Summary
The Greater Patagonian Trail (GPT) is not an official or established hiking trail like the Pacific Crest Trail or Te Araroa. Instead, it’s an informal, complex, and evolving network of routes pieced together primarily from remote horse trails, faint footpaths, cross-country sections, and even some minor roads and water routes in the Andes of Chile and Argentina.
Pioneered and meticulously documented by Jan Dudeck and Meylin Ubilla, the GPT currently has an approximately 3,000 km “main route,” stretching from south of Santiago, Chile, deep into Patagonia. However, the total network documented includes thousands more kilometres of optional and alternative routes – including via packraft.
When to walk
The prime hiking season for the Greater Patagonian Trail aligns with the Southern Hemisphere summer, roughly from November/December through to March/April. The exact timing depends heavily on the specific section and the annual snowpack. Starting too early (e.g. October) often means encountering significant, potentially hazardous snowpack on high passes and dangerously high river levels due to spring melt. Most hikers begin their journey from the north in late spring or early summer to allow time for conditions to improve.
Hiking extends through the summer months, but pushing too far into autumn significantly increases the risk of encountering early winter storms, snowfall, and freezing temperatures, especially in the higher or more southerly sections.
Track difficulty (pros and cons)
The GPT is considered one of the most challenging long-distance ‘hikes’ globally, requiring a high level of navigation, self-sufficiency, route-finding skills, significant bushwhacking, numerous river fords, and logistical planning for very remote resupply.
Things that could make the track easier or more enjoyable
- Unparalleled wilderness experience, traversing remote mountain ranges that have seen very little human traffic or impact.
- Very few other hikers. In 2019, we only encountered 2 other hikers on our 1,300km trip along the GPT.
- Options to combine hiking and pack rafting.
- Cultural immersion, with the trail passing through remote villages inhabited by traditional arrieros and settlers.
Things that could make the track more difficult or less enjoyable
- Difficult navigation with no track markers, and often without a trail to walk on. Note, this could be considered a pro for some people.
- You have to be willing to wait out bad weather or alter your intended route if conditions change.
- Incredibly complex resupply logistics, with very few trip reports available.
- Without conversational Spanish, you’ll miss out on rich cultural interactions with locals.
- Land ownership or access rights are often ambiguous in areas the trail traverses.
- This isn’t a ‘thru hike’ – don’t expect easy or consistent progress.
Gear
We found that a 3 season gear list suitable down to -5C was suitable on our trip. Although Patagonia is notorious for high winds, we think that a trekking pole supported DCF tent is suitable for the GPT. You can find our 4.4kg gear list here.
Pack rafting
Pack rafting is an integral and often essential mode of travel on the GPT, particularly in the more southerly sections. The route frequently encounters large lakes, fjords, and unbridged rivers that break the continuity of land-based trails.
Pack rafts provide the crucial link, allowing hikers to paddle across these vast water bodies, connecting otherwise isolated valleys and trail segments.
While northern sections might offer choices between hiking or paddling, further south, the geography often dictates that pack rafting is the only feasible way forward. This necessitates carrying additional gear and possessing at least basic flat water paddling skills, potentially more advanced skills for river sections.
We didn’t carry a pack raft as we didn’t have the skills or knowledge, and are very excited about the prospect of returning to tackle these sections!
Wildlife
The Greater Patagonian Trail traverses remote landscapes, offering chances to encounter unique South American wildlife. Sightings often require patience and luck due to the vastness of the terrain and low human density.
Iconic species include herds of guanacos (related to llamas) and the Andean condor. The puma (mountain lion) inhabits these mountains, though it is rarely seen. Hikers might also spot the endangered huemul (South Andean deer), various foxes, and smaller mammals.
Unlike North American trails, there are no bears or venomous snakes to worry about. However, biting horseflies known locally as tábanos, can be relentless during the summer months.
Navigation
Navigating the Greater Patagonian Trail is exceptionally challenging and fundamentally different from following established long-distance trails. The route largely follows local paths not made for hikers , often becoming vague, disappearing entirely , or requiring cross-country travel. The network is inconsistent, variable in quality, and mostly lacks any trail markers or signposts.
Traditional navigation using paper maps is impractical; official topographic maps (like IGM) are often outdated, inaccurate, omit trails, or show abandoned ones, and carrying maps for the GPT’s length is prohibitively heavy. Consequently, the only reliable method is navigation with an electronic GPS device loaded with digital maps and the specific GPT track files.
Options include a handheld GPS device, mobile phone, or smartwatch. Regardless of the method, it is essential that you have a good level of redundancy built into your system due to the remote nature of the trail.
It is often useful to have satellite imagery downloaded on you phone to assist with navigation.
Due to the navigational challenges (along side other resupply and potential language complications), we highly recommend exploring this trail with another hiker. Most people who don’t enjoy the trail tend to be solo hikers, and those who have thrived tend to be in groups of 2-3.
Obtaining the GPX file
To obtain the GPX files for the trail, you must first commit to sending a full GPS record of your hike to Jan at the end of your trip. This is essential for keeping the route up-to-date for future hikers.
The process to access the files involves the following steps outlined in the GPT Hikers Manual (link below):
Read Part 1 of the Hiker’s Manual (Chapters 1.1 to 1.15, pages 19-329) carefully and find the seven 6-digit “Unlock Codes” placed within specific key chapters. Note that a text search will not find them.
Find the eighth “Unlock Code” by signing up on Wikiexplora and adding yourself to the GPT track file request list; the code is visible in the comment section below the list when in edit mode.
Sum all eight unlock codes to get a 7-digit number, which serves as the password to open the main track file zip archive.
Inside this password-protected zip file, you will find multiple folders containing the track data in different formats. Locate the folder specifically containing the GPX files, which are sliced into various portions suitable for installation on smartphone navigation apps. There is also a specific set customised for the Gaia GPS app.
Useful resources
- GPT Hikers Manual – this is the most important single resource for the GPT.
- Wikiexplora – The Greater Patagonian Trail – an overview of the GPT and a great place to start.
- GPT Facebook group – the best place to get up-to-date information from others on the trail.
