind and a love of new places is more important than a high level of physical fitness.

Difficulty Levels Explanation: When you select a trip, it's important to know if it’s a good match for your fitness level. Our scale is from an easy (1) to a strenuous (5). Every trip has an associated difficulty rating which you need to consider before booking the trip so you'll get maximum enjoyment out of the experience. You want to make sure the pace of walking, cycling, hiking, paddling or riding you'll be doing is well-suited to you and your group’s level of fitness. Our trips are rated according to a number of factors like the level of required fitness, altitude, type of terrain and level of specialist skills (like climbing or rafting experience etc.). On the majority of trips, porters, pack animals or support vehicles carry all the gear. All you ever carry is a light daypack for the most part.

Easy - difficulty 1: These trips offer an easy pace and an average-to-sedentary level of fitness. Activities may be optional. You should be in good health and fit enough for a full day of normal sightseeing and walking.
Easy to Moderate - difficulty 2: An average level of fitness or some experience with the featured activity is recommended. While some activities may be optional, you may still have to walk, hike, bike or paddle for two to three hours daily. Includes less demanding sea kayaking and river rafting trips (Class I-II rapids).
Moderate - difficulty 3: These active trips require you to have performed the featured activity previously, with some periods on challenging terrain. Activities are mandatory and you may be traveling at high altitudes. Includes more demanding sea kayaking trips and river rafting trips with Class III-IV rapids. Your lodging and camping accommodations may be primitive and in remote locations. You need to be in good health and physical condition to enjoy these trips, with adequate muscular strength and cardiovascular endurance.
Demanding - difficulty 4: On these trips, you must be very physically fit and are expected to hike or ride four to six hours over steep or rugged terrain in altitudes exceeding 3,000 m (10,000 feet), often in remote locations far from medical facilities. Includes more demanding sea kayaking trips (5-6 hours paddling a day) and river rafting trips with Class IV+ rapids. Porter/vehicle support for difficult terrain, but may involve carrying your own gear in sections.
Strenuous - difficulty 5: The most difficult trips, often including extensive hiking or riding on difficult terrain for up to nine hours a day. Trips may involve altitudes exceeding 4,500 m (15,000 feet), which may create discomfort and symptoms that you do not experience while exercising at lower elevations, rugged terrain including steep and rocky mountain trails, and carrying your own gear on some of the trips. Trips include sea kayaking (5-7 hours paddling a day) and river rafting trips with Class IV-V rapids, and otherwise challenging conditions. Previous experience may be required and you should be in top physical condition to enjoy such an experience.

EcoCamp is the perfect mix of adventure, environmental sustainability and comfort in the wilderness. We offer good quality food and wine in a friendly hospitable atmosphere, with innovative accommodation in the world’s first Geodesic Dome hotel. We have the utmost respect for the park’s fragile environment, using only green energy and a sophisticated waste recycling system. Our trekking guides are of the highest quality and are specialists in the park’s geography, geology and fauna. If eco-friendly accommodation with a community atmosphere, surrounded by unique nature, spectacular views and trekking routes sound like the ingredients of a perfect vacation then EcoCamp is for you!

The two nearby airports are Punta Arena and Puerto Natales. Puerto Natales is only two hours from Torres del Paine, however, there are only a few flights offered each week.  Punta Arenas is about five hours from the Torres del Paine National Park, but there are more flights available. We offer two transfers per day, traveling from EcoCamp to Punta Arenas and passing through Puerto Natales.

If you come from Buenos Aires and think about visiting the Argentinian Patagonia as well, El Calafate is a good option. However, our regular transfer from there uses a public bus leaving early in the morning and therefore you would have to be there the previous day.