Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Trekking in the Patagonian Andes (Walking)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is a fantastically comprehensive guide to the trekking areas of
the Patagonian Andes. Intelligently laid out with very
well-researched maps and local information, it also manages to give a
comprehensive overview of what each area has to offer, without being
exhaustive. It gives you just enough information to get you out there
and discovering on your own. The book does have a few weaknesses --
notably, there are flat-out errors in some of the specific route
descriptions or instructions -- that make it far better-suited to
those who feel comfortable fending for themselves in the wild, and who
don't try and use the book as a substitute for human guides. In
short, if you feel comfortable traveling independently in remote
areas, it's not a problem. If that scares you ... perhaps you should
use the book as a primer and then hire a guide or go with a guided
group.

Ratings for the treks are somewhat arbitrary; one trek rated
"easy" was actually quite rough, and the second half of the
route had been closed for over a year (prior to the book's publication
date -- a real boo-boo). Another trek rated "hard" was
actually not as challenging as advertised. However, the details of
the route descriptions are usually spot-on and very helpful. Most
wonderful are the maps, which experienced trekkers actually CAN use in
place of a topo (despite how foolish this sounds) in many cases.

The
photographs are wonderful, and also give an accurate and beautiful
rendering of the region's charms. I'd describe them as "trekking
porn," they're so luscious.

The information on base towns is
good but incomplete, and I would strongly recommend purchasing Wayne
Bernhardson's Lonely Planet guide to Chile as an accompaniment.

In
contrast, the Bradt book on backpacking in Argentina and Chile is
almost worthless compared to Lindemayer's careful descriptions and
research, and LP's superb regional maps.

Thanks

€˙

We used this guidebook for 2+ months of backpacking
in Chile and I would strongly recommend it. The maps
can be used in lieu of topo maps (I would recommend
topos of course, but you can only get them in Santiago
and Buenos Aires) and the descriptions are remarkably
spot on. I've used dozens of backpacking guides (and
biking, climbing, ... guides) and there are invariably
inaccuracies or route descriptions that don't quite seem
to match. However, this book had fewer of such infelicities
than any guidebook I've used. Kudos to Lindemayer.

In addition, the "other treks" sections of the book
proved invaluable. After our first few weeks, we
realized we really wanted to get off the beaten track
and these little 1-3 paragraph route descriptions gave
us all we needed to track down information on beautiful,
rewarding, and untramelled hikes throughout Patagonia.
Lindemayer clearly has an explorer's impulse and a near
encyclopedic knowledge of the area.

Only caveat: if you're just going to Torres del Paine
and/or Los Glaciares you really don't need any guidebook;
the commonly available maps and steady streams of backpackers
on the trail will keep you well informed.

This book is a perfect introduction to the wealth of hiking possibilities in patagonia - many of them are still significantly under-used and of equal calibre to the more famous routes. The general information sections are quite good, and give a good feel for what conditions are like both trekking and travelling in general; a good purchase for planning your trip. Where the book falls down is on the actual trekking notes, which are consistently inaccurate, obscenely outdated and sometimes quite misleading (see other reviews). On this front, Cerro Electrico is not safe - however Cerro Electrico Oeste is safely climbable without mountaineering equipment (although crampons are a nice idea) and gives mind-blowing views of the rear of Fitzroy - I think this might be what the author actually had in mind.

The best use of this book is as an introduction/inspiration, then get hold of decent military maps (plentiful in santiago and buenos aires) and local advice (abundant) and go from there. Given that many of the treks require some degree of independence and judgement (especially in snow-bound regions), pretty much any information should be taken with a grain of salt and certainly should be double-checked independantly or at worst against common sense. It is a pity no better alternative exists, but the general information is good and if prepared, leave the fun of route-finding up to yourself.

This is really the only travelbook for Patagonia. So it's a real shame that it is inaccurate and incomplete. We found this out recently when we used it to prepare our trip to Torres Del Paine and Los Glaciares NP. Some examples: (1) to the South of TDP NP is Bernardo O'Higgins NP, with many glaciers and fjords. One can't really hike there, but kayaking etc are all possible. This park is never mentioned in the book. (2) Throughout our trip, the most abundant wildlife was a big caterpillar which we had to remove from ourselves on numerous occasions. The fauna/flora section does not mention these. We found out later that these can leave an acid burn mark. (3) Driving distance from Calafate to Chalten is 4.5 hrs, as opposed to the 2.5 or so you may expect, looking at the map. Never mentioned. (4) If one wants to do separate segments of the TDP circuit as overnight hikes (e.g. Vallee Frances), this book does not even tell you what the elevation gain is. (5) All (ALL) boat schedule information we found was wrong. We were told in the hotel that it has never changed.

