Travel
Horses, heritage and conservation come together at this award-winning reserve, where protecting the landscape begins with preserving the traditions that have shaped it for generations
The proper way to pass a cup of mate is with the left hand, keeping the bombilla (metal straw) facing the recipient. But don’t stir it — you don’t want to churn up the caffeine-rich yerba mate leaves, which are not contained in a bag. This traditional South American drink should be served hot, but not boiling, and the leaves should fill about two-thirds of the cup, which is traditionally a hollowed out calabash gourd. Mate is both earthy and bitter, but as the palate adjusts, nutty, malty and sometimes even sweet undertones begin to emerge. Or so I’m told.
At Las Torres Patagonia, an ecological reserve located within Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park, everything starts with mate.
“All we do is drink mate,” says Marcelo Carrera, a baqueano at Las Torres. “In the morning, we drink mate. In the afternoon, we drink mate. In the evening, more mate.” Carrera passes me a freshly made sopaipilla, a traditional Patagonian comfort food of fried bread, as we sit by the fire inside the stables at Las Torres — drinking mate, of course.
Descendants of horsemen who arrived in Patagonia more than a century ago, baqueanos are cowboys and cowgirls whose culture remains deeply rooted in the region. At Las Torres Patagonia, the nine baqueanos care for approximately 140 horses, which transport supplies to mountain refuges, keeping centuries-old traditions alive. The baqueanos are an integral part of the reserve’s larger efforts to preserve the landscape, wildlife and cultural traditions that have shaped Patagonia for generations.
It takes several hours to drive from either Puerto Natales or Puerto Arenas Airport to Hotel Las Torres (the reserve’s main accommodation is conveniently located near the starting points of Patagonia’s world-famous W (80-km) and O (120-km) treks through the wondrous scenery of Torres del Paine National Park). I touch down at night and, as we make the drive, I can see only inky darkness through the car windows. There are no street lights nor any signs to indicate where we are — or where we are headed. I breathe a sigh of relief as, finally, the car’s high beams light up a roadside sign: Hotel Las Torres.
Once settled in my room, I try once again for a view, cupping my hands against the window and pressing my face against the glass, but the darkness is absolute. I will have to wait until morning for the Patagonian landscape to reveal itself.
Finally, dawn breaks. As the sun emerges over snow-capped peaks, it paints the sky a vibrant orange and illuminates the undulating grasses of the plains. I drink in the beauty on an early-morning stroll. On my way back to the Coirón Restaurant for breakfast, a double rainbow appears. Just as I think the scene couldn’t become any more dreamlike, the baqueanos come hollering past the hotel, leading a herd of horses across the grass, their hooves drumming a welcome beat as they gallop by.
At Las Torres Patagonia, this daily ritual isn’t a show (though eager guests like me gather each morning to watch the spectacle). The baqueanos aren’t performing for an audience; they are simply carrying out the work that has been central to Las Torres for generations.
The baqueanos implement a grazing system in which the horses are on the move rather than remaining in a single pasture. At night, the animals roam freely through the meadows surrounding the hotel, a method that helps to prevent overgrazing, which, in turn, reduces soil erosion and gives vegetation time to regenerate.
Back at the stables, Carrera explains that during the off-season (April to September) when they are not needed to transport goods, the horses’ shoes are removed and they are released to wander at will. “The hotel wants to keep the horses wild and free,” he explains, adding that every horse-related item, from the saddles and reins to horseshoes, is made on-site.
To ensure the horses are not overworked, only half of the herd works at any given time. A two- or three-week work stint is followed by a rest period in which the horses graze freely, moving between different areas of the reserve. Rotating the herd also helps to reduce the buildup of dry bush, which can increase wildfire risk.
The reserve’s work has been certified by the Savory Institute (a global non-profit dedicated to regenerating the world’s grasslands through holistic management) and their commitment to the wellbeing of the horses, to soil health and to grassland regeneration is now being replicated in other areas of Patagonia, according to Javiera Villarino, marketing deputy manager at Las Torres Patagonia. “The entire ethos of the company is to be sustainable,” he adds.
Indeed, Las Torres is a leading light in the region, from hiring locally to supporting community initiatives to emphasizing renewable energy systems. In 2025, Hotel Las Torres Patagonia was rewarded for its commitment when it was named South America’s Leading Green Hotel at the 2025 World Travel Awards.
Sustainability is deeply rooted in the reserve’s story.
The hotel and the company are run by the Kusanovic family, whose great-grandfather arrived many decades ago from Croatia. His son, Antonio Kusanovic, would go on to found a cattle ranch in the early 1990s. They also operated a modest hotel, known as Hostería Las Torres, with just nine rooms and a small restaurant.
Still, a destination this spectacular could not remain a secret forever. As more travellers arrived in Torres del Paine National Park from across Europe and North America, the reserve was expanded, more refugios were built within the national park, and the hotel became a landmark.
