Hello Patagonia — Attraction in Puerto Natales

I cannot say enough great things about the company Hello Patagonia. From the beginning Leslie was resourceful, accommodating, willing to answer all of our many tedious questions and going above and beyond to make sure we had an awesome experience in Torres Del Paine.

Our guide, Victor, was knowledgable and fun to be around, he has so many great stories and had us all eating Calafate berries from bushes along the route. Our Porter, Nico, was a beast! I have never seen someone carry such a large backpack and literally take it in his stride...he was ahead of us every day on the O Trek. We decided to hire a guide for the first half of the O trek as it was a little more remote and it was our first time doing such a long route, and we a very glad we did. Our group was small, just 4 of us, which was perfect. Our tents and sleeping bags were ready for us when we reached the camp and although this is not for everyone who wants to have that authentic carry-your-own-supplies kind of adventure, we set out everyday knowing that we only had to carry our day supplies which freed us to enjoy the hike fully. Hello Patagonia made sure that everything was covered and we knew the costs ahead of time and we were offered many options that would suit our needs and our itinerary was planned out perfectly. Our meals that we had booked were really nice, more food than I was expecting, I was never really hungry (I can say the vegetarian options that I had were tasty)...Victor always carried his ziplock bag of trail mix and snickers bars as well, which was great!

Now, my group were experienced hikers with Peru Inca Trail under their belts, and I was the only inexperienced hiker...So after getting through to day 5 of the trail, conquering John Garners Pass, and seeing the heights we were hiking and the steep terrain in high winds, I didn't feel experienced enough to tackle as I was not as surefooted and confident as my friends. I had already pushed through my comfort zone and tackled some areas of the trail that I would normally would have been too scared to try...so I was proud of myself for going as far as I did but was happy to end my hike at day 5. I emailed Leslie from the camp and spoke with Victor and my team mates, and they were very supportive. Leslie was amazing, after initially feeling like a failure, it really bothered me that I was stopping earlier than anticipated and I have never backed out of completing anything before, but Leslie had my back. She organized everything and answered all my questions about the rest of the trail, reassured me that I was doing the right thing given what I had told her about my anxieties and congratulated me on completing as much as I did..she was just super about it, I can't express enough how much that meant to me. So, I took a ferry ride and a bus to stay at the last Refuge on the trail and I met my friends at the end who did such an amazing job of completing the rest of the O trek, fearless hikers! haha.

After our trek we caught the bus back to Puerto Natales and Leslie was there with our luggage that she had in storage for us and wanting to hear all about our adventures, which was so nice, she really loves what she does.

What I took away from the trip was what a great little company Hello Patagonia is, they really take care of the details and there is a personal touch that you do not get with a bigger company. You can really gauge a company when something doesn't go as planned and they either let you down or save the day...and Hello Patagonia was of course in the latter group! Even though I was anxious about parts of the trail, Victor alway made me feel safe, I knew I was in good hands, Nico was a fantastic porter who never once complained when we added to his already heavy load...and Leslie was like the Mama Bear who took care of everything.

There are few reviews out there for this little but mighty company, but you can rest assured that you will be taken care of with...

Leslie was incredibly friendly and enthusiastic (both over email and in person), and highly knowledgeable about everything related to trekking in Torres del Paine. She responded quickly to all our emails, even before we booked the trip. We asked a LOT of very detailed questions about trip logistics, weather, gear, and traveling to Chile in general, and Leslie replied promptly every time. She almost always knew the answers, and on the rare occasions when she didn’t, she knew who to ask. For example, we had some detailed questions about what kind of footwear would work for the add-on glacier hike (which was run by a separate outfitter), so Leslie contacted them for us and reported back over email.

We booked our O Circuit trek for December 2021 as a group of 3 adults. The booking and payment process was very easy: just a quick form and online payment. Hello Patagonia booked everything for us, including bus tickets, park entrance passes, campsites, camping gear at each campsite, meals at each Refugio (shelter), and our add-on glacier hike, so we didn’t have to deal with any of the booking logistics. Leslie gave us the ability to customize everything, such as choosing whether to sleep in two 2-person tents (provided at each campsite) or borrow a 3-person tent from Hello Patagonia (which we would carry), and whether to add on the optional glacier hike or kayak outing during our trek.

