When is the best time to visit Patagonia?

30.06.2024 - 14:31 / lonelyplanet.com

Jun 29, 2024 • 8 min read

With its seemingly endless swathes of endless pampas, towering mountain ranges and glistening glacial rivers, Patagonia is heaven for adventurers who love the great outdoors.

Cutting across a vast slice of southern Chile and Argentina, this is a terrific destination for world-class trekking and horseback riding, whitewater rafting, ice climbing and kayaking past huge blocks of ice in meltwater lakes.

If you prefer a little comfort on your explorations, there are plenty of boat tours that will take you past enormous glaciers and give you an up-close view of penguin colonies. You can even hire your own wheels if you'd prefer to create your schedule as you go.

The best time to visit Patagonia will depend largely on what you want to do while you're there. Many outdoor activities are weather-dependent and only doable during late spring and early fall (November to March in the southern hemisphere). Winter is the quietest time with few crowds but also the best opportunity to hit the slopes in nearby Tierra del Fuego.

Whenever you visit, be sure to pack a windbreaker and multiple layers – Patagonian weather is renowned for its unpredictability and you may experience four seasons in one day even at the height of summer. 

The weather is at its best during Patagonia's summer. You'll have warm, long days (punctuated by gusts of fierce Patagonian winds) as you hit the hiking trails or Chile's whitewater rapids. Penguins return to their nesting sites for the summer.

Accommodation prices shoot up by up to 50%, so you'll need to make your travel arrangements months in advance. This is especially true if you have your heart set on trekking in Torres del Paine National Park or for the peak months of January and February that coincide with local holidays.

Early fall (March to mid-April) is a gorgeous time to be outdoors as the deciduous trees turn red-gold, and the winds are not as strong as in spring. If you don't mind the cooler temperatures, it's a good time to go hiking without the crowds and take advantage of lower accommodation prices. Bear in mind that in late spring (November), some trails may still be closed by snow.

With the southern mountain ranges carpeted in snow, this is the ideal time to head for Tierra del Fuego's southernmost city, Ushuaia, to hit the slopes at the world's southernmost ski resort. Alternatively, you can go skiing in Esquel or even Punta Arenas. 

Most attractions, accommodations and restaurants will shut in Chilean and Argentinian Patagonia at this time of year. Travel is logistically tricky, but experienced, self-sufficient, all-season trekkers can still go snow-shoeing in the national parks and trace guanacos (wild cousin of the llama), puma and huemul (endangered deer)