In November 2004, Las Torres founded the Agrupación Medio Ambiental Torres del Paine, a non-profit dedicated to preserving the natural beauty of the reserve through education, conservation and scientific research. (Its name was recently updated to Las Torres Patagonia Conservancy to reflect its revised goals.)
By 2013, their commitment to sustainability led the family to embrace a radical shift in priorities — they pledged to remove their cattle from the park. That decision marked a turning point for Las Torres. The reserve could now embrace a future fully centred on protecting and honouring the landscape. The cows were out, but the horses remained — a practical means of transporting supplies while preserving the baqueano tradition.
Today, Las Torres encompasses approximately 242,200 hectares (2,422 square kilometres) of land. Accommodations include the landmark 74-room Hotel Las Torres Patagonia, as well as fully-equipped camps and mountain cabins. An annual sustainability report provides an accounting of how well, and how quickly, the reserve is moving toward its goals.
But for visitors to Las Torres Patagonia and Torres del Paine National Park, this commitment is best experienced on one of the world’s most iconic hiking routes, where park staff and volunteers from around the world work side by side to monitor, maintain and restore the trail.
Martes Trece loves to eat. Every few minutes, she tosses her mane of shiny black hair and swings her head into the bushes for another bite or two, forcing me to tug the reins to try to keep her on track as we make our way toward one of South America’s most photographed viewpoints: Mirador Base de las Torres. My four-legged trail companion knows this route by heart — including where to find all the best snacks.
Today, I’m spending the first half of the journey in the saddle before continuing on foot to the iconic glacial lagoon, its turquoise waters contrasting with the sharp granite towers rising behind it. Those who decide to trek the full 19-km path to the viewpoint start at the trailhead near Hotel Las Torres and take on a rugged hike through the foothills of Mount Almirante Nieto, the slopes of the Ascencio Valley and native lenga forests.
The horses have been paired with their riders based on personality and experience. Martes Trece, it turns out, is a stubborn horse that likes to eat. “Just like me,” I say jokingly.
Before long, we’re crossing rushing streams and climbing through the Ascencio Valley, where strong Patagonian winds whistle through the trees. Martes Trece remains unphased. With the reins in one hand and my camera in the other, I’m grateful to let her do most of the work. Every so often, I lean forward and give her a pat or scratch behind the ear to let her know that I appreciate her even as she inevitably stops yet again for another mouthful of shrubs.
Each year, approximately 250,000 tourists visit Torres del Paine National Park, with hundreds of hikers making the journey to Base Torres every day during peak season. The trail’s popularity creates challenges. Decades ago, many of these routes were established by the cattle. As tourism grew, people simply continued to follow them. Over time, these former livestock paths have eroded under the thousands of footfalls, leaving some narrow sections where hikers and horses must pick their way through unstable terrain.
Las Torres Patagonia has partnered with local communities and volunteers to prevent further deterioration of the trail and, in doing so, encouraging hikers to stay on the path. One popular initiative is the reserve’s 10 Volunteers for 10 Days program, launched in 2024. It sees volunteers from around the world working alongside local workers to rebuild and maintain sections of the Base Torres route. In March 2026, the first restored section of the trail (approximately 3.3 kilometres of sustainably designed pathway) was officially opened, creating a wider, more stable route for both hikers and horses.
There’s a giddiness that comes with nearing the end of a trek — especially when there’s the temptation of a view. And this is one that I don’t want to miss. Rising 2,500 metres above sea level, the three granite spires — Torre Sur, Torre Central and Torre Norte — define the Base Torres viewpoint, towering above the turquoise lake to create the postcard-perfect scene.
On this day, however, rain and wind make the final few kilometres of the hike increasingly challenging, and I worry that fog will entirely mask the view. But as I scramble over the last few boulders, the towers appear, and I can’t help but smile.
Dozens of hikers gather along the shoreline, exchanging cameras and posing against the stunning backdrop. Others sit quietly, munching on squished sandwiches and handfuls of trail mix while admiring the view. Despite the crowds, the shoreline remains remarkably pristine. In a landscape this inspiring, everyone is careful to leave only footprints.
Back at Hotel Las Torres Patagonia at the end of a long day, the horses return to the stables to have their saddles removed and their bridles hung neatly along the wall. Nearby, hikers peel off dusty boots, stretch their legs and compare photos from the day’s adventure. Some head to their rooms for a hot shower, while others make their way to Pionero Bar to enjoy a signature cocktail rustled up by head bartender and master mixologist Federico Gil. Nearly every ingredient he uses has a connection to Patagonia, the cocktails crafted from herbs and produce grown onsite. Like the rest of the staff, Gil is a sustainability enthusiast, quick to talk about how the handmade glasses are made from recycled materials and to chat about the reserve’s biointensive garden that furnishes him with ingredients and ideas.
Meanwhile, for the baqueanos, the only way to end the day is with a cup of mate.
Tomorrow, before the first hikers set out for Base Torres, the ritual will begin again.
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