Explora Patagonia

Nobody sleeps closer to the Paine massif than the guests of Explora Patagonia. The lodge stands on the shore of Lake Pehoé, inside Torres del Paine National Park, at the point where the lake drains over the Salto Chico waterfall, and the horns of the Cuernos del Paine fill the windows of the dining room. It opened in 1993 and has been the reference for every luxury hotel in Torres del Paine that followed.

History

Pedro Ibáñez, a Chilean businessman, founded Explora with a simple proposition: a remote lodge of real comfort where the days are spent outdoors with guides and everything is included in the rate. Torres del Paine, then little visited, was the first site. The hotel was known in its early years as Hotel Salto Chico, after the waterfall, and the name is still used locally. Explora went on to open lodges in the Atacama desert in 1998, on Rapa Nui in 2007 and in Peru's Sacred Valley in 2016, and a lodge in Patagonia National Park further north, but the Torres del Paine house is the original and the one the company's reputation rests on.

Architecture and design

The building was designed by the Chilean architects Germán del Sol and José Cruz Ovalle, and it is unlike anything else in the park: a long, low white structure of timber, with a slightly nautical air, set on the rock above the water. The design turns every public room towards the lake and the mountains, and the corridors are lined with windows so that the view accompanies guests between rooms. A boardwalk leads from the lodge to the spa, which sits on its own at the water's edge. Inside, the finishes are pale wood, wool and stone, and the lounges have open fires.

Rooms and suites

The lodge has 49 rooms, all facing the lake and the massif. Rooms are compact by design, with large windows, beds dressed in local wool, and bathrooms with tubs; the suites are larger with sitting areas. There are no televisions. The programme is the real product: each evening guides present the next day's options, from half-day walks to full-day treks such as the base of the towers or the French Valley, and horse rides from Explora's own stables. Rates include all excursions, meals, drinks and transfers from Punta Arenas.

Dining

Meals are served in the dining room with its wall of glass towards the Cuernos. The kitchen cooks Chilean food with Patagonian produce, lamb above all, and a wine list drawn from the country's valleys; lunch is often a packed meal in the field. The bar is the lodge's evening room, where guides and guests go over the day.

Wellness

The spa, reached by the boardwalk along the lake, has a heated indoor pool, open-air hot tubs, a sauna and massage rooms. Its position, a few metres above the water and facing the mountains, makes it the most memorable room in the lodge for many guests.

Weddings and events

Explora Patagonia is not a venue for weddings or conferences. It accepts small private groups who book a block of rooms and share the guided programme, and that is the extent of its event activity.

Location

The lodge is in the heart of the park, on the western shore of Lake Pehoé, which puts the main trailheads within a short drive and the Salto Chico waterfall beside the building. Punta Arenas, with daily flights from Santiago, is about five hours by road, and Explora runs its own transfers; Puerto Natales, about three hours away, has a small airport with seasonal flights. The lodge is open through the southern summer and shoulder seasons and closes in winter.