It's unclear how much of this is due to the book being out of date, although most of the examples above do not change in time. My recommendation is to surf the web for the rudimentary information. You can't find all details on the web, but this book does not have them either. Tourism in this part of Chile/Argentina is so well developed that dealing with the unexpected is never really a problem.

Like all Lonely Planet guides, Trekking in Patagonia is very much geared to independent trekkers. Considering how huge Patagonia is, the book covers it pretty thoroughly with a wide range of suggestions, from easy short walks right up to a few week-long ones. The text is strong on practical information like local transportation and accommodation and supplies wide coverage to flora and fauna, which is a real bonus.
Patagonia's five regions are arranged in chapters that go from north to south which the way most foreigners seem to travel. The information is set out very logically, with tables of routes and a small info box at the start of each walk so you know what to expect. I liked the book's simple but correct contoured maps that are given for every trek. Some walkers I met wanted the book to have more day walks but that's a matter of personal preference. I got alot out of my 5 weeks in Patagonia, thanks greatly to this book. Unless you're a complete jerker, you're not going to get lost with this! A warning though, sometimes it's hard slogging that may not suit pampered English hill-walkers.
This book is a veritable encyclopaedia that I found a real companion on the trails constantly taking it out for quick reference. It is indeed an unparallelled resource for trekking in Patagonia, so I'm awarding it 5 stars!

This guide is great. We used it for doing the Sierra Valdivieso circuit and Paso de la Oveja near Ushuaia and it was very helpful.The Valdivieso is off the beaten track through remote areas and very well explained with some important GPS coordinates. Also we did the Torres del Paine circuit, Lago Pingo in TDP and the treks around El Chalten andallthough you do not really need a guidebook for doing these treks, it is still helpful for planning and very accurate.

For the last year I've been planning a trip to Chile and Patagonia. This book has helped me plan and organize and decide which areas I want to see. This book has been full of helpful information about all the different treks in this region, the difficulty rating, miles, average days specific trails will take, and great maps. Not only does the book give great info about specific treks, it also gives really great information for newer backpackers, such as a checklist of what you should bring on the trek, what kind of food to bring, how to use a compass, first aid info, etc. (Though you should know these things before you trek around Patagonia.) I give this book 5 stars.

I used the 1998 edition for a three month trip in 2005. I went on long treks near Ushuaia, PN Los Glaciares near El Calafate, PN Torres del Paine, PN Nahuel Huapi near Bariloche, PN Chiloe, and PN Villarica.
Sometimes I found it difficult to interpret the directions until after the fact, however, the information was almost always correct. Not bad considering that the book was already several years old.
Planning out several months of travelling in advance and buying maps in Santiago and Buenoes Aires is impractical. The maps in the book were often the only navigation tool available and were suitable.
The pictures are beautiful.
If your Spanish isn't very good you will find this book is indispensible. (I had just enough to get on the right bus)I would strongly recommend this book to anyone planning to hike in the Patagonian region of Chile and Argentina south of Concepcion.

Better than any book writed in chile about trekking. Excelent maps and precise directions. Very well selected tracks. It's a shame that some foreing came to chile and wrote a book that's 10 times better than any local book. Good as a LonelyPlanet.

I am using the latest (thid ed.) on my second trip to South America. It an indispensable resource with very accurate text and maps which are quite accurate to use even if you you don't have a topo (yeah I know, but maps are not always easy to buy here). The routes carefuly prepared...this new edition has a whole lot of new trails. I'm also finding it up to date. One thing is maybe that the authors could have given better coverage to some areas such as the Pumalin. But this is more than enough material to spend a couple of summers down here anyhow, even if you just go for it! I definitely feel anyone that wants to trek in this region will be sorry if you don't have this book. Enjoy! Feel free to contact me privately for any info.
Ryan