Once we were in Puerto Natales, Leslie gave us a private briefing before the trip, just for our group of 3 people, with plenty of time to get all our remaining questions answered. She provided us with hiking maps and a personalized itinerary, and she had lots of extra gear available to lend to us, such as sleeping bag liners, a Jetboil stove, and camping cookware (with everything you could possibly need, including bowls, mugs, and even a coffee press). One of the Refugios on the O Circuit was not serving food this season, so Leslie provided dehydrated meals for that day, plus several bags full of amazing snacks! (For the other days, we ate at the Refugios, booked in advance by Leslie.) Hello Patagonia also provided sandwiches for the first day’s hike, which were delicious (and gigantic!), and perfectly accommodated our complicated dietary restrictions.

Hello Patagonia offered luggage storage, so we didn’t need to carry our city clothes, laptops, etc on the trek. Leslie was very flexible about scheduling, allowing us to choose the day and time for our private in-person briefing, food pick-up and luggage drop-off before the trek, and luggage pick-up after the trek. She even delivered our luggage to our Airbnb the morning after we got back from hiking!

Leslie truly went above and beyond, even helping us make phone calls unrelated to the trip, which was incredibly helpful given that none of us spoke Spanish very well. (Leslie speaks both English and Spanish fluently.) Before the trip, we had a question about the Mobility Pass (a document required to enter Chile during COVID), and Leslie helped us make phone calls to the Chilean health ministry to clear up our concerns. When we were looking for activities to do around Puerto Natales, Leslie gave us an excellent restaurant recommendation and helped us call a kayaking outfitter to see if they had availability. After our trip, she even helped us book a last-minute COVID PCR test (required at the time to fly home), which was such a huge help!

Leslie was amazing and I would 100% recommend booking with Hello Patagonia. If you want to go on a self-guided trek in Torres del Paine without any of the hassle of booking campsites, gear, meals, bus tickets, etc -- but with the added benefit of having someone there to answer all your questions -- this is the...

After months of researching Chile, Patagonia and the O trek and narrowing down our vacation dates, we found Hello Patagonia and our planning became much easier! Leslie was fast to reply to any questions we had and even arranged private transport for us to Torres del Paine so we could get an early hike in before starting the O trek. The equipment we received from Hello Patagonia was in great condition, and the food & snacks Leslie packed for us were fantastic. After answering all of our questions, we headed back to the hostel, packed up and slept a few hours before getting early transport to TdP. We started the hike Feb 14th, and experienced a lot of rain. A lot of rain. By the time we made it to Refugio Grey 4 days later we found out how much rain had come through the rest of the park. We found out the entrance road between Laguna Amarga and Las Torres was flooded and they were using boats to transport people. The French Valley and the Las Torres Mirador were closed due to flooding. The rangers at Grey were unsure if we would be able to continue our trek, or if we would have to leave via the Ferry at Paine Grande. Thankfully Refugio Grey has an internet connection, and we emailed Leslie a heads up and asked if she could find us a hostel if we have to leave TdP early. Again, Leslie was quick to reply and help us out in our unfortunate situation. With so many people leaving the park, Puerto Natales was getting booked up fast. Leslie was able to hold a booking until 11am the following day so we could speak to the rangers and determine if we keep hiking or if we leave. Leslie's efforts in finding us a place to stay on very short notice was such a good feeling. With limited internet and having to keep hiking, it was great to know we would have a place to sleep if we had to leave. Reaching Paine Grande we checked with the Rangers and found out we can keep hiking, the forecast was better. We emailed Leslie to let her know the reservation could be cancelled and we would see her in a few days.

We cannot say enough good things about Leslie and Hello Patagonia. If we make it back down to Chile to hike TdP again (we want to!) We will absolutely be booking...